New Years 2006!!

The Newest of Newly Married Couples, and oh so cute!

Craig and Mandar, looking sexy!

...and a few drinks later!

Susan & Mystery Guest.

David feeling a little disoriented the next morning!

Part I of III, Some Books I've Read:

It's been a while since I've written about any books I've read so I thought I would do a little highlight of the past few months reading...

The Master and Margarita, Mikhail Bulgokov: Despite taking me over two months to finish this beast of a book I can finally re-shelve it's beaten self back on my book shelf. The first half went horribly slow for me, I would read a few pages on the train and get nowhere with it, every chapter seemed to introduce a new character and I just couldn't get into it. But luckily the holiday break gave me plenty of time to finish it up and the second half not only breezed by but was rather enjoyable. It was funny, smart, enjoyably philosophical and had a fun-loving Devil right in the middle of it all, what more could a girl ask for over her Christmas break? I only wish I had read the whole thing with such enjoyment. The end wasn't quite as great as I expected. I had heard all sorts of fabulous comments about how great it turned out, but I found myself a bit confused, maybe because the Devil didn't fit my stereotype, who knows? What about those of you that have read it? I'm interested to hear what you think about the pace of the book and how it all came together. In the end, I can happily say that this book continues in holding up my love of Russia as depicted in novels. What a great place.

Unless, Carol Shields: I loved loved loved this book. Charissa recommended it to me and what a wonderful recommendation it was. Unless was the last book Shields (pulitzer prize winner) wrote before she died of cancer. Her reflections on being a writer and what it means to live your life in a worthwhile manner are expressed quite eloquently through her characters story. Personally I couldn't help but often get the impression that she wasn't really writing a fiction novel but scratching her frustrations down in a journal that she just happened to publish. Of course there very much is a story line that is fictional and it too is heartbreaking. Her main character, Reta Winter is a 44 year old writer whose oldest daughter up and dropped out of university one day to sit on a street corner in Toronto with a sign that says "goodness". It's an amazing story and the ending only reaffirms that. The point is, read it. It's well worth it and it'll only take you a couple days at the most.

Leaving Microsoft to Change the World, John Wood: I discovered this book while listening to NPR back in my jobless days. The author was talking with Terry Gross (I think) describing the experiences he had that led him to give up a very high ranking position with Microsoft to bring books to remote areas of the East for children who had never even so much as seen dreamed they would get a chance to hold one in their tiny little hands. I picked it up right away (AND IT'S ONLY OUT IN HARDCOVER!!) and fell head over heels in love with this man and his organization, Room to Read. For someone who loves books and is interested in libraries as well, John Wood is a God-send. His NGO is only five years old but is spreading like wild fire. They have built over 3,000 libraries for children in the developing world and reached 1.1 Million children's lives, from new libraries to schools to scholarships for girls. It's an incredible organization, that just doesn't take no for an answer. And lets just be honest, how can you not love someone who gives their life to make the world a better place for children?

Happy Boxing Day!

Howdy blogger friends and family. I write to you from Fido Cafe in Nashville, Tennessee. We are spending this years holidays south of the Mason Dixon line. And oh what a holiday it's been! Due to a series of unfortunate events we haven't done much but read for the past several days, but I suppose that's a good thing in a way. I'm finally finishing up The Master and Margarita (to be reported on soon) and CZF has found himself reading The Boyfriend School and Hamlet...you wouldn't believe how well they go together. We hope y'all had a very merry holiday and of course, we love you dearly!

Also, prayers for my Pappaw, who is in the hospital, are greatly appreciated!

For those of you that care:

You can go to J.K. Rowling's site learn the name of the last Harry Potter book. Although, I'm warning you-- it's a highly annoying process. I suppose it depends on how much you care. Oh, and here is Dumbledore's hat...hope it helps.

Best of Luck!

For those of you that clearly aren't wizards here is a little help...
-click on the pink eraser.
-click on the door at the end of the hallway in the mirror.
-click on the top part of the big door in the foreground.
-click on the ceiling of the hallway in the mirror.
-click on the spiderwebs
-click and hold the wind chime that is second to the right, when it turns into a key drag it and unlock the door.
-from there you are on your own, if you still can't do it, I don't know what to tell you.

Did you know?

A few days ago I was wandering around the internet, which usually has something to do with google, because google is amazing. And I came across this. OH MY GOD! Not just amazing but FREAKIN' Amazing!

So, I thought I would pass some time during this final week of work for the year (its been slow with all the students at home) by looking over some of the books on my to read list like Name of the Rose & Last Temptation of Christ (um, Kazantzakis has museum!) sadly, they were no where to be found on the site. Turns out Google Books is just a baby, but maybe some day and how awesome is that?!

Although, I should say there are some rather interesting reads on there like this and this. Maybe you have one or two to add...

