morsie reads

Beowulf

2008-08-01T12:32:00.005-04:00

Beowulf, translated and read by Seamus Heaney

Composed toward the end of the first millennium of our era, Beowulf is the elegiac narrative of the adventures of Beowulf, a Scandinavian hero who saves the Danes from the seemingly invincible monster Grendel and, later, from Grendel's mother. He then returns to his own country and lives to old age before dying in a vivid fight against a dragon.
The poem is about encountering the monstrous, defeating it, and then having to live on in the exhausted aftermath. In the contours of this story, at once remote and uncannily familiar at the end of the twentieth century, Seamus Heaney finds a resonance that summons power to the poetry from deep beneath its surface.

Surprisingly (or unsurprisingly) the library at work doesn't have many audio books. Since I've had a good deal of coding to do lately, I've been working through my personal stash of audio books (and those loaned from friends) as well as the library's selection of fiction on CD. On the Road is currently checked-out, but I've listened to Eragon (kind of a strange choice for an academic library) and now Beowulf.

Actually, I was quite excited when I realized that the library owned an audio version of Seamus Heaney's translation of Beowulf. I'd been wanting to read it ever since it first came out and I knew that listening to Heaney read it himself would be a much more authentic way to experience the poem.

While Beowulf probably isn't the best choice for listening while doing mindless work (I prefer something lighter), it is nonetheless a good "read". Heaney reads wonderfully and his translation makes the work accessible to the modern reader.

Booking Through Thursday - Beginnings

2008-07-24T20:56:00.004-04:00

What are your favourite first sentences from books? Is there a book that you liked specially because of its first sentence? Or a book, perhaps that you didn’t like but still remember simply because of the first line?

For me, there is one truly memorable first line:

"Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendía was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice."
- One Hundred Years of Solitude

It is one first line that really sticks with me.

It was also the first line of one of my college application essays. When I was applying to college, one of the essay options for the University of Chicago was an improv piece. We were given a number of different things that we had to incorporate into the essay (I can't remember them all off the top of my head, but one was The Complete Works of Shakespeare) including that line. It was a wonderful challenge and the fact that the school had an essay option like that left no doubt in my mind that Chicago was my first choice school.

book clubbing in July

2008-07-23T13:23:00.002-04:00

This month's book club selection was Good Omens (The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch) by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. I didn't do such a good job with my genre distribution this time around since we've had two zany British books in the past three months,* but no matter.

I'd heard really good things about Good Omens, but I have to admit that I'm a bit ambivalent about the novel. I like the concept and, yes, I did laugh out loud at some points, but I never really got into it and I definitely felt that it dragged a bit. I probably wasn't in the right mood for the book.

Surprisingly, the other book clubbers were equally ambivalent (though to be fair, there were a few people who didn't actually read the book). Previously we'd read Gaiman's Neverwhere (read post) and we didn't feel that Good Omens was all that different. We discussed its similarities to Dogma, but those of us who had both seen the movie and read the book decided that we liked Dogma better (where Dogma gets into the knitty-gritty, Good Omens is much more superficial in its look at good and evil and the players involved).

We talked about Good Omens for a while, but then we wandered to other topics. It wasn't the most successful choice for us, but none of us regretted having read it.

* May's selection was The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde.

The Forgetting Room

2008-07-20T17:09:00.004-04:00

The Forgetting Room by Nick Bantock

I hadn't read Nick Bantock before. I'd heard interesting things about his work, but The Forgetting Room was my first Nick Bantock book.

To some extent, it defies explanation. On the surface, The Forgetting Room is the story of a Massachusetts-based bookbinder named Armon, who inherits a family home in Ronda, Spain after the death of his grandfather, and his trip to Spain in order to settle the estate.

Of course, the fact that artist Rafael Hurtago's will actually says "to my grandson, Armon Hurt, I leave my house in Ronda, Spain and the uncertainty of its contents. May he discover his belonging" is the first clue that the story is more than it seems. Though the novel is short (a mere 106 pages), it contains an entire creative universe. There are tales within tales. A puzzle leads to self-discovery and nine days in Ronda have the potential to change the protagonist's life.

Reading Bantock's work is a sensory experience. The Forgetting Room is gorgeously illustrated. The art is integral to the story and the scrapbook-like nature of the book allows for the reader to interact with the narrative and participate in the story.

