How to Paint a Dead Man, by Sarah Hall. Published 2009 by HarperCollins. Literary Fiction.
How to Paint a Dead Man, the latest novel by esteemed (and Booker-nominated) British author Sarah Hall, is probably the last of her books I will read. It's a novel told through four alternating points of view- different people in different places at different times, connected by thin threads. In one narrative, artist Susan deals with the death of her twin brother Danny; in another, her father Peter, an established painter, goes about his daily life until he takes a bad fall in the woods; in another, an elderly painter waits to die; in the last, a blind Italian girl (and former blossoming artist) named Annette tries to manage under the yoke of her overprotective mother.
There isn't really a plot to speak of; Hall's writing is heavy on exposition and character-building and light on action, and the book came across to me more as four extended character sketches. One thing that I've learned about myself in the last couple of years is that I really like a good plot to keep me turning those pages. While I admire Hall's skill with language and the vivid people she creates on the page, the only thing that really kept me going was a tiny bit of suspense she creates around Peter's predicament- out of a walk, he falls and hurts himself, and out of this little bit of quotidian life she spins out just enough action to keep me interested.
On balance though, it just wasn't my cup of tea. I've read her before- a couple of years ago I read her Booker-nominated novel The Electric Michelangelo, a much longer and more detailed character sketch of a single person, a tattoo artist who moves from England to Coney Island, which I found likewise dull- and hoped that this new book might be different, because I think she's an excellent writer and I would love to see her inject a little more action into her otherwise very accomplished prose. Readers who read for character might really enjoy How to Paint a Dead Man but those who read for plot might want to look for something else.
Rating: BORROW
FTC Disclosure: I received this book for review from the publisher.
Okay, so I didn't really get it together to do a big series of posts- or even a big post- about Banned Books Week, which is this week, but here's a little meme to highlight some of the most-challenged books of the 1990s, followed by my thoughts.
For my money, the best way to observe the week is to buy or borrow (and read!) a banned/challenged book, to educate ourselves about what gets challenged, think about why and show that there is a demand for these books. So, with that in mind, this is the ALA's list of the 100 most frequently challenged books: 1990–1999.
Bold the ones you've read, and italicize those that you are planning to read. And of course, if you have reviewed any, feel free to link!
Scary Stories (Series), by Alvin Schwartz Daddy’s Roommate, by Michael Willhoite I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou The Chocolate War, by Robert Cormier The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck Forever, by Judy Blume Bridge to Terabithia, by Katherine Paterson Heather Has Two Mommies, by Leslea Newman The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger The Giver, by Lois Lowry My Brother Sam is Dead, by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier It’s Perfectly Normal, by Robie Harris Alice (Series), by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor Goosebumps (Series), by R.L. Stine A Day No Pigs Would Die, by Robert Newton Peck The Color Purple, by Alice Walker Sex, by Madonna Earth’s Children (Series), by Jean M. Auel The Great Gilly Hopkins, by Katherine Paterson In the Night Kitchen, by Maurice Sendak The Witches, by Roald Dahl A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeleine L’Engle The New Joy of Gay Sex, by Charles Silverstein Go Ask Alice, by Anonymous The Goats, by Brock Cole The Stupids (Series), by Harry Allard Anastasia Krupnik (Series), by Lois Lowry Final Exit, by Derek Humphry Blubber, by Judy Blume Halloween ABC, by Eve Merriam Julie of the Wolves, by Jean Craighead George Kaffir Boy, by Mark Mathabane The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison What’s Happening to my Body? Book for Girls: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Daughters, by Lynda Madaras Fallen Angels, by Walter Dean Myers The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood The Outsiders, by S.E. Hinton The Pigman, by Paul Zindel To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee We All Fall Down, by Robert Cormier Deenie, by Judy Blume Flowers for Algernon, by Daniel Keyes Annie on my Mind, by Nancy Garden Beloved, by Toni Morrison The Boy Who Lost His Face, by Louis Sachar Cross Your Fingers, Spit in Your Hat, by Alvin Schwartz Harry Potter (Series), by