Movie question

Sorry book people, but I'm going to abuse this forum for a moment to solicit some much-needed advice. And I thought y'all would probably have some good ideas. I am having a movie watching party, part of a series of cheesy but funny foreign movies like Bride and Prejudice and Shaolin Soccer, and am going to make ethnic food to go with it. But this time I am kind of stumped on choosing a movie/country theme. So... any ideas? Something hilarious and also possibly Christmassy? Thankssssss

Friends...

I have a request, in an attempt to get to know you all better, I would like to know what your all time favorite book is. I have plans to compile your answers, add them to the "books I plan to read list," and then someday, hopefully sooner rather than later I will have the time and opportunity to read it. At which point we can discuss, and since it's your favorite book, I'm sure it will be a mutual discussion.

And in case you all want to do the same, my favorite book, if you haven't already read it, is Crime and Punishment, though I must confess its been about three years since I read it last.

Love you.

My apologies...

I'm here to say sorry. Sorry for quitting the blog when my computer quit. Sorry for neglecting you all when you did nothing but love me and post to my delight. There was a subconscious tie between the computer and the blog and I just couldn't bring myself to create new posts on foreign computers.

But good news! CZF bought me the best Christmas present to date. A very pretty new lappy top top. And with that I'm back.

So, it's that time again, I want to know what you are reading. Any good history books I should know about. Or amazing fiction that I've never heard of. I want it all!! Gim'me! Gim'me!!

Can you name this man?

Is it:
A) Father Time
2) Saint Nick aka Kris Kringle
D) Old Man Winter
or)Walt Whitman


p.s. God I'm bored.

Forster v. Dickens

As many know, I have been on a little crush of Charles Dickens since reading Bleak House. So any mention of Dickens (usually they are negative, I find) peaks my interest.
While reading a chapter from Anatomy of Criticism, by Northrop Frye, I came across this delightful jab at the anti-Dickensians while Frye was talking about the comic use of repetition.

"Mr. E.M. Forster speaks with disdain of Dickens's Mrs. Micawber, who never says anything except that she will never desert Mr. Micawber: a strong contrast is marked here between the refined writer to finicky for popular formulas, and the major one who exploits them ruthlessly."

That's it. Just a little note since the blog has been a bit slower as of late.

A Reading List of My Own-unless you care to join me

So. As AZF and ScarlettZ and a few others embark on the pleasures of reading The Last Temptation of Christ, I will be spending my holiday break reading for MA Comprehensive Exam. As far as reading lists go, it's not too many pages and it's not too much new material. But there is one book on the list that I will be embarrassed to have read, let alone to read it for my comp exam. See if you can pick it out.
The theme of the exam is romantic comedy--definitions and discourse on love, meanings and constructions of lover and beloved, the stakes of marriage, socially sanctioned form of affect and relationships. So. That's okay.

The List:
Much Ado About Nothing-Shakespeare
Songs and Sonnets; Elegy 19-John Donne
Pride & Prejudice-Jane Austen
Importance of Being Earnest-Oscar Wilde
Complete Love Poems-May Swenson
The Boyfriend School-Sarah Bird

Yeah.
There's also a handful of scholarship to read. Stanley Cavell, Nancy Vickers, Hawthorne, Henry James, Northrop Frye.

Seriously. You want to read my comp list with me. You know you do. When will you ever get another valid reason to read the Boyfriend School?

Clack-Clack

Now that my quarter is over, my final papers are written and the worlds of Milton/Lillo scholarship are one step closer to perfection I have decided to read Buechner's Alphabet of Grace one more time. The rest of my winter break will be the reading list for my comp. exam. But for right now, I am loving Buechner.

You wake up out of the huge crevasses of the night and your dreaming. You get out of bed, wash and dress, eat breakfast, say goodbye and go away never maybe to return for all you know, to work, talk, lust, pray, dawdle and do, and at the end of the day, if your luck holds, you come home again, home again. Then night again. Bed. The little death of sleep, sleep of death. Morning, afternoon, evening--the hours of the day, of any day, of your day and my day. The alphabet of Grace. If there is a god who speaks anywhere, surely he speaks here.

Don't mean to get all heavy-handed and dramatic. It's just so lovely a book.

Don't forget to Vote (for jesus)

Taking a break from books to remind those who are not too stupid to register before the deadline to vote. Those of us who are too stupid will remain nameless.

I know we've seen this picture before, but i still think its hilarious, and it's been cleaned up a bit since I last came across it.

The Last Temptation of Christ

If any of y'all want to join Amber's and my cozy little reading club (and when I say cozy, I mean very, very intimate-- probably just Amber and myself in the end), we are planning on reading The Last Temptation of Christ for the end of December. So, start reading and you, too, can be part of that discussion. Yeah!