Reading outside the box

2008-07-19T20:06:00.002-04:00

Recently I took part in a "New to me" exchange, in which participants to send their partner a book from a genre that they don't normally read. Of course, the real point is to turn each other on to new genres so the trick is to try to pick a book that your partner will actually enjoy reading.

I sent my partner, who doesn't read literary fiction, Disobedience by Naomi Alderman (you can read my comments on the book here). My partner sent me How to Talk About Books You Haven't Read by Pierre Bayard. The description sounds great, but it's definitely not something I would have picked out myself (I don't usually read nonfiction and I probably would have been turned off by the title and not even bothered to read the description).

Similarly Russell and I occasionally swap reading challenges. We have very different tastes so we rarely read the same books. We hadn't done one of these swaps for quite some time so we decided to do one this summer. I'm making him read Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. I'm reading it now and am reminded how much I like the series (I got the fifth book, The Fiery Cross as an audio for a car trip years ago) and I legitimately think he'll enjoy it. He's making me read Exodus by Leon Uris, which he could have probably gotten me to read outside of the challenge.

Of course both of these books will show up on the blog (later this summer or in the fall) so you'll be able to see what I think of them.

Booking Through Thursday - Vacation Spots

2008-07-17T15:25:00.002-04:00

Do you buy books while on vacation/holiday?
Do you have favorite bookstores that you only get to visit while away on a trip?
What/Where are they?

An interesting set of questions. Do I buy books while on vacation? Yes, sometimes. Usually when I run out of things to read on my trip. When that happens I'll buy wherever I can (big box stores, airport bookshops, etc). I do like to browse independent and used book stores when I happen across them while I'm on vacation, but those visits are usually spur-of-the-moment rather than planned.

That being said, one of my favorite bookstores is the Seminary Co-op in Hyde Park (home of University of Chicago, my alma mater). I'm still a member and I try to visit every time I go to Chicago.

travel reads

2008-07-17T08:38:00.003-04:00

Summer reading is often synonymous with travel or vacation reading. I haven't been posting much lately because I've been busy (why is it that summer ends up being the busiest time of year?). I had a bit of a trip last week so I thought I'd post about the books I decided to bring with me.

Tomb of the Golden Bird by Elizabeth Peters
~ Audiobook read by Barbara Rosenblat

Banned forever from the eastern end of the Valley of the Kings, eminent Egyptologist Radcliffe Emerson's desperate attempt to regain digging rights backfires— and his dream of unearthing the tomb of the little-known king Tutankhamon is dashed. Now Emerson, his archaeologist wife, Amelia Peabody, and their family must watch from the sidelines as Lord Carnarvon and Howard Carter discover the greatest Egyptian treasure of all time.
But the Emersons' own less impressive excavations are interrupted when father and son Ramses are lured into a trap by a strange group of villains ominously demanding answers to a question neither man comprehends. And it will fall to the ever-intrepid Amelia to protect her endangered family— and perhaps her nemesis as well— from a devastating truth hidden uncomfortably close to home... and from a nefarious plot that threatens the peace of the entire region.

I needed an audiobook since I knew I'd be doing a good deal of driving. Browsing the discount bookstore, I came up with Tomb of the Golden Bird, Elizabeth Peters' 18th Amelia Peabody Mystery. it was sufficiently long (14 hours) and unabridged. I knew that it was a recent installment in a series, but had no idea how many books were in the series. Luckily for me, the book does stand on its own and readers can follow the action without needing to know the backstories of all the various characters.

I didn't find the novel particularly suspenseful, but the story (and how it relates to the actual discovery of King Tut's tomb) was interesting. The story gets bogged down in the details, I think. Amelia Peabody is an interesting character as are many of the individuals in her sphere. It is Peters' gift for characterization that makes the novel engaging. Additionally, the reader, Barbara Rosenblat, does a wonderful job rendering the individual characters with very distinctive voices for many of the main characters.

Carnevale by M R Lovric

1782: the 13-year old daughter of a Venetian merchant family is lured naked from her bath by a stray cat and finds herself in the arms of Casanova. Twenty-five years later, her renown as a painter is eclipsed only by her reputation as his last lover. Then a young poet named Byron enters her life.

