Harry Potter 8.

"Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling has strongly hinted for the first time that she could write an eighth book in the series. Rowling, 42, admits she has 'weak moments' when she feels she will pen another novel about the boy wizard. One of her biggest fans – her 14-year-old daughter Jessica – has already put pressure on her to revisit the character... However, if an eighth novel were to be written, Rowling concedes it is unlikely that Harry would be the central character."

...

That would be more interesting that her "political fairy tale" for adults. Leave that to Philip Roth.

book report: Deep Economy

I read the first economics book of my life. Bill McKibben, author of the famous The End of Nature, put together Deep Economy to investigate the current economic trends of the U.S., arguing essentially that for the first time in the history of human civilization, a selection of people no longer believe More is equal to Better. If we as humans want to continue down the road to Better, slowly more and more people will realize that not only is More not the same, but it is often antithetical to Better.
McKibben attempts to demonstrate the error of the standard economic model of "growth=good" and turn it upside down to local is better, smaller is better, community is better. But it will cost economic growth. Of course, the United States doesn't want to hear anything but growth growth growth, so McKibben, using agriculture, radio, entertainment and production examines models that have been in place for years, whether we have been aware of it or not. What I found to be the most interesting examination is McKibben's look at Cuban Agriculture post-Fall of Soviet Union. Why Cuba? Because "with the collapse of the Soviet Union, Cuba fell off a cliff of its own and became the first place in the world to face peak oil." Peak oil is the threat, and McKibben finds those places in the world that have existed without the threat or after the threat of peak oil.
It's a good read. Some of the most interesting parts of Deep Economy are simply the collection of numbers and research that exists that I haven't seen elsewhere, especially in regards to China ("By some estimates, (China) needs to add an urban infrastructure equivalent to Houston's every four weeks just to keep pace"!).
It gets redundant towards the end, but it's worth a week for sure.

Men sat there gaping, gasping
at his strange, unearthly sheen,
as if a ghost were passing,
for every inch was green.

I know I can't be the only one geekin' out over this.

preserving history one page at a time

Believe it or not I have finished my first full semester of grad school (I'm still in the not period). And to celebrate I've decided to post on Luminous. Why? Well, because I can, thats why.

So here is something I thought you might be interested in. In doing research for my literature review I came across Project Gutenberg an online book catalog that allows you to download books. Its pretty great, if you are into that sort of thing. I used it to look up some rather obscure books, so I can only imagine they have some more popular picks as well...though I can't confirm this as of now. If you support the project they could use your help editing their books...the objective is the more people proof reading, the more books they will be able to make public. If you are interested follow the hypertext.

Thanks again to all of you for continuing to visit luminous in my absence. You are much appreciated. Now I am off to pick up my first novel in months!! Woohoo!!

Pullman and the Compass thing.

I am thinking about reading His Dark Materials. People seem to like it. At least the first one, the last two I hear less wonderful things about, but still, some.
Anyway. With all the hullabaloo surrounding the release of the movie and religious uproar (which I am generally a huge fan of) and that only makes me very interested and whatnot.
Seriously, there are some huge fans of Pullman, and youth fiction around this area. Should I read these three books?

He is Legend.

I don't really read science fiction or horror novels much these days. When I do it's usually because there's a film version coming out, and it looks awesome. Well, I Am Legend was no different. I heard about the film over a year ago, thought it sounded awesome, and now I've just finished the book. I Am Legend, the book by Richard Matheson, you should read it. It will only take you a few days.
For those who like post-apocalyptic fiction, or science fiction, or just an interesting piece of work, it's a wonderful read. It's like a modernist "literature of of the mundane" set in the most terrible scenario imaginable. Sure, it's a "vampire" novel, but it's not really a vampire book. It's far more an experiment in morality. If you were the last human being on earth, what ethical and moral code would restrain you? That's Robert Neville's position. Everyone on the planet has been infected by the plague of 1975, and turned into either a vampire (someone who died from the plague and came back to life) or was infected but never died, and therefore is technically living with an illness. Robert, who spends his nights drunk and his days killing sleeping and hiding infected, thinking about women, and missing the world, is also pleasantly a deep-thinker, bringing up some of the most interesting moral dilemmas we know. While trying to figure out how to cure the illness, he murders thousands of "sick" people, living with a germ they happened to come upon. He also believes that it was the human wars, bombs, and germ warfare that caused such devastation. How then, can these others deserve to die? Why shouldn't he be the one to die? He is after all, the new legend, the rumor of the last man; it is the infected now who are the majority in the world.
There is a brilliant moment in I Am Legend, when Robert has been alone for about 2 years. He opens the door in the daytime and a dog runs by. For 2 years, never has a living creature been seen in the daytime; then a mangy mutt. He takes it in; it dies, and it is heartbreaking. Richard Matheson delivers on moments like these. It's a lovely scene in a scary and delightful book. And the ending, oh man. I can't wait to see Will Smith give us this ending. They better not change the ending. It is fucking unbelievable.
I Am Legend.

Holiday Reading?

If you're looking for a book or two to read over the holidays, the New York Times has posted their annual 100 Notable books of 2007. The list is long and I know that I (czf) have not read any of them, since I haven't read any new books this year. However, take a look and see if there is anything you want to read. Then read, and let Luminous know how it was.
Happy Thanksgiving and Black Friday from Luminous, the bookblog you love to read.
I find this picture hilarious. That kid looks like Denise the Menace or Richie Rich. So.

Borders Books has solved the reading problem. Finally. How, do you ask, how can they finally bring the people into the stores to buy those books and start reading once again? Television. "A new strategy at Borders will reinforce the message that its stores are not just about books: the company has been installing 37-inch flat-screen televisions to show original programming, advertisements, news and weather." Of course, these tvs aren't there for people to really watch, because the store's about books. "The screens are “not designed to be intrusive,” Mr. Jones said. Rather, he said, they are “part of a master plan to create content that will do several things for us,” like directing traffic to the Borders Web site and paving the way to more cross-promotional deals with large media companies."
Yeah. So now, when you come to the store, you can more efficiently be directed back to your house to buy online. WooHoo!