Greatest. Title. Ever.

We are reading the "She Stoops to Conquer," written by Oliver Goldsmith in 1771. He was desperate for cash, frantically wrote this play (as I've come to understand it) and everyone thought it would be a disaster. Instead, it was an un-rivaled success, becoming the most popular non-Shakespeare written play in English history. It has been in production every season since it was written.
Can you fucking believe that.
And, the title kicks ass.

Quick Question:

I've been wanting to read something by Margret Atwood but I'm not sure where to being. I was wondering if any of you are fans or have at least read a book of hers that you could recommend to me?

I wanted to mention this play, The London Merchant, written by George Lillo in 1731, in light of the last discussion here. It's what my professor called a "New Tragedy," due to the fact that it is the tragedy of an apprentice and a harlot, not the high folk of tragedies past.
Robert Hume would say The London Merchant takes place in "Melodramaland," the play is filled with morals and christianity and mercy and grace, and characters like Thorowgood and Trueman. It takes itself clearly from the pages of Paradise Lost, Hamlet and Macbeth. It is a play that should be all those things FR laments in the previous conversation.
But it is absolutely brilliant. I had not read this play before yesterday, but I think this is the stuff that i stand on when i support the sentimental and the melodramatic.

Frazier, Charles

All this talk about books I haven't read reminds me another book I haven't read, and want to read. High upon my list it is, though little knowledge about it, have I. (god i'm bored).
The book is Thirteen Moons by Charles Frazier, author of the wonderful Cold Mountain.
Does anyone know anything about this? Is it supposed to be any good? I thought, all this Cormac McCarthy talk, we shouldn't forget other people.
Like Charles Frazier, or Herman from Herman's Head. Remember that show? Whatever happened to Herman?

In the thread of...

It's been a big week for prizes in literature. Today the Nobel Prize for Literature was awarded to Orhan Pamuk. He is the first person from Turkey to win the Nobel prize for literature. Which is pretty exciting. Particularly because of the state of the world right now, namely whats going on in the Middle East, but clearly I didn't need to spell that out for you. The Nobel prize committee describes his writing as one, "who in the quest for the melancholic soul of his native city has discovered new symbols for the clash and interlacing of cultures". A list of his works (along with publishing dates) can be found here. And a comprehensive list of past winners for literature can be found here.

In case any of you want to talk about it...

Man Booker What?

In case you didn't remember the significance of today I am here to remind you. Today the the Man Booker 2006 winner gets announced. The official press release was at 10 am in London on BBC1. Which was many a hour since its nearly 12 in Chicago. Yet somehow I can't figure out who won. It's not on the Booker website, nor on BBC1. Let me know if you hear anything.

In eager anticipation,
azf

UPDATE: Kiran Desai is announced winner of the Man Booker Prize for Fiction 2006.

The Dive From Clausen's Pier

As you all already know, I am reading The Master and Margarita right now. But before I picked that up I was reading, rather vigorously I would say, The Dive From Clausen's Pier by Anne Packer. This is her first novel, but before it she wrote for The New Yorker and had a collection of short stories, Mendocino and Other Stories, which I believe she won some awards for--but don't quote me on that. The novel follows one young woman's post college search to find where in the world she belongs, which sounds kinda cheesy, but that's my own fault, not Packer's. The book centers around one highly debatable ethical question: how much of ourselves are we required to give to others? And when do we have to put ourselves first? A review from The New Yorker describes it this way:

At the start of this quietly engrossing début novel, twenty-three-year-old Carrie Bell is tiring of her stalled life in Madison, Wisconsin, and her bland, relentlessly loving boyfriend of eight years' standing. When a dive into the local reservoir leaves him paralyzed from the neck down, she flees to Manhattan, where she takes shelter with a group of wannabe artists in a decaying Chelsea brownstone and falls for an elusive older man. The journey is a familiar one, but Packer fleshes it out with a naturalist's vigilance for detail, so that her characters seem observed rather than invented, and capable of mistakes that the author may never have intended. The result is genuine suspense, as Carrie feels her way toward the truth about herself, and what it means to be a moral being.

I'm can't out-right recommend this book to everyone, obvioulsy, because what book can be recommened with such overarching confidence (besdies this one) but I will say that I really really enjoyed it and if, when recalling the past, you find that you often like the same books as I do, then it would be well worth your while to pick it.

RIP: AZF's Computer

Things have slowed down a bit on the blog, I am sure you noticed. It is due to the untimely demise of AZ's computer. Tragically, it has expired. But reading has not expired, nor has CZF's ability (and he excels at this) to sit on a computer at work and not do much.
So. AZ has started The Master and Margarita, which I know some of you have read, and there is and endless amount of discussability there. Jesus and Pontius, the upright cat with the monocle, the devil and the master and all that great stuff. I find that this novel, though I have forgotten much of it, has left very strong images in my mind, which I'll probably never forget.
Or, if that doesn't interest you, Book IV and V of Paradise Lost, which I am reading.
Or, Latin. Convenire meus amicis cupio et amor deusque dissere.