J.K. Rowling Cujo, by Stephen King James and the Giant Peach, by Roald Dahl A Light in the Attic, by Shel Silverstein Ordinary People, by Judith Guest American Psycho, by Bret Easton Ellis Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley Sleeping Beauty Trilogy, by A.N. Roquelaure (Anne Rice) Bumps in the Night, by Harry Allard Asking About Sex and Growing Up, by Joanna Cole What’s Happening to my Body? Book for Boys: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Sons, by Lynda Madaras The Anarchist Cookbook, by William Powell Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret, by Judy Blume Boys and Sex, by Wardell Pomeroy Crazy Lady, by Jane Conly Athletic Shorts, by Chris Crutcher Killing Mr. Griffin, by Lois Duncan Fade, by Robert Cormier Guess What?, by Mem Fox Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut Lord of the Flies, by William Golding Native Son by Richard Wright Women on Top: How Real Life Has Changed Women’s Fantasies, by Nancy Friday Curses, Hexes and Spells, by Daniel Cohen On My Honor, by Marion Dane Bauer The House of Spirits, by Isabel Allende Jack, by A.M. Homes Arizona Kid, by Ron Koertge Family Secrets, by Norma Klein Mommy Laid An Egg, by Babette Cole Bless Me, Ultima, by Rudolfo A. Anaya Where Did I Come From?, by Peter Mayle The Face on the Milk Carton, by Caroline Cooney Carrie, by Stephen King The Dead Zone, by Stephen King The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, by Mark Twain Song of Solomon, by Toni Morrison Always Running, by Luis Rodriguez Private Parts, by Howard Stern Where’s Waldo?, by Martin Hanford Summer of My German Soldier, by Bette Greene Tiger Eyes, by Judy Blume Little Black Sambo, by Helen Bannerman Pillars of the Earth, by Ken Follett Running Loose, by Chris Crutcher Sex Education, by Jenny Davis Jumper, by Steven Gould Christine, by Stephen King The Drowning of Stephen Jones, by Bette Greene That Was Then, This is Now, by S.E. Hinton Girls and Sex, by Wardell Pomeroy The Wish Giver, by Bill Brittain Jump Ship to Freedom, by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier
One last thing. There's been some flutter around the blogosphere this week about Banned Books Week in a less positive sense- some folks posting that it's not a big deal, censorship isn't a big issue in the United States anymore, it's all just a bunch of self-congratulation, etc.
Book challenges are still an important issue in this country, and they happen all the time. Pick up a copy of American Libraries, the ALA monthly, and read their column entitled "Censorship Watch" for current challenges. Or visit ala.org. Click here for an interactive map showing recent challenges in different parts of the United States.
So what if it is a little bit of self-congratulation? Should we just do nothing? Should we not talk about it at all? I'd like to know what the naysayers would suggest as an alternative.
All I can say is, taking your freedom for granted is a great way to lose it.
Sci-fi authors are, I think, justifiably upset about the lack of respect they are given. A lot of work goes into writing some very fine books that have to overcome a substantial stigma with readers; many sci-fi books are worthy of a larger audience but are never seen because they're stuck on the shelves next to gaudy covers showing badly drawn wizards and dragons. It's enough to fry anyone's fritters.
That said, the fact that there are excellent sci-fi books worthy of greater recognition does not mean that those same books qualify for "literary fiction" awards. I think sometimes the sci-fi community confuses books that are excellently written sci-fi with books that transcend genre. In fact, I think that those sci-fi books which transcend genre do get fair consideration -- the works of authors such as Atwood and Lessing being examples.
But why shouldn't excellent sci-fi be considered for literary awards on its own merits, regardless of whether it "transcends genre"? Isn't "genre" just a way to give short shrift to a huge category of work without due consideration? Well, whether you believe in "genre" or not, I think it is undeniable that what most of us think about as sci-fi appeals to some people and not to others. Over time I have come to believe that this is not an issue of "not having been exposed to the good stuff" -- I have given what I consider excellent sci-fi to people in the past, and they simply don't get it or appreciate it. Is this a problem with sci-fi? No. Is it a problem with the reader? Hard to accept, I know, but no. Sci-fi just isn't some people's cup of tea. They are simply looking for something different in their reading (let's call it Quality X) than what sci-fi readers look for (Quality Y). Unless a sci-fi book also contains Quality X -- thereby "transcending genre" -- it will never meet the standards of a non-sci-fi reader.