I'd previously read Lovric's The Floating Book, which I really enjoyed. I love historical fiction and I love Venice. I also love art historical ficiton, but for some reason I just could not get into Carnevale. I gave the book until page 100 and then I decided that I should let it go and try again at some other point.

Casanova is undoubtedly interesting, but there's only so much that I want to hear about him in a story about someone else. Cecilia is an interesting character, but her story definitely gets bogged down in the narration of Casanova's personal history. I might have stuck with it, but the glimpse we get of Byron at the very beginning of the novel did nothing to whet my appetite for the rest of the novel.

Belated Booking Through Thursday - Doomsday

2008-07-14T12:29:00.004-04:00

This week's question:
One of my favorite bookstores burned down last weekend, and while I only got to visit there while I was on vacation, it made me stop and think.
What would you do if, all of a sudden, your favorite source of books was unavailable?
Whether it’s a local book shop, your town library, or an internet shop... what would you do if, suddenly, they were out of business? Devastatingly, and with no warning? Where would you go for books instead? What would you do? If it was a local business you would try to help out the owners? Would you just calmly start buying from some other store? Visit the library in the next town instead? Would it be devastating? Or just a blip in your reading habit?

I haven't been buying (or checking out from the library) very many books simply because I have accumulated such a cache of to-be-read books since I joined BookCrossing in 2005. So, this question, isn't terribly relevant to me at the moment: I'd simply go on reading the books I have already (and that'd keep me busy for quite a while). I do enjoy browsing in bookstores and I do buy books as presents, but usually I've been buying from places online (Amazon, half.com) or in local used or discount bookstores when I have had to buy books for gifts or as must-haves.

Picture Perfect

2008-07-06T14:11:00.002-04:00

Picture Perfect by Jodi Picoult

To the outside world, they seem to have it all. Cassie Barrett, a renowned anthropologist, and Alex Rivers, one of Hollywood's hottest actors, met on the set of a motion picture in Africa. They shared childhood tales, toasted the future, and declared their love in a fairy-tale wedding. But when they return to California, something alters the picture of their perfect marriage. A frightening pattern is taking shape-a cycle of hurt, denial, and promises, thinly veiled by glamor. Torn between fear and something that resembles love, Cassie wrestles with questions she never dreamed she would face: How can she leave? Then again, how can she stay?

I don't know what it is about Jodi Picoult. Her writing is compelling. After discovering her you always want to read more. Even if you come across one of her books that you really don't like, you still want to read her others. BUT it seems like the books you read subsequently never measure up to the first one (for me that was Plain Truth). At this point I have read the majority of her novels, but my first exposure to Picoult remains my favorite of her books.

As I'm sure I've mentioned before, Picoult writes what I call "issue fiction". Her books can sometimes be unbearably depressing. Despite the issue of this book being one that I find particularly difficult to handle (and the death of the childhood best friend hitting a bit too close to home), Picture Perfect isn't one of her more depressing books. The characters are all pretty well-drawn and believable (even Ophelia is realistic in her self-absorption). For most of the main characters there is redemption. The ending is more realistic than those of some of Picoult's other books (and more hard-won). Picoult incorporates other cultures into the narrative (as she does with some of the other novels) with success, I think.

Booking Through Thursday - Holidays

2008-07-03T09:01:00.002-04:00

It’s a holiday weekend here in the U.S., so let’s keep today’s question simple–What are you reading? Anything special? Any particularly juicy summer reading?

These are the books that I'm currently reading:

Easter Island by Jennifer Vanderbes

The Floating Brothel by Sian Rees

Ladies' Lending Library by Janice Kulyk Keefer

Sacred Games by Vikram Chandra

The Sooterkin by Tom Gilling

I'll probably read a bit of most of them over the weekend and maybe even finish one or two. I also have Happy for No Reason, a self-helpy type book that I requested through interlibary loan. I'll probably skim through it this weekend as well.