(how's that for elementary latin.)

Blindness

"For the latter, blindness did not mean being plunged into banal darkness, but living inside a luminous halo." - Jose Saramago

Okay, so that quote might be a little out of context for those of you who haven't read Blindness yet, but I couldn't resist it. To any of you who are looking for a book that will pull you in after the first page, I highly recommend this book. It has a creepy post-apocalyptic feel to it, to which I can't say too much about with out giving away the ending. But I will say, pick it up! It's a quick read, and well worth it. If you want a short synopsis, here is a link to one of my favorite websites to help you out. And if you have read it, I would love to talk about one chapter in particular and the ending. Jeez. What a freaky book.

Milton, revisited.

So I'm taking a Milton class this fall. Which is great. But in yesterday's class, a discussion occurred, of which I was the instigator. Basically, it revolved around the modern reader's inability to recognize medieval and early modern texts for what they are. Something that annoys me, and I think says a lot about myself as a possible future academic, is that many (of course not all) students are unwilling to read in earnest what is simply the writings of belief. Yesterday there was very little sincerity conveyed on Milton's characters, or on Milton. Instead he was given the crushing title, Naive. It's Cute, Laughable, Naive, but come on, take it seriously, that such a brilliant man could hold so strongly to such naive precepts as Protestant Christianity, come on.
My professor called this problem the inability of modern readers to break from the Hermeneutic of Suspicion, to be unwilling to be deeply moved by the sincerity of Milton's belief, while simultaneously being moved by his skill as a poet. Instead we distance ourselves from anything that requires earnestness on our part, and analyze to death what was originally meant to inspire.
If we can't do that, or are unwilling to do it, then I think these texts are dead. In all of this, big props to DR, who taught his students that these texts are first moving, to the point of tears; they are tragic and beautiful (if a bit remote from current thinking) and only second, are they academic fodder.
This is a rant.
thanks for listening.
Yours truly.

The First book of the Americas

Since this is a blog about books, I thought I would link to this story which is about the finding of the oldest known text in the Americas.

From what I can tell, I think it was the grasshopper that stole the bandaids, which caused the ice-cream cones to melt, and all the mail to go undelivered. I've never trusted grasshoppers.

Now For The Shortlist.

You may remember that really intruiging post I made a while ago about The Booker Long List being announced. Well, the time has come. The Short List is finally here. But David Mitchell is not. Sad. Here are the books:

The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai


The Secret River by Kate Grenville



Carry Me Down by M.J. Hyland



In the Country of Men by Hisham Matar



Mother’s Milk by Edward St Aubyn




The Night Watch by Sarah Waters

What? Already.

What you have heard is true, although being the smarties that you are I'm sure you never doubted it, especially if you read pandas. Cormac McCarthy has a novel coming out at the end of the month, The Road, September 26th to be exact, so now is the time to pre-order it, that is, if any of you happen to be on the edge of your seat about it....

So my reason for commenting is that it seems odd to me that he has two books coming on in just over a year. Hadn't it been years since he had last published a book? What changed? Two in a year, jeez. Who is this man, its not like he's putting out albums?

On that note, I'm off to read the last chapter of Blindness (which I will report on in the coming days) and then finally all this time later, at the probing of whb, I will start All the Pretty Horses. The question is, will I team up with him and drive you all nuts? Or, maybe just be at a complete loss...we shall see.


Anyone else read it?

Books?

I'm curious, since everyone is spread all over the place, and I don't know the minor details of most of your lives, what books have you been reading lately? Anything good? Stuff to stay away from?

Update:

For those of you who ran out and read "Under The Banner of Heaven" after I raved about in on the blog (who am I kidding?) you will be happy to celebrate the capture of Warren Jeffs with the rest of who are flabbergasted by the actions of this man. Sadly, my pessimistic self doubts this will make a big difference in the community, but who knows, I would love to be wrong. At least there is one less person out there who is promoting this behavior.

Hemingway's Bell Tolls for Me.

And its about time! My reading comes in these very predictable patters. I pick up one amazing book, love it. And then become so lucky as to find myself on what we might call a "roll." I become a rage reader, reading nearly ever second that I can spare. Cloud Atlas, Devil in the White City, Assassination Vacation, Life of Pi...of course, it can't go on forever. A mediocre book must come along (sometimes even a flat out awful book comes). I always know it's coming, but never when. This last time around I got arrogant with my succession of great books and decided to experiment, to pick up a book I read about in a news letter at the local independent book store. You all already heard me rant about The Memory Keeper's Daughter thus there is no need to go in repetitive detail. The point I am trying to make here is that when I hit that red light it throws me completely out of whack. It takes me the longest time to get into another book. And what a shame. It's like starting from scratch, I pick up five or six books against my own will, read the first twenty pages and find myself completely unamused, just waiting to finally getting hooked. And this my friends, can take weeks. So, if you have been wondering where I ran off to, and how I could forget all about my dear blog, know that my heart has been breaking too.