But what are Quality X and Quality Y? If you can't define them, are they really a basis for excluding certain works for consideration? I think, as frustrating as it may be, the answer is yes -- even if you can't define these qualities in anything but the most vague and subjective terms, there is nevertheless an objective difference in whether someone appreciates one category versus another.
Thus, if you have a panel giving an award for the novel that best encapsulates Quality X, there's no point in complaining that they've failed to consider your book as being the world's best example of Quality Y. It's like complaining that a dog show won't let you enter your prize-winning Siamese. If they did let your cat into the show, how on earth would they judge between them? It would boil down into whether you appreciate Quality X or Quality Y more, which is such a subjective standard that it's not worthy of a merit-based competition -- it's simply a popularity contest.
What I think truly and justifiably galls many sci-fi readers and authors is that literary fiction awards are often portrayed and marketed as being competitions for the "best book," full stop. The very title of "literary fiction" suggests that the category subsumes the whole of the written word. (Which begs the question of what the rest of us are using to write with; hieroglyphics, maybe? What I'd really like to see is someone start to call science fiction "published fiction" and give "pubfic" awards, to illustrate the absurdity.) To use the metaphor above, it's like a dog show promoting itself as being a competition to find the "best animal." Of course that's going to tick off cat lovers if they're not even allowed in the door -- but it's still just a dog show. The proper response is not to demand entry, but call out the competition for what it is: a contest that's just as limited and genre-specific as any other.
As for the issue of media coverage and the size of the award -- well, your cat is never going to win that prize, so why does it matter? Promote your own awards, find better sponsors if you want more money on the table, but don't look for validation from the dog crowd. Ultimately, Quality Y has to be popular (or not) on its own merits.
Yesterday was my favorite library book sale of the year- the only one I actually put on my calendar. I'm talking, of course, about the town of Arlington's Robbins Library book sale, timed to coincide with Town Day, one of those fun suburban street fairs. The Robbins Library itself is a terrific place- an attractive, well-provided-for public library; I did a collection-development project with them while I was in library school. Tables and tables of books in beautiful condition- new or barely-used hardcovers and paperbacks in every subject under the sun. Being me, I stick to the fiction tables and always come back with some great stuff.I love library book sales because the books are cheap enough that it's okay to experiment and get some of those things you'd only eyed, and not feel guilty if you don't like them or never get around to them. I only bought six books (eight if you count the two that my husband and I are going to share), but the key here is quality. I got six great books.
I don't know where I heard about the Dawn Powell book, but I heard about it somewhere; Maps for Lost Lovers just looked like something I'd like; Love Medicine is one that I've always wanted to read; The Zig Zag Kid looked like fun; I read another Grossman that I loved, so figured I'd give this one a try; In the Company of the Courtesan is one that I'm interested in after having read Sarah Dunant's latest, Sacred Hearts; and The Jewel Trader of Pegu is one that I was offered for review and passed on- then one of my favorite bloggers, Sandra of Fresh Ink Books, gave it a great review and I reconsidered.
Today's all about resting and relaxing, and digging into my stash. There's a good chance I will finally finish The Hakawati today; I've only been reading it for two months! So then I'll have to decide what to read next. I think it will be something I've agreed to review. Then I can read something for me!
The Angelic Way: Angels Through the Ages and Their Meaning for Us, by Rami Shapiro, came unexpectedly in the mail. It looks to be an interesting book about angels in different religious traditions. It might be great for my book club.
The Crow Road, by Iain Banks. Banks is a great British writer who does a lot of science fiction; I saw him do a reading in Dublin in 1995, when I first read his thriller Complicity. I should have read another one of his books before now!