Books Read January-June 2008 (2 of 2)

2008-07-02T16:13:00.002-04:00

93. Pobby and Dingan by Ben Rice
92. Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead
91. Succubus on Top by Richelle Mead
90. Succubus Blues by Richelle Mead
89. The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
88. Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
87. Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko
86. Firestorm by Rachel Caine
85. Windfall by Rachel Caine
84. Chill Factor by Rachel Caine
83. Heat Stroke by Rachel Caine
82. Molly Moon's Incredible Book of Hypnotism by Georgia Byng
81. My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk
80. Disobedience by Naomi Alderman
79. The Will of the Empress by Tamora Pierce
78. Knit Two Together by Connie Lane
77. Terrier (Beka Cooper) by Tamora Pierce
76. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
75. Fire Study by Maria V. Snyder
74. The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde
73. The Last Battle by C.S. Lewis
72. Extras by Scott Westerfeld
71. Truth & Beauty: A Friendship by Ann Patchell
70. The Bride Stripped Bare, Anonymous
69. The Illustrated Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte/Dame Darcy
68. Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer
67. New Moon by Stephenie Meyer
66. The Secrets of a Fire King by Kim Edwards
65. Year of Wonders: A Novel of the Plague by Geraldine Brooks
64. On a Day Like This by Peter Stamm
63. The Gospel of Judas by Simon Mawer
62. The Tin Princess by Philip Pullman
61. A Respectable Trade by Philippa Gregory
60. The Tiger in the Well by Philip Pullman
59. Magic Study by Maria V. Snyder
58. Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder
57. The Shadow in the North by Philip Pullman
56. Ruby in the Smoke by Philip Pullman
55. A Room with a View by E.M. Forster
54. The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
53. Sugar and Spice by Leda Swann
52. Grave Surpise by Charlaine Harris
51. Grave Sight by Charlaine Harris

Books Read January-June 2008 (1 of 2)

2008-07-01T11:55:00.002-04:00

As promised, here's the first part of list of books read so far this year. The ones I liked best are italicized.

50. Urban Shaman by C.E. Murphy
49. The Eye of the Leopard by Henning Mankell
48. Ghosthunters and the Muddy Monster of Doom by Cornelia Funke
47. Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond
46. Ghosthunters and the Totally Moldy Baroness by Cornelia Funke
45. Year of Secret Assignments by Jaclyn Moriarty
44. Ghosthunters and the Gruesome Invincible Lighting Ghost by Cornelia Funke
43. Ghosthunters and the Incredibly Revolting Ghost by Cornelia Funke
42. The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis
41. Feeling Sorry for Celia by Jaclyn Moriarty
40. Stravaganza: City of Flowers by Mary Hoffman
39. Stravaganza: City of Stars by Mary Hoffman
38. All Together Dead by Charlaine Harris
37. Sophie and the Rising Sun by Augusta Trobaugh
36. Briar Rose by Jane Yolen
35. LionBoy: The Chase by Zizou Corder
34. The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood
33. Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis
32. Sacred Ground by Mercedes Lackey
31. Stravaganza: City of Masks by Mary Hoffman
30. Nemesis by Agatha Christie
29. A Caribbean Mystery by Agatha Christie
28. A Murder is Announced by Agatha Christie
27. Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie
26. Definitely Dead by Charlaine Harris
25. Life Safari by John Strelecky
24. The Royal Mess by MaryJanice Davidson
23. The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid
22. The Villa of Reduced Circumstances by A. McCall Smith
21. The Finer Points of Sausage Dogs by A. McCall Smith
20. Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis
19. Portuguese Irregular Verbs by Alexander McCall Smith
18. Honey Tongues by Helene Uri
17. Witch Child by Celia Rees
16. Autobiography of a Face by Lucy Grealy
15. The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly
14. The Royal Pain by MaryJanice Davidson
13. Butter Chicken in Ludhiana by Pankaj Mishra
12. I am Rembrandt's Daughter by Lynn Cullen
11. The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis
10. Vanishing Acts by Jodi Picoult
9. Looking for Alaska by John Green
8. The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs
7. Endymion Spring by Matthew Skelton
6. Madame Zee by Pearl Luke
5. 3rd Degree by James Patterson
4. St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves by Karen Russell
3. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
2. An Incomplete Revenge by Jacqueline Winspear
1. The Doublet Affair by Fiona Buckley

The Big Read

2008-06-30T09:00:00.004-04:00

I received the following in an email forward. I thought it might be an interesting addition to the blog.

The Big Read, an initiative by the National Endowment for the Arts, has estimated that the average adult has only read 6 of the top 100 books they've printed. How do you do?