The good news is, I am finally back in the game. For Whom The Bell Tolls. And I hardly thought this would be the book. In all honesty, I have read The Sun Also Rises on two different occasions and never really got into it. Obviously not Hemingway's fault, he's a writer unto his own and I greatly respect his talents. The Old Man in the Sea was a wonderful read but I was a young woman on a stunning sailboat in the Caribbean, how could I not love it? But alas, I am chipper to report, my fifty-fifty experience with Hemingway has swung into the positive. So no worries, I have returned. And I missed you too.

One more thing: if any of you have read anything lately that I must read, I'm taking suggestions. I don't want to fall back into my slump and I'm counting on you to keep me out of it. To encourage you to help me out, I hear by promise, if I read the book you suggest to me, whenever I mention (insert your recommendation here) in a conversation or on a blog, I will give you full credit of so kindly advising me on that brilliant book, thereby forever accrediting you with cunning and wit unparalleled.

Thanks!

A word from our newest contributing writer, NJDT:

Since the husband and I are obviously aren't reading enough non-fiction these days, a friend is giving us some help:

"The Western Way of War: Infantry Battle in Classical Greece" by Victor Davis Hanson.

It's a fascinating book that addresses how Greeks fought, and how that fighting has created a Western Way of War. The book argues that the Western Way of War has left us with a "burdensome legacy: a presumption that battle under any guise other than a no-nonsense, head-to-head confrontation between sober enemies is or should be unpalatable." Thus War is the battle on the field by hostile powers subscribing to the rules of war. Unfortunately we, the West, have become so good at this type of war that no power is willing to fight us in the Western Way. Instead our success has created an enemy who chooses irregular war--the guerrilla, the terrorist. And we have perhaps ended war as we like it.

If you decide to read this book. Reader beware. You will spend 200 pages reading about the terrifying experience of hoplite battles.

Roth, Philip: Plot Against America, The

I haven't yet finished reading The Plot Against America, by Philip Roth, but I will finish it probably this weekend. Before I started reading it, I heard some negative things about the book, but the alternate world predicated by the book was too intriguing to pass up.
Here are a few things that I think are great about this book:
It doesn't let any political position slip freely through. The anti-war folks (with whom I've always counted myself) are given an argument for war that is quite impossible to oppose, while the pro-war folks are given the stance of the isolationists and anti-semites all in the name of a unified America.
The blend of (anti)-history with history, fiction and memoir allows a very peculiar relationship to the author. Like Roth saying, this could have been my family.
Finally, in a book about anti-semitic America under President Charles Lindbergh, it both scares one to think about the correlations to today's political situation (gasp), but on further contemplation, that does not actually seem tobe a connection at all, other than,our government is scary, like this fictional one. They actually seem to be quite opposite situations.
Also, the book has plenty of problems.

Cosbyology. Sign me up.

There's nothing new about this book, or particularly interesting. I just happened to come across it on Amazon and thought it was probably the worst book cover I've ever seen and the worst title that I've ever heard. Cosbyology? What is that? A mix between Astrology and good ol' wholesome family values via the Huxtables?
Worse covers? Titles?

p.s. How great was the Cosby show?

On Beauty

So I just finished On Beauty, and while it took quite awhile for me to get into it, by the end I was very invested. And I agree with I think it was Big Al who said that the ending was perfect. It was. Very right in the moment, without resolution, but instead clarity, the letting go of the need for resolution. Who else has read this? Despite my initial doubts, I was also convinced that it really was a good book by how much I was aggravated and piqued by Howard Belsey. I have rarely felt such an inflamed emotional response to the personal injustice of a character's astonishing egocentrism as I did with that man (my sense of injustice was, however, occasionally soothed by the gratifying fights between him and his fantastic wife Kiki). Although it was interesting how a man who harbors such anxiety and distrust over the representation of humans in art, etc, is yet so incapable of comprehending the real human weight of anyone outside of himself.

Gunter Grass, SS.

You've all probably heard by now that Nobel Prize winner Gunter Grass has revealed what must be the last secret he'll ever tell the public. He was a Nazi. According to today's NYTimes, Grass was recruited at 17 into the "notorious Nazi Corps." (The Nazi's were notorious?)
Grass has long been a bright spot for the post-WWII Germans, as a writer of remorse and conscience, as evidenced in his lovely Nobel Lecture from 1999.