Norman Mailer Dies

Norman Mailer, the combative, controversial and often outspoken novelist who loomed over American letters longer and larger than any writer of his generation, died today in Manhattan. He was 84."

Fairwell, Norman. Someday I promise to read the Naked and the Dead.

Rowling Makes another odd Harry Potter Choice

Luminous will not transform into a blog solely focusing on Harry Potter. However, here is another post about Harry Potter. "J.K. Rowling has completed her first book since concluding the tale of teen wizard Harry Potter -- an illustrated collection of magical fairy stories titled "The Tales of Beedle the Bard." Wonderful. It's nice to see she's still writing.
Get this crazy shit. You know how Harry Potter is popular, and that adults and children the world over love and adore everything Harryish? Yeah? That must be why Rowling is printing seven copies of "Beedle the Bard". 7! "Only seven copies of the book are being printed, Rowling said Thursday. One will be auctioned next month to raise money for a children's charity, while the others have been given away as gifts...The volume, bound in brown morocco leather and mounted with silver and semiprecious stones, will be auctioned at Sotheby's on December 13 with a starting price of $62,000. " Whatever. I want to read the damn thing too.

In another J.K. note: Here is the picture of Rowling that accompanies CNN's article.
Is that really her? Does she look different to you than when she first came out and started writing the Harry Potter?


Wealth. What can't you do?

The Never-Ending Story

Today's NYTimes has (another) story on Dumbledore, and I thought I would post it, because I like this part. It's thoughtful and handles the question of whether Rowling's Dumbledore is the reader's.
Then, this: "Her heroes are the hybrids, the misfits, those of mixed blood, all bearing scars of loss and love: the half-giant Hagrid, the mudblood Hermione (whose parents were not wizards), the poverty-stricken Ron, the orphaned Harry. Perhaps speaking of Dumbledore as gay was just a matter of creating another diverse rebel against orthodoxy."
Lovely.

Harry Potter and the Half Gay Headmaster

J.K. Rowling has revealed to her legion of adoring fans that Hogwarts Headmaster and the embodiment of good motives, Albus Dumbledore, is in fact gay. For those of you who have read the books, this won't come as much of a surprise (I think), but that's not what interests me in this discussion.
What interests me is the amount of control that Rowling maintains over the Harry Potter universe after the series is completed and written. She did not include any overt reveal involving Dumbledore's homosexuality in the novels, I imagine deliberately, but there are things to make you wonder. Why do that if you are going to come out and say it later? Let people argue over it, that's part of the fun of reading.
For example, I believe that Jonah in Knocked Up is a closeted homosexual (this link is not work-friendly). That can't necessarily be right or wrong, right? If Judd Apatow came to my house and said, Sorry Chris, but Jonah is straight, what would that mean? I would still think he is gay. Shouldn't Rowling leave these kinds of questions to readers if she has not addressed them in the books? There were times in the HP novels when I thought several different characters might be gay, including Dumbledore. Now Rowling has come out and said, yes, Albus is gay, this whole time, aren't you shocked? Should authors be doing this after the fact?

Booker Winner

Anne Enright, author of The Gathering, has been awarded the 2007 Mann Booker Award for Fiction. Tis' yet another book to add to my already too long list of reading to be done over christmas break .

From the Mann Booker Site:
Over and above her prize of £50,000, Anne Enright is guaranteed a huge increase in sales and recognition worldwide...and a designer-bound edition of her book.
When asked what she was going to do with the winnings, she said she didn’t know - ‘perhaps a new kitchen!’ - and joked that she had bought a new dress that morning which she was pleased she could now afford.
For more information about the winner for this year’s Man Booker Prize please read the official press release.
Anne Enright was interviewed following the announcement by BBC Newsnight which you can view again at BBC Online.
To read a short Q&A with Anne Enright after the shortlist announcement please click here.

the Civil War

I have undertaken to read the mighty The Civil War: A Narrative. It's a giant. Three volumes (thanks BMO) of hulking 800 page glory. I started it about, oh, 6-8 weeks ago, and let me tell you this: it's slow going. I'm only 250 pages into the first volume, "Fort Sumter to Perryville," but I thought I would share some of the lessons I have learned.
1) Lincoln was one badass son of a bitch. Most people kind of know this, but I don't think most really know quite how badass he was. Unafraid to sit back and take the heaps of criticism that he wasn't doing enough, making no public reference to the Confederacy (which would legitimate their existence), calmly seeing to the dirty business with confidence. He's quite the literary character.
2)Lincoln was one unapologetically emotional man, which makes me love him the more. On hearing the death of his friend Ned Baker in the war, Foote writes:
"Lincoln sat for five minutes, stunned, then made his way unaccompanied through the anteroom, breast heaving, tears streaming down his cheeks. Orderlies and newspapermen jumped to help him, but he recovered his balance and went on alone, leaving them the memory of a weeping president."
Is there any better image of Lincoln than as a president stumbling, weeping down the streets of the capitol. Love it.
3) Foote was one badass writer. See the above quote for evidence. There are so many names, locations, rivers etc. in this damn book, and I have heard of about ten percent, but Foote handles the narrative engagingly, and keeps you moving. Plus his writing is smooth and wonderful. Read the opening paragraph of the book for proof.
4) I kind of sympathize with Jefferson Davis. This is certainly something I did not expect, and I think is a testament to Shelby Foote.
5) Despite 4, the segregationists as a whole don't seem to have gotten a worse rap than they deserve. At least at this early second year in the war that I've reached, they're as reprehensible as you would imagine.
6) Ulysses S. Grant's real name is Hiram Ulysses Grant. His nickname at Academy was Uncle Sam, and when he recieved a congressional appointment, the papers took the initials and the document read Ulysses Simpson Grant. Grant never wanted to tangle with the red tape to change it. Weird.