The Selected Stories of Janet Frame came from Counterpoint, which also sent me her last novel Towards Another Summer earlier this year.
Becoming American Jews, by Meaghan Dwyer-Ryan, is a history of Boston's Temple Israel, a large Reform temple and an offshoot of Massachusetts' oldest synagogue. It's also where I work the reference desk from time to time. Dwyer-Ryan is the temple's archivist.
How the Soldier Repairs the Gramophone, by Saša Stanišić is a fun-looking novel from the Balkans that I'm looking forward to.
Margaret Atwood is absolutely and by far and away one of my favorite authors. I first read her in 2003, when I chose The Handmaid's Tale as my Banned-Book-Week pick. I haven't been able to get enough since. Over the past five years or so I've worked my way through most (though not all) of her novel-length fiction and of course I'm so excited for her new book and I hope everyone reads it.
So the other day I promised a little recap of the books of hers that I've read. Where I've blogged a full review I'll include the link.
The Handmaid's Tale was my first foray into Atwood's work and still the most emotionally riveting. Don't make the mistake I made and read it the month before you're getting married! Trauma! I loved this book but it definitely shook me up.
Alias Grace is without question my favorite of her books. It's historical fiction centering on a true-crime story about a young Irishwoman named Grace Marks, a maid who was convicted of the murders of her employer and his mistress. Grace is one of the most fascinating literary creations I've come across, and the book is filled with the themes and motifs that you'll see over and over in Atwood- women, sex, and power- but executed in a wholly unique way. The Blind Assassin was the second Atwood novel I read, several months after finishing The Handmaid's Tale- when the shock had worn off. A Booker Prize winner, it's a combines a truly creepy family story with metafictional and science fiction elements in a brilliant, compelling work.
The Robber Bride is another brilliant entry, this time focusing on a group of friends whose lives and loves have been impacted by another friend, the enigmatic Zenia, whose funeral opens the book. But is she really dead? And is (was?) she, anyway? Atwood creates three vivid, different women and a fourth whose story is told through their eyes- though she never speaks for herself. I think there's a lot more going on in this one than meets the eye.
Lady Oracle is an earlier book, and one that I enjoyed immensely. It's about a housewife who becomes an unlikely literary star, then fakes her own death. It's not a particularly heavy book but I found it very, very satisfying and enjoyable.
Life Before Man, another early Atwood, is about a love triangle between two women and the husband of one. A worthwhile read.
The Penelopiadcame out a couple of years ago as part of a series of rewrites of mythology by modern writers. It's the story of The Odyssey from Penelope's point of view. It's not my favorite but Atwood completists will want to read it.
Cat's Eye is probably one of my least favorite of her books. It's a coming of age story about an artist and her troubled relationships, particularly with her best friend. I liked the way Atwood depicts the pains of childhood- it seemed very real to me- but in a lot of ways it strikes me as a rough draft of The Blind Assassin, where a lot of the themes and situations are repeated. It's on the light side so it will appeal to some readers more than others. I will say though, that certain things about it have stayed with me.
I've also read her novels Surfacing and Bodily Harm; I wasn't crazy about either one and can't remember much more about them than that.
Recently I picked up The Edible Woman and I hope to get to that soon; Moral Disorder and Other Stories is out there for me at some point, and then maybe I'll dive into her short fiction and poetry as well. You can click to see my recent reviews of The Year of the Flood and Oryx and Crake .
If you've never read her, or read one or two of her books, I hope that you find something to try!
The saddest book I've read recently is probably Steve Luxenberg's Annie's Ghosts, about the research he did into the history of mental health care and his own family secret, his mother's sister. It was sad because in it he documents a lot of unnecessary misery and suffering among some of society's most vulnerable people, and the pain suffered by families who didn't know how to take care of their mentally ill and/or disabled family members. It was also a bittersweet story of forgiveness and healing in a family.
Oryx and Crake, by Margaret Atwood. Published 2004 by Anchor Books. Literary Fiction.
As a companion to yesterday's review of The Year of the Flood, Margaret Atwood's latest, I thought I would talk about its prequel, Oryx and Crake, which came out a few years ago, and which I've just finished.