1) Look at the list and bold those you have read.
2) Italicize those you intend to read.
3) Underline the books you LOVE.

[A quick note on Dickens before I start. I haven't read Dickens in a long time and I honestly can't remember which of his books I have read (besides A Christmas Carol) so I am not marking them as read]

1. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2. The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien (I've already confessed, on multiple occasions, that I never got very far into Fellowship before I gave up)
3. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4. Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
5. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6. The Bible
7. Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8. Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell (I loved this book when I read it in high school)
9. His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10. Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11. Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12. Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13. Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14. Complete Works of Shakespeare
15. Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16. The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17. Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18. Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19. The Time Traveller's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20. Middlemarch - George Eliot
21. Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22. The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23. Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24. War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25. The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26. Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27. Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28. Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29. Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30. The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31. Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32. David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33. Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34. Emma - Jane Austen
35. Persuasion - Jane Austen
36. The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis
37. The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38. Captain Corelli's Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39. Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40. Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41. Animal Farm - George Orwell
42. The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43. One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
45. The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46. Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47. Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48. The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50. Atonement - Ian McEwan (I have this one on Mt. TBR)
52. Dune - Frank Herbert
53. Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54. Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55. A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56. The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57. A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58. Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon (on Mt. TBR)
60. Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61. Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62. Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63. The Secret History - Donna Tartt (on Mt. TBR)
64. The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65. Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66. On The Road - Jack Kerouac (on Mt. TBR)
67. Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68. Bridget Jones's Diary - Helen Fielding
69. Midnight's Children - Salman Rushdie
70. Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71. Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72. Dracula - Bram Stoker
73. The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74. Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75. Ulysses - James Joyce
76. The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77. Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78. Germinal - Emile Zola
79. Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80. Possession - AS Byatt (on Mt. TBR)
81. A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82. Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell (on Mt. TBR)
83. The Color Purple - Alice Walker (on Mt. TBR)
84. The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro (on Mt. TBR)
85. Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86. A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87. Charlotte's Web - EB White
88. The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89. Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90. The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91. Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92. The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery (read in translation as well as in the original French)
93. The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94. Watership Down - Richard Adams
95. A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96. A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97. The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas (I haven't read an unabridged version)
98. Hamlet - William Shakespeare (as shocking as this may seem, I don't think I've actually ever read Hamlet)
99. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100. Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

Disobedience

2008-06-27T19:03:00.002-04:00

Disobedience by Naomi Alderman

Winner of the Orange Award for New Writers, Disobedience is the story of Ronit Krushka, a 32-year-old financial analyst living in New York City. A strong, independent woman, Ronit has been blazing her own path since her teens. When her father, a leader of Orthodox Jewish community in London, dies, Ronit feels a strong urge to return home. Reentering the stifling environment of her youth, Ronit is forced to confront her past.

The story is narrated in turn by Ronit (with a fantastic interior monologue that refers frequently to her psychiatrist back in NY) and a third-person omniscient narrator and each chapter begins with a quote from the Torah or other Talmudic text. Highlighting both the similarities and differences between the religious community of Hendon and the secular world in which most of us live, Disobedience is indeed about the tendency to disobedience that is inherent in each of us.

My favorite chapter in seven. I loved how the chapter begins with "Our sages warn us often against the perils of gossip: lashon hara, which means, literally, an evil tongue" (109) and an explanation of why gossip is so bad and then continues to follow all the orthodox women in the neighborhood self-consciously gossiping about Ronit and Esti. Alderman handles this masterfully:

Mrs. Berditcher drew breath. She might know something. Just a little piece of news. The bread slicer clattered, its comb-blades flickering up and down as the women drew closer. Wat? What did Mrs. Berditcher know? Mrs. Berditcher shook her head. It would not be right to speak of such things. She and Mr. Berditcher thought they might have seen something on their walk home after Shabbat the previous evening. But they could not be sure. It had been dark. They had been very far away. Their eyes may have deceived them. Although, seeing Ronit so different, her hair so short, her demeanor so assertive and still unmarried at thirty-two, well, there seemed a kind of sense to it. But what? What had been seen? The break slicer roared to life again, a limp-haired assistant by its side feeding it four large, square white loaves. Mrs. Berditcher demurred. It would certainly be lashon hara to speak the words, and lashon hara is a thing of evil, as they had learned many years before. Mrs. Stone and Mrs. Abramson heard, as through from far away, a faint and calming voice telling them to desist. Move on, it said, go on with your shopping. Buy bages and kichels and rugelach. But nearer at hand they felt a quickening pulse at their temples. Go on, they pressed, go one. Mrs. Berditcher hesitate and, in a low voice, went on. (114-115)

And it just gets better.