Pi Comes To Life

A new edition of Yann Martel's loved book, Life of Pi, recently hit the shelves, and this time it's illustrated. In order to find the right illustrator for the job publisher Jamie Byng created a cast-your-illustration-competition. To enter all you had to do was pick a scene and illustrate it as you understood it. 1800 people responded with submissions but only could win. That one person was Tomislav Torjanac from Croatia. Wanna see the illustrations? Visits Torjanac's site for a sneak preview.

How does he make the images so visually stunning? "First he sketches out the scene before painting it in oils and with a fairly free hand. Once he has completed this stage he photographs the painting, then runs it onto his computer, at which point he finishes the illustration using various digital techniques. The end result combines the painterly qualities of a great oil painting with the modern sophistication of a digital print."

Turns out Pi isn't the only well known book Torjanac has illustrated. The Cat and The Devil, by James Joyce is also an eye twisting spectacle and worth sneaking a peak at. Weather you can find a copy in English or not, I can not say.

Also, if you really liked the feel of spending in pounds when you bought In Rainbows you can buy a signed copy of the illustrated Life of Pi for a mere twenty five pounds.

Prison Library Book Removal

The US Bureau of Prisons has been considering removing all books concerning religion that do not fall onto pre-approved lists from their libraries. Critics of the plan, from both right and left sides of the country are speaking out to try to stop the decision. The Republican Study Committee released this statement: "We must ensure that in America the federal government is not the undue arbiter of what may or may not be read by our citizens.”
The NYTimes article (linked above) on the subject contains links to each religion and their approved reading lists. it's an interesting thing to see. The Philokalia is on the list, which I'm sure makes for common prison reading. Also, "A Muslim Girl's Guide to Life's Big Changes" gets to stay. Huh. Siad one inmate, "I’ve seen the list of approved books, and 99 percent of them, we never had to begin with."
What do you all think about this? Should we take books that might incite violence in people out of the hands' of prisoners? It seems like a hard thing to justify.

OBOC2007

The city of Chicago has made their choice for this fall's One Book, One Chicago: Arthur Miller's The Crucible. Published in 1952, The Crucible, was written as a allegory on the McCarthy era. His depiction of the mass hysteria during the Salem witch trials was meant to show us the way of our errors during "the red scare."

And since the Salem witch trials have come up...I learned, rather interestingly, last night while reading Glut that the witch trails were (on at least one level) a result of the printing press! Today we take printing as a given but when it was first discovered by the masses it caused a whole lot of bloodshed. "The problem?" you ask. A shift in thinking. Everyone was suddenly forced to alter their outlet for expressing themselves; from a oral and image driven culture to a very left brain linear word context. The printing press as a result caused mass hysteria. As the old tradition, one which held women in a almost mystical regard (think virgin Mary) went out the window and mass organizations began to form (again because of the printing press) women started getting burned at the stake. And in Germany, where the press was invented, and most widely used for the first 100 years after its creation, the witch burnings were by far the most severe.

I've gotten off the subject. If you want to join in on the fun of reading The Crucible with the city (you don't have to be in the city itself), take a peak at the official guidebook, which gives you a concise history of the era, CPL resources, additional reading and of course locations of book clubs meeting around the city. Also noteworthy, the Steppenwolf is producing the play and the hubby and I are going to try and go if you are interested in joining us.

And then there were six...

The Man Booker shortlist of six was announced today at a press conference at Man Group plc in London. Following the meeting, Howard Davies, Chair of Judges commented: “Selecting a shortlist this year from what was widely seen as an exciting longlist was a tough challenge. We hope the choices we have made after passionate and careful consideration, will attract wide interest.” Isn't that what they said last year, and the year before that? Ah, well. The novels are (drumroll please!):

Darkmans by Nicola Barker
"Ambitious, linguistically driven, high-octane epic with a metaphysical aspect set around a group of modern-day misfits in Ashford, Kent."

The Gathering by Anne Enright
"The story of the 12-strong Hegarty family, narrated by 39-year-old Veronica as she mourns the suicide of one of her siblings and tries to reconstruct the life of her grandmother."

The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid
"A young Muslim man's loves and losses, daubed against the tumultuous backdrop of the political unrest that followed the attacks on the World Trade Centre on 9/11."

Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones
"2007 Commonwealth prize-winner set in a village on the Papua New Guinea island of Bougainville during a brutal civil war there in the 1990s and narrated by a 13-year-old girl who has a love of Dickens instilled in her by an inspired teacher."

On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan"Novella about the agonisingly awkward wedding night of a young, innocent, couple in the 60s and how it sets the course of their lives."

Animal’s People by Indra Sinha
"Dark and harrowing but also very humane portrait of a community in contemporary India whose lives were ruined 20 years ago by an American chemical company, and what happens when a young American doctor arrives in their midst."

Wish I was reading...

I am reading more than ever now that I am back in school, but it is by no means the sort of stuff I am usually reading: fiction. So today I post about a book I really want to read, but do not actually have time to read. Which is The Time Traveller's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. I have been hearing about TTW for a few years now, and everyone who has actually read it either loves it or hates it. Every time someone recommended it another person suggested I stay away. Thus I just could not decide what to do.

Then I started library school and everyone was talking about how wonderful it was (second only to Harry Potter). THEN I found out she is really active in the world of book arts and it all came together. What originally attracted me to the book it self was the pages. They are perfect. The weight it just right, the pages have the perfect amount of gloss to them and they move so freely. All books should be published (physically) as this one. Oh, and don't even get me started on the binding, it's near orgasmic. Last thing, it all takes place in my beautiful city of Chicago, and one block over from my apartment last year. So seriously, what is there not to love?

So, I've picked up a copy. And it sits on my shelf daunting me. I suppose it will be the first book I pick up over Christmas break in December, but damn that seems far away.

And let me not forget to mention, for those of you who are like me and may never have the opportunity to read it, it will be a movie next year...

Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

"This is a wonderful book, brilliant and personal, rich in spiritual insight, filled with sorrow and a great sense of humor. Elizabeth Gilbert is everything you would love in a tour guide, of magical places she has traveled to both deep inside and across the oceans: she's wise, jaunty, human, ethereal, hilarious, heartbreaking, and God, does she pay great attention to the things that really matter."
-Anne Lamott

I admit I was hesitant to read Eat, Pray, Love when I first saw it popping up around town. It seemed overly emotional and girly and honestly too religious for me. But it would not go away, it was everywhere, in everyones hands, I saw people miss their train stops over this book! And so, when I had the opportunity to pick up the book for a bit less than cost I thought, "Why not?" And thank goodness I did. It was so enjoyable.

The book takes place after a very difficult divorce (enter what I thought was going to be the too emotional and girly part) but Gilbert was smart enough not to give us all the nitty-gritty of her divorce and so I didn't feel like I was listening to a stranger complain about how hard life is. It is split into three different sections (corresponding with the title) and takes place in three different countries. Eating in Italy, Praying in India and Loving in Indonesia. I too love to travel and have no money to do so right now which made reading a book about travelling the next best thing after being there myself. Each section was a bit better than the previous and the ending came together quite well. I closed the book and thought, "Look at how far she came over a single year!" It was a nice reminder that you really can turn lifes lemons into lemonade.

Also, it wasn't until after I started Eat, Pray, Love that I realized why the authors name was so familar to me. Elizabeth Gilbert is also the author of The Last American Man, another peice of non-fiction that was exceptionally well written. If Eat, Pray, Love is a woman's novel than The Last American Man is a novel for a man's man. But this is just reinforces how versitile she is. Both of these books seem to be directed for a certian people group but both go far beyond what you expect from them. If you are looking for something to read either of these books will fill a few days of your time in a very pleasent manner.

The Maltese Falcon, Dashiell Hammett

Sadly I think my excitement to read Hammett's The Maltese Falcon may have gotten the best of me--and the novel. There I was going around telling everyone..."they say its the best detective novel ever written!!" Well, it is good, of course, but best ever? The real weakness for me was all that convoluted secrecy. I know what you are saying..."Amber, it's a DETECTIVE novel, you aren't supposed to know everything!!" I understand but the whole book I was very patient about waiting to be let in on what was really going on. And then finally everything gets wrapped up in the last 20-30 pages and you realize, you pretty much new everything that was going along already. Yes, there is a bit more information but there wasn't enough for what I had built it up to be.


Now that I am thinking about it, I cannot believe I went around telling everyone it was (supposed to be) the best detective novel...obviously I am going to give that title to Crime and Punishment. My favorite of all the novels ever written (talk about a title that is hard to live up to)!!

After all this negative talk I feel I should say it was a fun book to read. And very cinematic in its nature. The setting was always shrouded by cigarettes and sexy women with bright red lipstick. And then you have the suave and handsome hero who is always just barely escaping the law. It is hard to resist. If you do not go into the book thinking it is going to be one of the greatest novels you will ever read I have no doubt you will really enjoy it.

And for those of you that are interested (and are in the small minority of people who live near by) the movie is now second in our queue, which means we will be watching it sometime next week!

When I was a kid...

Since we are on the topic of Children's book I thought I would take a moment to mention some books I recently came across that I loved as a child. Please, someone else tell me you remember "reading" Frank Asch. I stared at these books for countless hours when I was just a wee thing, totally mesmerized by the pictures, so desperately wanting to eat mooncake!

Other favorite childhood books??

Mrs. and Ms. Bush Write Children's book.

(Author and Bush twin Jenna shows her rawker/edgy side)

This is one of the more interesting book stories I have read lately. As you all follow the story of the Bush twins, I don't need to tell you that Jenna Bush is already a published author of a book called Ana's Hope, about her time with UNICEF. This I gathered from the cover.
Now she's teaming up with her mother to write a picture book (?) about kids that don't like reading. Just what kids not interested in reading books need: a book of pictures about how reading sucks. "It’s a book that I’ve always wanted to write," says Laura Bush. She also said it was going to be difficult writing a book of pictures, because "In a picture book, there are so few words." Got that?

A Man Booker Dozen

The Man Booker announced its long list today, they are:

Darkmans by Nicola Barker

Self Help by Edward Docx

The Gift of Rain by Tan Twan Eng

The Gathering by Anne Enright

The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid

The Welsh Girl by Peter Ho Davies

Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones

Gifted by Nikita Lalwani

On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan

What Was Lost by Catherine O'Flynn

Consolation by Michael Redhill

Animal's People by Indra Sinha

Winnie & Wolf by A N Wilson

The long list for those of you who (justifiably) don't keep up with Man Booker's inner workings is the first round of finalists for the yearly prize (which I believe comes in October). The long list will soon turn into a short list and then everyone will go mad trying to read all the short list books before a finalist is chosen, right?

My only comment about the list: "Ian McEwan again!"
I've never read him, but doesn't it seem they have their nose up his ass a bit?

Unless. Already. Not Yet.

Back in January, azf read Unless, by Carol Shields. She loved it, started talking about it frequently, recommended it to everyone she talked to, and went online and bought several copies cheap to distribute to people in order to make them read it.
So I read it. Now I'm coming on to Luminous to encourage people to read it. If you didn't take azf's word, you probably won't take czf's word. But I'll add my name to the chorus, and recommend Unless, because it's absolutely brilliant. My Goodness.

A little something awesome.

For those of you who don't have enough on your plate as it is, I highly suggest taking a moment to stop by Turning the Pages a project hosted by the British Library. They've used new software to digitize books and the end result is absolutely stunning. Really, you must take a look for yourself to get the full experience. (Side note: you need to use Internet Explorer, Mozilla doesn't open this application properly.)

A little something to keep in mind, the program is designed to consider the physical aspects of the book (i.e. they film the pages of the book turning to capture the weight of the page and how the light reacts to illuminated elements). They also include supplemental interpretive information such as recordings of a piece of written or printed music, a translation of a text, or a reading of a play found in a book and a magnifying lense to get an up close and personal look. Rather than attempt to merely duplicate various aspects of the book, they utilize new media to further contextualize the book.