To be honest, the first time I tried to read Oryx and Crake, I threw it down after the first third. I found it dull and plodding; page after page, it just felt like nothing was happening. I wasn't particularly fond of the main character, Jimmy a.k.a. Snowman, who just seemed like kind of a dolt. And I was disappointed that Atwood, one of my favorite authors and one of the best out there at writing about women, chose such a dullard as her protagonist.
This time around, it was different. The pages flew by and while I'm still not in love with Jimmy, I didn't mind him so much. The difference? The difference is having read The Year of the Flood and finally understanding what the heck is going on in this book. Atwood unfolds the narrative slowly, oh-so-slowly, building up the story layer by layer, detail by detail; by the end, I could appreciate the full horror of what Jimmy had been through, but it really did take the whole book for me to get there. Maybe I'm a dullard, too.
Anyway, Oryx and Crake is Jimmy's story; it's a post-apocalyptic dystopian, science-fiction-y story about this young man trying to survive in a wasteland. Crake is Jimmy's best friend, now absent. Oryx is the woman he loved, an enigma and an illusion. The action unfolds on another Atwoodian double time line- the present day, in which Jimmy is trying to find food and other survivors, and the past, where we watch the disaster unfold. Slowly. When it does, though, it's staggering.
But then, Jimmy's dullness may be the point. One theme that runs through several of Atwood's books is blindness or willful ignorance- characters who see but don't understand, listen without hearing as Jimmy admits of himself. He spends most of the book ignoring or blocking out the world around him- drunk or high, or blotting it all out with food or sex. He doesn't understand Oryx, the love of his life, or really see her, and he fails to understand what Crake is up to until long past too late.
Did I like Oryx and Crake? I liked it more than I did the first time, and I liked it more having read Flood. It strikes me now as extended back story for a minor character in its much more engaging sequel- definitely a worthwhile read, but probably essential only for established Atwood fans or Floodaficionados.
Since there's been so much interest in the comments on my review of Flood in Atwood and her books, tomorrow I'm going to write an extended post with short reviews of all the books of hers that I've read.
Rating: BACKLIST
FTC Disclosure: I did not receive this book for review from the publisher.
The Year of the Flood, by Margaret Atwood. Published 2009 by Nan A. Talese/Doubleday. Literary Fiction. Science Fiction.
The Year of the Flood, the latest literary dystopia from Canadian author Margaret Atwood, is not so much a sequel to her last book, Oryx and Crake, as it is a companion novel. I am a huge fan of Atwood's novels, and not having read an Atwood book in a couple of years, I was so excited to get my hands on this one.
TYoTF unrolls efficiently, on a typically Atwoodian double time line, following two women, Ren and Toby. Toby is older, a middle aged woman who's gone from a lost adolescent to convert to a quasi-religious, vegan-survivalist cult called God's Gardeners, and now one of a handful of survivors of a deadly, virulent plague. Ren grows up with the Gardeners and knows Toby tangentially but not well; she, too, has survived and thinks she's alone. The double time line shows us the past and present of each woman as she negotiates this violent, broken-down world.
I really enjoyed The Year of the Flood- like, really enjoyed it. Atwood's science fiction/dystopian novels aren't as compelling to me as her other, more strictly literary, writing, but she is a masterful writer and Flood finds her doing what I think she does better than anyone- writing about women's lives. In between all the scifi pyrotechnics and page-turning action, that's what it's about and that's what I loved best about it. Having said that, it is also a great page-turner and a dizzying, dazzling and disturbing vision of the future.
Now, the big question about Flood is- do you have to have read Oryx and Crake to get it? No. Absolutely no. When I read Flood I had not read Oryx and Crake and had no trouble following it at all. In fact, I have since read Oryx and Crake and found it a good deal less easy to follow in general than Flood. The books operate as two countries in the same world. Major characters from one are minor characters in another; questions asked in one get answered in the other but they work together, not as first-book and sequel. I'm hoping there's more to come. As it stands, Flood is a terrific read that I think will appeal to science fiction and literary fiction readers.