Booking Through Thursday -

2008-06-26T13:06:00.002-04:00

This week's question:
What, in your opinion, is the definition of a “reader.” A person who indiscriminately reads everything in sight? A person who reads BOOKS? A person who reads, period, no matter what it is?... Or, more specific? Like the specific person who’s reading something you wrote?

This isn't something I spend a lot of time pondering, but I guess my definition isn't terribly specific. A reader to me is one who reads, irregardless of what they read or how often. The OED says "one who reads or peruses" (2.a.). That seems spot-on to me.

Last week's question:
Think about your favorite authors, your favorite books... what is it about them that makes you love them above all the other authors you’ve read? The stories? The characters? The way they appear to relish the taste of words on the tongue? The way they’re unafraid to show the nitty-gritty of life? How they sweep you off to a new, distant place? What is it about those books and authors that makes them resonate with you in ways that other, perfectly good books and authors do not?

I don't think there is one specific thing that makes me love one book over another. I like different books for different reasons. For example, I like Jasper Fforde (author of the Thursday Next and Nursery Crimes books) because I am in awe of his imagination, while I love The God of Small Things because of Roy's writing (among other things) and Zahrah the Windseeker because of its story and how the world the author created relates to and illuminates our own. Some books I like because of how atmospheric they are, others I like because of the story itself, still others because I relate so well to the protagonist. I like some books because they distract me from my everyday life and others because they seem authentic. I like some books because of their exotic settings and others because I feel at home in their stories. So, really, it depends.

Book clubbing in June

2008-06-25T13:19:00.002-04:00

This month's book club selection wass the 2008 Caldecott Medal winner, The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick.

Though it is 500+ pages, The Invention of Hugo Cabret is a very quick read. It's not a graphic novel, but rather a novel that takes a cue from film and uses image sequences (in the form of detailed line drawings, also by the author) to further the plot.

I don't really want to get into plot since the story itself isn't very long. Selznick clearly put a good deal of thought and time into the book. It's very clever and there's a wonderful sense of interconnectedness to it.

One of the book club members checked an audio version out of the library (in the audio version the image sequences are replaced by realistic sound sequences) that came a bonus DVD. We watched part of it and had a chance to listen to the Selznick discuss about the book, how he came up with the idea(s) for it, and a lot of the historical background to it and that really did give most of us a new appreciation for the book.

As a group we thought that The Invention of Hugo Cabret was equally appropriate for children/YA and for adults. We appreciated the fact that the story revolved around a historical personage and how it taught us as readers about the history of film without being too obvious about it.

My only complaint is that the story itself was so short. I wished it would have been a bit meatier, taken a bit longer to read.

literary movements and whatnot

2008-06-24T11:12:00.003-04:00

At their request I recently wrote a little article on literary movements for Readers' Advisor News.

Here's the intro:
While readers' advisors often use genre designations and appeal features to help guide readers, it is easy to overlook other reading interests that may not be as obvious. Literary movements are a perfect example. While literary movements can be both nebulous and intimidating to readers, given a well-placed recommendation, books that fit into those categories may appeal to readers who don't normally think in these terms.

Care to read the rest?

Eat, Pray, Love

2008-06-23T21:47:00.002-04:00

Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

Subtitled "One Woman's Search for Everything across Italy, India and Indonesia", Eat, Pray, Love is a candid memoir that focuses particularly on one year in the life of the author. After finalizing a bitter, seemingly never-ending divorce, Gilbert takes a year off to indulge her wanderlust and discover who is she outside of the confines of her life in the states.

She first goes to Italy, where she soaks up the Italian language like a sponge all the while savoring each meal that comes her way. Next to rural India, where she cloisters herself in her guru's ashram. And, finally, to Bali where she seems to find balance and, in the end, love.