"I wanted to make it clear to myself and my readers, not without a bit of a chip on my shoulder, that what was lost did not need to sink into oblivion, that it could be resuscitated by the art of literature in all its grandeur and pettiness: the churches and cemeteries, the sounds of the shipyards and smells of the faintly lapping Baltic, a language on its way out yet still stable-warm and grumble-rich, sins in need of confession, and crimes tolerated if never exonerated."

The Times mentioned also that the response in Germany is not one of anger about the Nazi role he played, but of the secrecy that surrounded it for so many years. Does this matter, that at 17 a great writer was recruited to be a Nazi? I'm not sure.

Longlist Announced:

The Man Booker Prize has announced the 2006 longlist for fiction. David Mitchell, whom we all know I love, was nominated for Black Swan Green. Most of the rest of the books I haven't heard of, let alone read. But maybe you have...

Harold Bloom.

During vacation there was much conversation surrounding literary theory/criticism and literature, their function, their opacity, what the words even mean, and why we read them in the first place. In the midst of this, Harold Bloom, the popular critic and professor, came up time and again. "I enjoy reading Bloom," I said, "but the man seems disagreeable, derisive and divisive." (this alliteration was purely coincidental).
In the comments to an earlier post, someone pasted Bloom writing on Stephen King, and he has a similar article on Harry Potter. His opinion: these are bad authors writing bad fiction and the world should stop reading them, to put it mildly.
Here's what I don't really understand. If Bloom wants to continue doing culture criticism (which he does) and ivory tower criticism (which he also does), what should we make of him? Of course DeLillo and McCarthy are better writers than Stephen King. Does anyone really argue differently? Does that mean Bloom should belittle the rest of American culture because they don't read it? Or is he upset because the academic culture studies King and Rowling?
Popularizing Shakespeare Studies is great, and I love Invention of the Human, hopefully it brings people to read Shakespeare. But telling people that reading Harry Potter is actually worse than not reading at all just seems like a waste of energy.
I know some of you out there have opinions on Bloom, and on criticism and popular literature, so lets hear it.

My Honeymoon Read...

I finished “The Memory Keeper’s Daughter” late last night after CZF went to bed. I was pretty excited about this book after reading the plot line: Opening on a winter night in 1964, Dr. David Henry is forced by a blizzard to deliver his own twins. His son is perfectly healthy, but his daughter is born with Down's syndrome. Since it’s 1964 he makes a split second decision and asks his nurse to take the baby girl away to an institution; all with out the wife knowing. Of course, the nurse cannot leave the infant and instead disappears into another city to raise the child herself. Sadly, the book did not turn out to be all I had hoped for. The writing was so-so, apparently the only description Edwards could think of to describe the eyes of someone with Down’s syndrome is “almond shaped.” Then there was cliche descriptions, about the wind she writes, “it flew like a bird.” Yeah. Anyway. Beyond that I didn’t feel much of a connection to the characters and regularly found myself distracted by her mediocre skills at writing dialogue. All that said, I feel like I should give her some credit, I mean I did read the whole thing over the past three days. The story struck the curious chord in me and I found myself very anxious to find out how everything would come together. For a first novel I would say she did pretty well but I hope that by her next novel gets some amazing reviews by people that I respect otherwise I don’t think I will be picking it up. Has anyone else read it?

A Book Everyone Should Read.

I know CLZF said we would be gone for a while, and this post isn't to contradict him because indeed we will be, but I just wanted to give you all the chance to rave about this book if you have read it. And if you haven't already read it, then you should read it and come back and rave about it. Honestly, I think Cloud Atlas might be the best contemporary fiction I have ever read. Mitchell is an astounding writer. Multiple story lines, each as intriguing as the last, great depth of character every time. It's nearly impossible not to become completely attached. So much is packed in between the covers that you think he won't be able to pull it all off but he does and the end leaves your head spinning. So, rave or get to reading because this book is amazing.

The ZFs are off for a while

The blog will be up to Scarlet Zapata for a while. The husband and wife duo who maintain this blog are off for a time. First the move, then to MN to relax and finally to WI for the wedding of a loved one.
We shall return. Until then, peace out.

DaVinci Code Banned in Iran.

Christian clergy in Iran have gotten Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code banned from being sold in the country. What do you all think of this? Does this seem bizarre, that in Iran the Christian community (which is about 100,000 compared to 69,000,000 Muslims) banned an "anti-Christian" book? How does that reflectf Christianity in Iran? Banning books is never good, right, even if it's the Da Vinci Code?
It's just a blurb story in the NYT, but I'm fascinated by this move.

*update*
Looks like azf and diedan were right on this one. Here' s an article describing the rush in Iran to buy Da Vinci Code before the copies run out. The government allowed remaining copies to be bought, but no new copies to be sold.
Luckily, "Iranians...can still buy videos or DVDs of the film version on the black market, the usual way in which Western films circulate in the country."