Today's edition of Shelf Awareness included a reference to an article published in the Guardian, a U.K. daily, about science fiction author Kim Stanley Robinson in which he accused the Man Booker committee of "ignornance" for disregarding science fiction when it comes to choosing nominees and winners of the Man Booker Prize, arguably one of the most prestigious literary prizes in the world. To quote,
"Kim Stanley Robinson, one of the greatest science fiction authors writing today, has hit out at the literary establishment, accusing the Man Booker judges of 'ignorance' in neglecting science fiction, which he called 'the best British literature of our time'.
"The winner of Hugo, Nebula, and Locus awards and author of the bestselling Mars trilogy, Robinson attacked the Booker for rewarding 'what usually turn out to be historical novels'. Five are shortlisted for this year's prize, from Hilary Mantel's retelling of the life of Thomas Cromwell, Wolf Hall, to AS Byatt's The Children's Book, set at the turn of the 20th century.
"'[Historical novelists] tend to do the same things the modernists did in smaller ways,' Robinson said in an article for the New Scientist, published today. 'A good new novel about the first world war, for instance, is still not going to tell us more than Parade's End by Ford Madox Ford. More importantly, these novels are not about now in the way science fiction is.'"
So in his view, it seems that speculative fiction is not just as deserving of recognition, but more so. He says that historical fiction is 'not about now'- a sweeping generalization indeed, and one that displays its own brand of ignorance about contemporary literature. A novel set in the past can have just as much to say about our own times as one set on a spaceship or another planet. I agree that science fiction is often socially informed and positioned to play with conventions and contemporary politics- but these traits are hardly limited to the genre.
Take the example he gives, Ford Madox Ford's masterful Parade's End. This isn't just some slight historical-novel fluff- it's a major masterpiece of 20th century English literature and its themes of love, war and chaos have much to tell us about today as it has to teach about the historical specifics of World War 1 and prewar England. A.S. Byatt's wonderful The Children's Book, shortlisted for this year's Man Booker Prize, is also ostensibly about prewar England but it's about more than that- it's about families and class and politics and the status of women, and is just as deeply informed by the 21st century as it is by the 19th. A good writer can write about the past but make it feel modern and create empathy for the characters. People are people no matter what the era or setting. Jane Austen and Charlotte Bronte and Charles Dickens have as much to say now as ever; that's why they keep getting adapted and retold and that's why we keep reading them. Great literature is universal and eternal.
Having said that, what about his point that the Man Booker ignores science fiction, and the idea that there is something wrong with it? Certainly he's right that science fiction is ignored by mainstream awards, and that there is a lot of great writing out there in other genres. Maybe he should start his own awards to honor the literature he writes and loves, but honestly I don't have any problem at all with the Man Booker and the Prix Goncourt and the Pen/Faulkner and whatever other award you can name, focusing on literary fiction. Genres have built-in audiences; it's hard enough to draw attention to lit fic without naysayers saying it doesn't deserve the attention. Likewise I have no problem with, say, Oprah Winfrey's habit of choosing highbrow classics and literary fiction for her bookclub- why be satisfied with mediocrity? Why not encourage people to read challenging books? And why not recognize modern masterpieces with literary awards? If science fiction, or chick lit, or religious fiction, or whatever is important to you, advocate for an award or support the ones already out there- like the Nebula, the Hugo, the Sami Rohr Prize, and others. But let us lit fic nerds have our Booker Prize.
After a busy week of BBAW and other things, it's nice to relax a little. Today I'll be going to the gym and later to the Boston Comic-Con, which should be a fun little festival of comics, zines and TV and movie stuff.
I can't believe it's already the middle of September, that tomorrow is the last official day of summer (or is it today?). Earlier this week I got the distressing news that my favorite ice cream shop in my neighborhood is closing at the end of next month- I'm totally devastated! Apparently a combination of bad economy and increased competition in the area for ice cream dollars has forced it under. I'm very sad. The branch in my old neighborhood has closed already- now this one is going too. I guess the upside is I won't eat as much ice cream. But it's the end of an era.