A fellow library student told a story of how The Queen of England showed up for the unveiling of this project where the final coding was finished only moments before they were to present the project to her. The on-site TTP books utilize touch screens. Having finally debugged everything right before they Queen's arrival, they were foiled by her silk gloves. Someone else had to turn the pages for her. The screens were not glove-accessible.

Also, you might want to take a look at University of Illinois equivalent of TTP. I met the two people who are responsible for making all those images available to you. They are very nice and diligent folks and deserve a little pat on the back for all their hard work.

No love for Jane Austen these days

I'm a pretty big Jane Austen fan. Well, pretty much just Pride&Prejudice, which is one of my favorites. But you know who doesn't love her books? Publishers. David Lassman, the director of the Jane Austen Festival in Bath, has been unable to find a publisher for his novel. Which I am sure he thinks is brilliant. Curious to find out how difficult it is to find a literary agent today, he took three of Austen's novels, Northanger Abbey, Persuasion and Pride&Prejudice, changed names and locations and whatnot, and sent them out to 18 of the U.K.'s biggest publishing house.
They were all rejected. What is amazing is that Lassman did not even change or take out the first line of P&P, one of the most famous and quoted opening lines in literary history. Only one response from the publishers noticed any connection to any Austen (and it wasn't the opening line). For shame.

Keep on Readin'

Luminous is at a point of transition, if you haven't already noticed. It's not that I haven't been reading, because believe me, I have. I am just hesitant to swamp you with more information than you want, or not even more information per se but information that you might not be interested in. Information about the Federal Depository Library Program maybe (did you know you can access any "public" govt doc via your FD Library, find your library here)? Or how about Copyrighting and Fair Use? Which would of course lead me to talking about Creative Commons, for you artistic types looking for the balance between copyrighting and fair use. No? Well then, how about this...I finished my school reading this weekend and now I have my head in Dashiell Hammett's The Maltese Falcon. Has anyone read it? "They" say its the greatest mystery novel ever written. And while I have just started the novel and am usually hesitant to rave about a book before I finish it (lest it take a nose dive at end) I really am enjoying it thus far. It is a very cinematic novel, I can literally see Sam Spade's cigarette smoke rising from his dimly lit office as I delve into the pages. And no, I have not see the movie...yet. But here is a pretty kick ass poster for the movie to peak your interests.
Also, as I don't have the time for those great big and often slow reads, (think the Russian's) I am looking for books that I can really get into but won't keep me from school work. Hence the mystery novel. Please let me know if you have any book recommendations that I just must read.

Muir in Alaska 'preaching glacial gospel in a rambling way'

So. I'm reading Travels in Alaska by John Muir, which I expected to be good. But I honestly didn't expect him to be such a beautiful writer. For being one of the great ecologists and environmentalists (not a word in his day, but oh well) of U.S. history, he sure can also use words. I wanted to share some of his odd mix of Thoreauishness mixed with actual interaction with nature. Here are two parts I like:
After a fellow climber had both his arms dislocated and Muir brought him down a glacier on the side of a mountain, foot by foot for about a half a day: "Here I took off one of my boots, tied a handkerchief around his wrist for a good hold, placed my heel in his arm pit, and succeeded in getting one of his arms into place." Jesus.

Before a mountain covered in glacier. "Standing here, with facts so fresh and telling and held up so vividly before us, every seeing observer, not to say geologist, must readily apprehend the earth-sculpturing, landscape-making action of flowing ice. And here too, one learns that the world, though made, is yet being made; that this is still the morning of creation; that mountains long conceived are now being born, channels traced for coming rivers, basins hollowed for lakes."

Tolkien and Rowling.

The last two books I have read are Harry Potter year 1 and 2. Before that I read Lord of the Rings. It's been an interesting back to back series. J.R.R. can write extremely well. He tells a great story and moves me with the words that he uses. J.K. doesn't really know how to write. It's just the case. She tells a good story and creates wonderful characters, but doesn't have any capacity to command the language (for God's sake leave adverbs alone unless you know how to use them!).
But that's no surprise.
Here are some things that I have thought of in these reading experiences:
LOTR is a book about Sam having children. That's really it. Everything in the series is family, but Sam's in particular.
Harry Potter is pretty funny, which I didn't expect. Fred and George are sweet. Does every book make the school hate Harry and think he's bad and then turns out he's actually the good and saving guy?
Do you think that Sam goes to the Grey Havens as it said in the appendix? It leaves it open as a tale of legend, which is definitely a part of LOTR, and I think he does, but I like how it could just be legend.
Everyone says Rowling hits her stride in year 3, which I hope is true. I have enjoyed the first two books, but to be honest, not all that much.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Believe it or not, Luminous has been around for a whole year as of last Saturday, June 30th. Thanks to all of you who have come by and read our ranting and raving and a special thanks to those of you who humor us by posting comments every now and then. The ZF's and Luminous would be nothing without you.

Other notable birthday's on June 30th:

Susan Hayward, Actress in the movie adaptation of "Valley of the Dolls" written by Jacqueline Susann, whose birthday is not June 30th but August 20th and interestingly enough also tried to become an actress after being a successful writer wasn't enough.

Frank Marcus (a.k.a. Frank Ulrich Marcus) playwright/critic, and author of "The Killing of Sister George" which I believe was popular at one time, long before I was born, he has likely written other things as well...look into him if you are interested. (b. 1928)

& "Iron" Mike Tyson, youngest heavyweight boxing champ (b. 1966)--who has no relation to books, as far as I know...

Because People like Potter

A first edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone sold for 18,000 bucks. That's a lot of money for a book that's, what, 10 years old? If I had a copy, I would sell it. The initial run of Philosopher's Stone produced between 500 and 1000 copies.
I'm getting excited about the new film, and have even been throwing around the idea of reading the books this summer if someone wants to donate the series to me.