Curious...

I was just wondering what every one is reading these days? And of course if you are loving it or hating it and what not. I would start this thread by telling you all what I am reading but if you don't already know that...well, I don't even know what to say to that.

Against the Day.

Everybody loves a good Thomas Pynchon novel. Well. Maybe they do. I've liked two of them(V and Vineland), but I had to put down Gravity's Rainbow out of boredom. I've never even considered Mason & Dixon. Now there is another in the catalogue of novels by America's great reclusive writer (notwithstanding Mr. Salinger, unless of course they are the same person). Against the Day, it is called. And surprise surprise, its "at least 900 pages long and the author will not be going on a promotional tour." Oh well, next time Tommy, I expect you to be at my local Barnes and Noble.

My Sin. My Soul. Lo-lee-ta.

One of my favorite books, and one of the best to discuss, is Nabokov's Lolita. It's both creepy and beautiful. I read this article at NPR, which described one of the great traits of Lolita being the readers complicity in the actions of Humbert Humbert. Like Richard III. There's nothing like getting the inside scoop from the bad guys, and being forced to go along with them, even sympathize. Even empathize. It's a great novel, and a polarizing novel. And it never seems to leave literary news alone.

P.S. Has any book had as many great covers as Lolita?

My many books...

I started Under The Banner of Heaven (no worries, I'm reading it along side The Red and The Black) by John Krakauer, whom I had a major literary crush on my senior year of high school. It turns out he’s just as amazing to read all these years later. As for the book, if you don't know about it already, it’s about Mormon Fundamentalists and the practice of polygamy (very broad overview). I’m wondering what you opinions are on the subject. Is it okay to practice polygamy? What about the children of polygamists? And if the children choose to partake in this behavior when they are adults is it okay, or is the ability to choose not an ability they ever had because they were raised this way?

Amazon Challenge

Hey readers, I have a request for you. I was recently given the privilege of spending $75 on Amazon (!!!!!) and, while I have a longish list of books that I would like to buy, I thought I would take the opportunity to instead ask all y'all for your recommendations. So, please, state your case-- what possibly obscure, previously-unknown-to-me books (not that you know which books I do and don't know....), should I buy, and why?
Thankssss

Road Trip!

Well, its not winter, but I thought I would stick with last weeks theme of posting a book having to do with our travel. Tonight we leave for Minnesota to hang out with our dear loved ones and complain about how hot it is. I'm sure it will be the desire of everyone around to not just read about how great Minnesota is in the winter but also for it to actually be winter. This is also a shout out to the illustrator, whom we here at luminous books are totally smitten with.

5 Million for the book of books.

A private collector in London has purchased for over 5 million dollars what in our hearts, we all wish we could have (at least for a few hours): a first edition of Shakespeare's First Folio. It was published in 1623, and is in "mint" condition, considering the 250 copies that exist.
What a buy.

Confession.

We are all guilty. Every one of has one; that book we are supposed to love, it’s a classic no doubt, one of the greats, everyone else raves about how brilliant it is—but as for you, you don’t get it. You’ve read it, and you just don’t like it. But admitting it is a horrible sin to be scoffed at. So I’m just going to say it and get it out there; for me, it’s the The Awakening. Being that I am of the female gender this is a double sin. Not only did I not enjoy this classic but it’s also a Stonehenge in the world of the independent woman. The forerunner in the world of female fiction. I’ve tried to read it three times (twice sincerely) and have never finished it. Plain and simple, it puts me to sleep. Edna, Kate, I'm sorry. There is nothing else I can say. How’s that for a confession? Your turn.

Dickens, Charles.

Continuing through Bleak House, which is terrific, but long, I have been thinking about Dickens. Many people characterize Dickens as a man who solely desired the moneys; he was extremely popular, therefore not a great artist. (I can't tell you how many times you hear this ridiculous claim made about Shakespeare, too, I mean come on...Shakespeare?) Others just don't like him, as on this message board of folks ("Charles Dickens, and all his goofy-ass character names and lame-ass plots, can bite me." Magwitch and Snagsby resent this comment).
Anyway, I was reading about Dickens on Wickipedia, and was blown away by the fact that "the popularity of his novels and short stories during his lifetime and to the present is demonstrated by the fact that none has ever gone out of print."
Dickens wrote 20 novels, and none of them has ever been out of print. Amazing.

"One Art"

The art of losing isn't hard to master;
so many things seem filled with the intent
to be lost that their loss is no disaster.

Lose something every day. Accept the fluster
of lost door keys, the hour badly spent.
The art of losing isn't hard to master.

Then practice losing farther, losing faster:
places, and names, and where it was you meant
to travel. None of these will bring disaster.