I'll be the first to admit that I had a hard time getting into this book. The Italy section, particularly at the beginning, is so focused on the problems Gilbert had before embarking on the journey that it wasn't an easy read. Then once I'm finally feeling comfortable, she's off to India and there's a completely different (and in some ways less-relatable) focus to the narrative. The Balinese part seemed to me the shortest. It's the most balanced, probably because Gilbert at this point is finally feeling things come together in terms of her overarching self-discovery journey.

While I didn't think that Eat, Pray, Love was as fantastic as I'd heard it'd be (it seemed at times much too detailed and at others not detailed enough), I'm definitely be interested in reading Gilbert's follow-up memoir (Weddings and Evictions) just to find out more about how things turned out with "Felipe".

Ceremony

2008-06-20T15:42:00.003-04:00

Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko

Set on a Laguna Pueblo reservation in New Mexico, Ceremony follows Tayo, a World War II veteran struggling to pull together the pieces of his life. Frighteningly real ancient Laguna stories are interwoven with Tayo’s, illuminating his life and our own.

Short, but complex, Ceremony is more than the story of one man’s alienation. In subtle ways the author illuminates paradoxes inherent in the relationship between native peoples and the United States, explores identity, and challenges assumptions.

Of particular interest is the novel’s explanation of the origins of the European settlers.

More on the Student Services blog...

On a Day like This

2008-06-18T13:46:00.002-04:00

Here's a peek at a review that appeared in Library Journal this month.

On a Day Like This by Peter Stamm

Swiss author Peter Stamm's latest novel describes a few months in the life of Andreas, a secondary school teacher and confirmed bachelor. This glimpse at one man's midlife crisis is a mediation on what it means to be lonely. Sitting in a doctor's office awaiting the results of a biopsy, Andreas has an epiphany. Dissatisfied with the banality of his life, he decides to quit his job, sell his apartment, end his romantic affairs, and leave Paris for good. He heads to his childhood home in Switzerland and an ill-fated reunion with his first love. Andreas's completely unrealistic self-perception (illustrated with subtle irony by his language-teaching materials) makes up for his being far from sympathetic as a protagonist. Stamm's narrative is both insightful and dreamy, his fluid prose rendered adeptly by award-winning translator Michael Hofmann. And while the novel's ending is unexpected (and, some might argue, inappropriate), it is not unwelcome.

See the full review at Library Journal (temporarily) or Barnes and Noble under "editorial reviews" (it should be there shortly).

Booking Through Thursday to Friday - Clubbing

2008-06-13T08:51:00.002-04:00

A day late...

Have you ever been a member of a book club? How did your group choose the next book and who would lead discussion?

Yes! I'd always wanted to be in a book club so I helped found a book club at work in 2006. We don't have one set person who leads our discussions each month. I usually try to get us started talking and then just let the discussion run its course. As for choosing books, we vote. I pull together a large voting list, divided by genre, based on suggestions from book club members, then I open up the voting to all library staff members (since everyone is welcome to come). Using the results of the voting, I schedule the books so that we read a different genre each month. Making a concerted effort to read a variety of genres is good for all of us. It helps us to branch out and it also makes the club a bit more inclusive and occasionally we do have someone come to a meeting just because we are reading a genre or book s/he is interested in.

Do you feel more or less likely to appreciate books if you are obliged to read them for book groups rather than choosing them of your own free will? Does knowing they are going to be read as part of a group affect the reading experience?

I don't think that the fact that a book is "assigned" (whether for book club or school or review) makes me more or less likely to appreciate it. In fact, I think that I force myself to be even more open-minded with assigned books (since in many cases I may be reading books I wouldn't chose on my own). I do think I probably do pay a bit more attention to assigned books, read them more thoughtfully, because I know I'll be having to discuss or write about them.

Weather Warden

2008-06-12T08:38:00.002-04:00

Rachel Caine's Weather Warden series

So far I've read the first three books -- Ill Wind, Heat Stroke, and Chill Factor -- and am in the process of reading the fourth, Windfall.

I read Ill Wind last summer.

Ill Wind was a quick read, but very enjoyable. It took me a little while to really get into the world Caine is describing, but after that point I was hooked. I loved the twist at the end and am looking forward to reading the other books in the series (as soon as I get my hands on them!).
- 31 July 2007 journal entry

I'd been slowly accumulating the other books in the series (I had books 3-5), but finally broke down and bought Heat Stroke last month so that I could get on with reading the series (and passing the books on to another reader).