Meanwhile, I wonder what I could get for my first edition copy of Seven Story Mountain, by Thomas Merton. Probably 50 dollars. If only millions and millions and millions of adults and children worldwide would go crazy of over a Catholic monk's autobiography written 60 years ago...then I could pay off some credit cards

Rushdie becomes sir Rushdie. This upsets people.

Salman Rushdie has been knighted, and the peeps who wanted him dead before have been reminded why they wanted him dead to begin with (it wasn't the broadway version of Midnight's Children, but according to my Rushdie class Professor, it may as well have been). Protesting has flared up to denounce the Queen's decision, made because of Rushdie's contribution to literature. Three of his books are awesome, so I won't fight it.

Two become One...

Many of you were witnesses, some 15 months ago, to mine and Czf's marriage...thought by all to be the moment in which we joined ourselves together...through thick and thin...till death do us part.

I am here to tell you, this past weekend, we officially embarked on our greatest union yet. The bringing together of our libraries! Czf has been pushing this merge for sometime, but clearly his fear of commitment is nowhere near mine. Albeit, through some series of events, which I now recall with only the smallest amount of clarity, I agreed to the merger. Friday night we sought out our V5 ballpoint pens and initialed all of our books in preparation for the great amalgamation. And then, we did it. Thinking it a good idea for me to start the process so that I couldn't blame anyone later for going against my will, I personally took the first step and inter-mixed all four of our copies of Jane Austen’s “Pride & Prejudice.” It was a little daunting but not horrible. Though I admit I left at that point for a bit of “fresh air” and Czf finished the rest of the mingleation. So, it is done. Our two libraries have become one and Czf and I are now officially together no matter what. And you know, it looks pretty good too.

On that note, I will buy anyone a beer who can guess which author we have the most work by.

As of yesterday I am officially a student. Which means a few things for you...

1. Unless some sort of miracle intervenes there will be little to no extra-circular reading taking place for me.

2. The reading that will be taking place will be very specific to libraries, of which I doubt most of you are all that interested in.

3. The combo of 1 & 2 means if I post about anything it will most likely be about libraries.

4. If you don't want this to happen you can choose one of two roads...
--more travelled...stop visiting luminous.

--less travelled but better...send me a little written response to the books you are reading. The "responses" don't have to be up to par with the writing of those you are reading, just a little sometin'-sometin' for your friends to read about and tell you, you are wrong for thinking that way...it's real fun, I promise.

On that note, I've kicked off my school reading with the most recent Library Trends Journal subtitled, "Libraries in Times of War, Revolution, and Social Change." Awesome.

Lastly, I finished "The Name of The Rose." Also awesome.

Harry Potter Casts Money-Losing Spell on Bookstores.

The new Harry Potter book is upsetting bookstore owners. The book is going to sell 9-10billion copies, but according to this article from Reuters the stores won't be making any money. '"Everywhere you go there is huge, ridiculous discounting by the chains," said Graham Marks, children's editor at the British-based trade magazine Publishing News. "They are literally not going to make one penny out of the book. It is stupid -- just throwing money away ... The world has gone mad."'
Apparently Wal-Mart and Amazon, Borders and Barnes&Noble can afford to slash the prices so far that competing bookstores are also forced to cut their prices just to sell their copies. "A lot of independent bookstores won't be selling Potter. They say it would be cheaper to buy it from a supermarket than the publisher."

on a side note, Harry Potter appears to like BlocParty, which is cool.

Puke!

Well, I don't know how to feel about this...Oprah (I cringe to even put her name on here) has picked the next book for her book club, Middlesex by Jeffery Eugenides. I suppose this is good for Eugenides, his sales will skyrocket because for some reason people listen to her. I just wish he had pulled Franzen on her...sigh. But, apparently if you delcine an invitation by The "O" you are outcast from society.... Yes people, this is the same "O" who is obsessed with The Secret. If you don't know what the The Secret is consider yourself blessed. The author argues that all you have to do to achieve success is think it. For example, "If you want to be skinner, start thinking skinny. And stop looking at Fat people." I wonder if that was the method Oprah took to lose all her fat?

Either way, Middlesex is a great book and you should read it, if you haven't already.

Assault on Reason

Al Gore's new book, The Assault on Reason, came out this week. There is an excerpt in Time Magazine if anyone else is interested. The three pages in Time are quite good.
But I wanted to mention a wonderful, wonderful sight from Tuesday. At the large university I attend there was a group of students holding signs, apparently boycotting Al Gore, or his book, or something. I didn't talk to them. But one of the signs being held up read:
"JUST LIKE THE LUDDITES OF THE 19TH CENTURY AL GORE REPRESENTS THE DESTRUCTION OF HUMANITY."
I'm serious. The sign which was boycotting a book called the Assault on Reason made the above argument. It might be one of my all time favorite protest signs. It shows a committment to creativity while extending absolutely no interest in what the Luddites, or Al Gore, represent. Priceless.
waste some time with animated Al Gore:
To see Al Gore argue with Bender about Global Warming, click here.
To see what the world would be like if Al Gore won the 2000 election, click here.

Go Tell It On The Mountain

I recently read Go Tell It On The Mountain by James Baldwin for One Book, One Chicago. I haven't actually meet anyone else in the city who read or is reading the book, not even so much as a passer-by on the train, which is a shame. Because it's a brilliant novel. The heart of the story takes place on the main character, John Grime's, 14th birthday. Each section flashes back to an earlier time in the life of John's elders, the very people who are shaping his own life. The stories are heartbreaking, particularly when you know that Baldwin admitted to the book being a sort of biography of his own life. Langston Hughes summed the novel and Baldwin's writing perfectly when he said, Baldwin "is thought-provoking, tantalizing, irritating, abusing and amusing. And he uses words as the sea uses waves, to flow and beat, advance and retreat, rise and take a bow in disappearing...the thought becomes poetry and the poetry illuminates the thought." Damn. I would love to read another one of his books, but he has quite a few, does anyone have any recommendations for me?

One last piece of good news, Go Tell It On The Mountain was Baldwin's first novel, published at the age of 30. This means all you slacker's out there who didn't live up to Keats still have a chance of writing the great American novel.