I lost my mother's watch. And look! my last, or
next-to-last, of three loved houses went.
The art of losing isn't hard to master.

I lost two cities, lovely ones. And, vaster,
some realms I owned, two rivers, a continent.
I miss them, but it wasn't a disaster.

--Even losing you (the joking voice, a gesture
I love) I shan't have lied. It's evident
the art of losing's not too hard to master
though it may look like (Write it!) like disaster.

-Elizabeth Bishop

This is George. He was a good little monkey...

I wanted to make a quick post before we go off on our camping weekend, to remind people of this great book, written by the Reys, who understood what curiousity and monkeyhood were all about. Maybe I had a predeliction towards misfit monkeys as a child, but I loved Curious George.

Best-Sellers

Do you ever look at the NYT best-seller list? I've been looking at it lately, following Al Gore's quest to save the globe , and am continually amazed to see what tops these lists. I know it's nothing new to see the best-sellers, I've just never actually paid any attention.
#1 Hardcover Nonfiction: Ann Coulter's Godless
#1 Hardcover Fiction: Janet Evonavich's TwelveSharp
At least in Paperback there are some good books, even if they neede Oprah to bring Night to the top, or a possible apocalypse for Al Gore's Inconvenient Truth. In Paperback fiction, Evonavich's Eleven on Top is still hanging in there, way to go Janet. Does anyone know the last time a novel that (I'm betraying my arrogance here) worth reading topped the NYT best-seller list?

Let the reading begin...

A novel is like a bow, and the violin that produces the sound is the reader's soul. -Stendhal

I have started The Red and The Black as promised. For those of you that aren't sure what the story is even about: It's based on a article that was written in the Gazette des Tribunaux (1829) about the trial of a young man charged with the attempted murder of an ex-mistress. Who doesn’t love a good French crime novel?

"Life of Pi"

I finished Life of Pi yesterday after a trip to the Lincoln Park Zoo with my husband. We didn’t run across Richard Parker but we did see a very active Siberian Tiger pacing its grounds, putting home the fear Pi must have had while living on a raft with a Tiger. In the end, I loved this book. It wasn’t a love I felt immediately but upon thinking about it more, and thinking about it still, I am a bit awe struck over the story and Martel’s writing. Though it began slowly the novel grew to proportions I hadn’t expected. I was amazed at Martel’s ability to make a novel with so little dialogue so gripping, to be able to go beyond describing emotions but to describe events so well I couldn’t help but question, “Is this real?”. Martel made you want what he was about to give you before you even knew it was coming. In that sense, I think he was a bit of a miracle worker with his writing. Then we have the religious and philosophical aspect both so subtle and obvious my head was spinning. It leaves you thinking, thinking, thinking...what more can a reader ask for?

For those of you who have already read it, I am especially eager to talk about the role of meta-fiction in the novel. And also that idea that it is a story, “that will make you believe in God.” What does that mean? Do you think it’s true?

Also, here is a short interview with Martel about writing the book, if you are interested.

Definition of the Day

For those who want to expand their vocabulary, who maybe lost their copy of the "Handbook to Literature" or just don't quite understand what FR is talking about, here is a definition for the phrase Objective Correlative. The word was used as early as 1850 to describe the process by which the external world produces pleasurable emotion but of course T. S. Eliot had to come along and change the meaning. The handbook for literature defines it as

"term for a pattern of objects, actions, events or a situation that can serve effectively to awaken in the reader an emotional response without being a direct statement of that subjective emotion."

In other words, a certian action takes place in the reading, creating a particular emotion in the reader which is justified by the plot and the characters response. Questions?

Kavalier and Clay

As I push through Bleak House unending, the merits of The Amazing Adventures of Cavelier and Klay has become a topic of discourse. Is the Pulitzer Prize winning novel sentimental tackiness? Poorly written? Or is a work that deserves the lauding it has recieved? Here is a taste of the conversation that has already transpired.
WH: "I was pissed off at Joe. I was pissed off because he is so egocentric that his despair and agony only involves his own pain and guilt."
FR: "What i am talking about WH, is, even though i said "soap opera," what i meant was the fuckin, fuckin, objective correlative."
Again, FR (my favorite quip of the day): "And K and C is just one dry boring dust path moving toward liberal, "sexually freeing," tolerent, stupid, great american politess and levinasian bullshit."

Orange Award Announced.

I have been hearing Zadie Smith's name for all too long now to not have read anything. Well, kind of. I picked up "On Beauty" a while back in the bookstore when some friends decided to read her, but was bored before the first paragraph ended. Be it my mood, or my taste I don't know. But apparently most people disagree with me, the 2006 Winner for The Orange Award for Fiction is none other than Zadie Smith's "On Beauty." Doesn't mean I will read it, but it does mean that maybe I should reconsider.