Traditionally, I go there every year on the last day of summer for one last ice cream to hold me through the winter, when my sugary vices run to hot things like cocoa and cider. Looks like I'll have to uphold that tradition one last time.
As far as reading, I'm working my way through my book club book, Our Lady of the Lost and Found, by Diane Schoemperlen. Has anyone read it? Because I'd be really interested in your thoughts. I suggested it as a "Christian" book- my club alternates between books about Judaism, Christianity and Islam, and this month is Christian month- and I'm enjoying it, but it's unusual. It's about the Virgin Mary (obviously) and on Wednesday when we meet, I'm going to bring in a selection of Mary artifacts that I've collected over the years, representing different cultures and traditions. And I'm looking forward to hearing the Muslim point of view on this in particular, because the Muslim ladies in the group have said that Mary is important in Islam and I really want to learn more about that. Naturally, I will report back!
Today for Book Blogger Appreciation Week, book bloggers are encouraged to write about a book we discovered because of a book blog- a book we loved, hopefully!- and write a little about the blog on which we found it.
I found out about Ulitskaya on the wonderful blog Almost Insider, written by Hungarian blogger Anni. Anni blogs about European fiction, both Hungarian and other. She's a very good writer with great taste in books- and anyone interested in serious international literary fiction should add her to their reading list.
We're supposed to keep our answers brief- five words or less. Ha. To see links to other bloggers' responses, you can go to BookBloggerAppreciationWeek.com.
Do you snack while you read? If so, favorite reading snack? Tea and a homemade scone.
Do you tend to mark your books as you read, or does the idea of writing in books horrify you? Sometimes. It doesn't bother me.
How do you keep your place while reading a book? Bookmark? Dog-ears? I dog-ear with wild abandon.
Laying the book flat open? No.
Fiction, Non-fiction, or both? Mainly fiction.
Hard copy or audiobooks? Hard copy, please. No audio or e-books.
Are you a person who tends to read to the end of chapters, or are you able to put a book down at any point? I can stop anywhere.
If you come across an unfamiliar word, do you stop to look it up right away? Yes!
What are you currently reading? Official Book Club Selection, by Kathy Griffin, and still working through The Hakawati by Rabih Alameddine.
What is the last book you bought?The Jewish Husband, by Lia Levi.
Are you the type of person that only reads one book at a time or can you read more than one at a time? I can read several books at once.
Do you have a favorite time of day and/or place to read? At coffeeshops any time of day.
Do you prefer series books or stand alone books? Stand-alone. I'm not a series person.
Is there a specific book or author that you find yourself recommending over and over? It depends. Everyone's taste is different.
How do you organize your books? (By genre, title, author’s last name, etc.?) I organize books roughly by genre and from there it's all a jumble. If I had a house with tons of bookshelves I'd love to really work on a great system of organization. It's the librarian in me.
Today is the day for Book Blogger Appreciation Week blogger interviews. Here on Boston Bibliophile, I'm featuring my interview with Jenn of the great lit fic blog Bibliolatry. If you haven't been over to her blog, you need to- it's awesome! I love her articles and reviews of literary fiction and more. And if you visit her today, you'll see her interview with me!
1. Why did you decide to start blogging about books?
I started my blog back in November, 2005. At the time, I just wanted to spread the word about my favorite books. Sometimes I'm so amazed and awed by a book that I just want everyone I know to read it. Unfortunately, I don't know anyone in my "real" life who reads as much as I do, and they don't want to hear me talk endlessly about another book. And so my blog was born.
2. What kind of books do you usually review?
I stick mostly to literary fiction, although I enjoy good "spooky" reads (anything ranging from horror to mystery to science fiction) as well. I will occasionally read poetry and, to a lesser extent, nonfiction.