Encyclopedia of Life

An initiative to create a multi-media Encyclopedia of every living species was announced today. Right now that means 1.8 million animals, plants, and other forms of life. But the number of living species grows daily, for example we currently know of 4-5 thousand different species of Beetles but it is suspected that there could be up to a million more out there that we don't know about. Needless to say, nothing like this has ever been done before and it will take a massive global effort to even come close to achieving the reality. Dr. James Edwards who today was officially named Executive Director of the Encyclopedia of Life backs me up on my last statement, “[Amber is right,] through collaboration, we all can increase our appreciation of the immense variety of life, the challenges to it, and ways to conserve biodiversity. The Encyclopedia of Life will ultimately make high-quality, well-organized information available on an unprecedented level. Even five years ago, we could not create such a resource, but advances in technology for searching, annotating, and visualizing information now permit us, indeed mandate us to build the Encyclopedia of Life.” You can watch a video about the project at their official webpage.

The Yiddish Policemen's Union

I did not know until today that Micahel Chabon had a new book, The Yiddish Policemen's Union, and it's even out in paperback! How sad. Some of you, I know, met Chabon a few years back, I know this because I was there with you. But if you weren't so lucky, Borders has a online book club thingy, of which their latest pick was The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Mr. Chabon, and you can watch the whole event unravel right at your desk while at the same time getting all the Chabon you ever wanted. (Side note: His facial expressions are much more notable when you can actually see his face.) Still, the new book sounds dramatic and steamy and very Chabonish. It takes place in Alaska during and following WWII. The questions he is asking, "How different would the world be today if we had allowed all those persecuted Jews populate Alaska until the war was over?" So, read it and report back already would ya? Or maybe you have already read it, it has been out for a while after all.

Oh and thanks to the internet I found Chabon's personal calender, it turns out he is going to be doing a reading in Chicago soon. That is Mon May 21 6pm @ the Chicago Public Library, 400 S State St, Chicago, IL . Be there, or else.

Okay fine, if you live in Minnesota and you do not want to drive down and attend the event with the ZF's you can still see Chabon. He will be at the Fitzgerald Theater, 10 E. Exchange Street, St. Paul on Tue May 22 @ 7pm.

**Chabon on the mind** Terry Gross interviews Michael Chabon today on Fresh Air. You can stream the episode at the shows website.

What are you eating?

AZF and I made a recent book purchase that I have been reading in free moments throughout the past four days. It's called What To Eat. It cuts through all the fat and tells you what's what (cuts the fat, come on). I've been thinking more and more about what we eat and what the consequences of those decisions are. It's not as much a hippification of dietary habits so much as, seriously, is it really hard to just be healthier and more aware? It's like the environment. Even if the world will not be destroyed by global warming, what's the big deal with treating the earth better? Same with food. There is no negative impact in learning a little more and doing things a little better. The opposite, however, we know has such negative impacts. And the 35 billions pounds of chicken breasts this country eats annually can't be helping our hearts.
(this is probably the most political I will ever be able to get on Luminous, so I'm taking it.)

White Noise

I finally finished my first Don Delillo novel! I say finished, instead of read, because I've picked up most of his novels at least once, so I've read plenty of his novels, but I never seem to finish them. White Noise I had picked up at least twice before I was finally able to get all the way through. That said, I am aware that most of you have strong feelings about White Noise, strong positive feelings, so I want to clarify that this isn't a book bash. I am going to blame my unlove on a few things and well see if we can meet in the middle somewhere.

1. I'm told old, I don't have that dreamy college student thing going for me anymore. Point being, it just not as easy to get wrapped up in the world of White Noise, or the fame that DeLillo has.
2. Americana Literature: in general I find it "obvious". Please don't shoot! Maybe it's that it so NOT obvious I can't even being to grasp it.
3. Too many years of too much hype. Lets face it, people have been talking about how great White Noise (and Delillo in general) is for so long that it would just be impossible for me to find it as great as the build up.

So here's the thing, I didn't hate White Noise, but I definitely didn't love it. There were parts that were rather humors and I did actually laugh out loud on the train (you can imagine how embarrassing that is) and of course the writing is obviously the product of someone who is very talented.

That's not enough to make you love a book though. I was left wondering what the point was. Maybe it's that Delillo is trying to make us really look at our American way and all our White Noise, well I get that, I mean I am actually a part of this society, but then what? What does he want us to do besides admit we are so distracted we don't even know ourselves? This is how I usually feel about Americana lit (see point 2)(not that I have read a ton of it.) I spend 300 or so pages with your book but its all just to point out the obvious. I don't need a book to be reminded that I spend 9 hours a day on a computer, I read books to get away from that.

As contrived as the ending was, I did kind of like it, but it came long after I assumed there would be nothing redemptive about Jack's character. I am sure someone wants to fight me on that comment, and I wholly welcome it, please tell me why I'm so so wrong. And what does Wilder's tricycle ride across the interstate signify?

Erik Larson in the White City Tonight.

For those of you who live in Chicago, Erik Larson will be sharing anecdotes and 'war stories' derived from his books Devil in the White City and Thunderstruck tonight at the Crown Auditorium Theater. Admission is free and it should be a good time. Personally, I found Devil in the White City to be one of the more gripping stories I have read in the past few years. His writing brings alive that feeling of excitement that surly came with building a new city--making you feel like you just stumbled across some previously inconceivable technology. While at the same time being let in on the twisted events of one of the country's scariest mass murderers. The best part about it, it's non-fiction. And if you are fortunate enough to live in the White City while reading it, you can spend your lunch breaks looking for old Daniel Burnham buildings--and you probably aren't alone.

And speaking of going to readings, I am wondering what authors all our Luminous readers have been fortunate (or unfortunate) enough to have heard speak. I have not been to too many readings myself but I think Dave Eggars (the first time) is still my favorite.

UPDATE: For a man who has proven himself to be a master in writing about murders Erik Larson was surprisingly (and welcoming) socially adept, not to mention very funny and horrifyingly intelligent albeit not in that cocky way some people are. I had a great time, and no, not just because he called George Bush, Julius Ceaser.