Now that I have read more of the series, I have a better idea of Caine's intent. The series, and Caine's world, get more complex with each addition to the story. Sometimes things do seem a bit too complex and there seems to be too much action, too many twists. Caine's protagonist, Joanne, however is very sympathetic (though at times her focus on fashion and cars seems a bit forced) and Caine puts her through a heck of a lot in such a short period of time.

Booking Through Thursday - Trends

2008-06-05T10:01:00.003-04:00

Have your book-tastes changed over the years? More fiction? Less? Books that are darker and more serious? Lighter and more frivolous? Challenging? Easy? How-to books over novels? Mysteries over Romance?

Like most people, I go through phases, but let me try to think of some generalities.

When I was younger, living with my parents, I read a lot more fantasy than I do now. That's because my dad is a huge fantasy reader so I had easy access to both his books and his recommendations.

I read more nonfiction now than I have in the past (not including assigned readings in college and grad school). Part of that is because I live with a nonfiction reader and get must-read recommendations from him and part of that is because I make more of an effort to read nonfiction for pleasure (like making sure that every other "book of the month" is nonfiction).

At the end of the month I'll post a list of all the books I've read so far this calendar year (if you are dying to know sooner rather than later, you can see the list on my bookcrossing profile page). But in general it seems that I naturally try to balance more serious and literary reads with lighter (dare I say "fluffy") reads.

My Name is Red

2008-06-04T20:07:00.003-04:00

My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk

At once a fiendishly devious mystery, a beguiling love story, and a brilliant symposium on the power of art, My Name is Red is a transporting tale set amid the splendor and religious intrigue of sixteenth-century Istanbul, from one of the most prominent contemporary Turkish writers.

The Sultan has commissioned a cadre of the most acclaimed artists in the land to create a great book celebrating the glories of his realm. Their task: to illuminate the work in the European style. But because figurative art can be deemed an affront to Islam, this commission is a dangerous proposition indeed. The ruling elite therefore mustn't know the full scope or nature of the project, and panic erupts when one of the chosen miniaturists disappears. The only clue to the mystery — or crime? — lies in the half-finished illuminations themselves. Part fantasy and part philosophical puzzle, My Name is Red is a kaleidoscopic journey to the intersection of art, religion, love, sex, and power.

My Name is Red has been sitting on Mt. TBR since Tuesday, August 29, 2006. I've really wanted to read it so my train-travel weekend (8.5 hours down, 8 hours back) seemed like a perfect opportunity. So, into my bag, I threw it and The Floating Brothel (which I never even got around to starting).

I enjoyed My Name is Red, but I have to say that it was not the right selection at all for this trip. My overtired brain just couldn't fully appreciate the novel with its detailed storyline and all Pamuk's interesting narrative devices. I slogged through it, a chapter to two at a time, never getting into a real groove with my reading even when I had a huge chunk of time to devote to it. I have to say that My Name is Red is definitely a book that I'll want to reread. I know that I'll have a completely different experience reading it next time and that I'll enjoy it more being able to immerse myself completely in the story and its complexities.

travel, envy, and escapist reading

2008-06-03T19:25:00.004-04:00

When I got in to work this morning, a copy of Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert was on my chair. Last week at our staff recognition luncheon I chatted with a colleague who had recently finished the book, had good things to say about it, and offered to loan it to me.

Getting this book on the heels of a weekend spent with 78 high schoolers who'll be leaving this summer on exchange (I think I've mentioned before that I volunteer for Youth for Understanding) made me think about our collective love of books written by people who take a break from their lives, travel, and then write about the experience. (When I say "our collective love" I'm referring to the fact that these books end up on bestseller lists)

I wonder why we like these books so much. Yes, we all enjoy armchair traveling to some extent, but the more I think about it, the more I'm convinced that we read these books because we want to live vicariously through these authors and their stories. I bet many of us are secretly jealous of those people who had the courage to do such things (yes, some people do things we'd never even consider doing, but I'm not referring to them) and fantasize about being able to take a break from our own humdrum lives.

I know I do. Being around all those teenagers last weekend as they prepared themselves to go to Japan and Finland and a whole host of other foreign lands, I couldn't help but get nostalgic and a teensy bit jealous.