Cormac McCarthy wins Pulitzer

The 2007 Pulitzer prizes were anounced, and the winner for fiction is The Road, by Cormac McCarthy. I am surprised to see our beloved WH has not posted upon this over at pandas, but seeing as he has gone AWOL from the blogosphere, here it is.
From what I understand The Road is a dark, violent book, scathing at times, horrible, yet you know hopeful (some say). For example, here is a quote lifted from the review by Publisher's Weekly: "Beyond the ever-present possibility of starvation lies the threat of roving bands of cannibalistic thugs." I guess it only seems appropriate to see The Road end up on Oprah's Book List, then. If you have read The Road and want to discuss the deeper messages McCarthy finds within this dark and troubling story, please direct your comments here.


Here is a complete list of the Pulitzer Winners. (I had my money on Debbie Cenziper from the Miami Herald to win best local reporting. It was Debbie's year).

The Devil and The Angels

Emak and I are taking a class this time around entitled Angels and Devils in Medieval Literature. It's pretty awesome, if you like reading Anglo-Saxon poems in prose translations (which everyone knows is not the way to read them, but do you know Anglo-Saxon?)
Our texts include the aptly named LUCIFER, ANGLO-SAXON POETRY, the wonderful VISIONS OF HEAVEN AND HELL BEFORE DANTE, and of course, DANTE.
Medieval representations of the devil are pretty damn awesome. It's not like that's news or something, but it's still worth noting. I've become a pretty big fan of the Harrowing of Hell as a theological precept from the day. It allows for me to get Judas into heaven without having to committ any grave acts of heresy. Except for maybe getting Judas to heaven. Just read the Gospel of Nicodemus.

Kurt Vonnegut, book writer, humorist, dies

I learned my lesson last time I mentioned the death of a certain philosopher to use no wit or humor when reporting these stories. So this time, I will just link to the story from the Old Grey Lady about the death of Kurt Vonnegut. He was 84.
Here's a wonderful little note from the Times about the same author who wrote Slaughter House Five. "To Mr. Vonnegut, the only possible redemption for the madness and apparent meaninglessness of existence was human kindness." Or, as Mr. Rosewater puts it in God Bless you Mr. Rosewater, "God-damn it, you've got to be kind."


So. Mr. Vonnegut, adieu.
I found this picture on Google. It seemed appropriate.

Kurt Vonnegut Dies

Kurt Vonnegut died last night in Manhattan at the age of 84. According to the New York Times, his wife, Jill Krementz, said that after a fall several weeks ago, the author had suffered brain injuries. Born in 1922, Vonnegut was the youngest of three children and lived through the Depression, his mother's suicide, and being captured as a prisoner of war during World War II. His famous book, Slaughterhouse-Five, is based on his experience during the war. After the war, Vonnegut worked as a newspaper reporter and studied at the University of Chicago before his first book, Player Piano, was published in 1952. Vonnegut, who wrote fiction, plays and essays, is known for his 14 novels including Slaughterhouse-Five, Cat's Cradle and God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater.

HIP! HIP!

CZFinke took his MA Comprehensive Exam on Saturday, there was lots of reading and studying that went into the test over the last five months!! And lots of partying when it was over! Lets all give him a big pat on the back...blogger style!

In case you haven't already read

The Road by Cormac McCarthy, now is your chance. Oprah has made it her most recent book club pick. Dear oh dear she annoys the crap out of me...

And if you live in Chicago (or Illinois in general) the new One Book, One Chicago pick has been selected: Go Tell It On The Mountain by James Baldwin. I haven't previously participated in One Book, One Chicago-- but I plan to this time around and I am awfully excited about it. It has proven in the past to be a great way to unite our large and diverse city AND Chicago (i.e. Daley) sponsors all sorts of great (AND FREE) lectures and films surrounding the book pick. (Truth be told, I don't think anyone in Chicago reads this blog--so mostly I am writing to express how excited I am to read this book.)


And another book club option , which can have a bit of action via luminous if you are so interested, White Noise by Don DeLillo. I am reading the book here in my home city with a few other friends who also haven't read it yet, I think we are the last people alive to have not read it, which leaves me hoping many of you will have all sorts of opinions about it.

Tolkien Jr. finishes Tolkien Sr.'s final Lord of the Rings book

Children of Hurin, the last book J.R.R. Tolkien began in the Lord of the Rings series, in 1971, has been finished and will be published next month. What? I don't know anything about Christopher Tolkien, but could the stakes be any higher? Is there a more beloved series than Lord of the Rings?

Here's another story from the old grey lady about Tolkien fans and Children of Hurin.

Stanley Cavell and the end of the exam series

As the 7 people who stop in at Luminous know, I have been studying for my comprehnsive exam for my masters. Now, it's down to the wire, 7 more days to study and read from those wonderful texts I can nearly recite backwards. "wife a of want in be must, forutne good a of possession in man single a that, acknowledged universally truth a is It." See.
Anyway. I've been reading (over and over) Stanley Cavell's chapter on It Happened One Night from Pursuits of Happiness. He's pretty smart. I'm in to posting pictures of these scholars and philosophers. It makes a litte impression on me when I've been reading these people, and eventually to come around and take a look. They are usually older, white, often bespectacled, balding. Stanley here appears to be clutching his chest, which is never a good sign. Just hacking on you Professor Cavell. Love your work.


This isn't that interesting. Well it's a bit interesting to me.

The Year of Magical Thinking

I picked up Joan Didion's most recent work this past weekend, The Year of Magical Thinking, and basically plowed through it. I found the book very moving and comforting, but how could you not? Its so personal and about such a difficult subject. I suppose the big shocker for me was that someone could have the ability to give others such a detailed inside look at their grief. In this case, it seems very self sacrificing--I suppose I think that because so many of the people who will pick it will be doing so because they need something to relate to, but personally I just don't know how she did it.

Here is an interview with Didion if you are interested.