3. What's the best book (or your top five books if you want) so far this year?
Yeah, definitely not falling for that "best book" trap, because then I'll be here forever deciding. In fact, I can't even do top five -- if you don't mind, I've got six. My favorite books so far this year have been Angelica (Arthur Phillips), The Little Stranger (Sarah Waters), Drood (Dan Simmons), Rebecca (Daphne DuMaurier), and Julian(Gore Vidal). The sixth book is The Hunger Games (Suzanne Collins), which I just finished this morning. I don't often read YA fiction, but I couldn't ignore it any longer, since I've heard so many people rave about it. I'm glad I listened - it absolutely blew me away.
4. Have you always been an avid reader? If not, when did you become one?
Yes, I'd say I've always been an avid reader. My grandmother swears I was reading by two, and I'm biased enough to believe her. When I was very little, reading was always my favorite thing to do. (Well, that and play My Little Pony.) As I got older, the Sweet Valley High and Christopher Pike books kept me enthralled. They were so much fun to read.
5. What's your favorite bookstore?
I feel like a creep for writing this, but I'm a big online shopper. So, I have to say it's a toss up between Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Amazon is cheaper, but B&N gets to my door faster. Plus, now I have a Kindle, so I really don't ever have to leave my house. Bravo for the anti-social little me.
6. What's your favorite time of day or week to read?
I wouldn't say I have a favorite time to read, since any time is good if I'm really into a book. However, if a book is dragging or if I'm tired, I generally can't read in the evening or else I'll doze off.
7. Do you find you're reading more as a blogger? Or about the same? What about genre? Do you read what you've always read, or has blogging influenced your reading choices?
Sometimes, blogging actually slows me down. That's why I haven't been updating as frequently as I did a year or two ago; I was spending more time online than I was between the pages. After awhile, reviewing came to feel like a chore and even reading felt less fun. When I pulled back a bit on the blog, I felt more like reading. Otherwise, I'd say I read as much as I always have.
I wouldn't say blogging has influenced my reading choices as much, either. I still read what I want, and if something doesn't interest me, I'm not wasting my time. This goes for the ARC's that I occasionally get, which is why I probably haven't been getting too many of them recently.
8. What blogs do you like to read?
An easier question might be what blogs don't I like to read. My Google Reader is crammed with blogs, and I feel like I have so many unread posts that I can barely skim through them all.
I can't begin to list my favorite bookblogs - the list would be too long, and then I'd leave someone out that I'd feel bad about. In terms of "normal" blogs, I have to say I'm addicted to OhNoTheyDidnt and GoFugYourself for my celebrity addiction, I Can Has Cheezburger and FAIL Blog make me laugh way harder than they should, and PostSecret makes me cry nearly every single Sunday. I do cry easily, though.
9. What are your other hobbies?
Well, I have 3 dogs that I treat like my children (yes, I'm one of those annoying people), and I also enjoy walking and doing pilates. I also like to crochet, but I haven't been doing much of that recently. I also enjoy baking (not so much cooking).
10. Is there something else about yourself that you'd like to share? (optional question!)
Let's see, I'm obsessed with Britney Spears, the Olsen twins (for the fashion, not the movies), LOST, and scary movies. Sometimes I think something is wrong with me. I blame Christopher Pike.
So for the next five days, our regularly scheduled Boston Bibliophile programming will be put on hold as I take part for the first time in Book Blogger Appreciation Week, a week when book bloggers from all over the world take some time to show our admiration for each other.
The festivities include coordinated blog posts where folks write about similar topics each day. Today's topic is the personal blog short list- in other words, it's an opportunity to talk about our favorite blogs that didn't make the BBAW official shortlists. A tall order, since there are so many excellent blogs, and so many of my favorites were represented among those nominated for awards.
Here are some of my favorites:
Cupcake Witch, a fun blog written by a fellow Marie featuring YA reviews among others,
Jew Wishes, for my money the best Jewish-interest book blog out there,
Fresh Ink Books, where blogger Sandra reviews the crème de la crème of literary fiction with style and intelligence,
And there are more. Of course there are more. How could there not be more? Just look at my blogroll. I don't read every blog every day but I do try to check in with them when I can- and I do check in with all of them from time to time. But yeah. Lots of awesome blogs and bloggers out there.
This Sunday is all about getting my act together for fall. Specifically, cleaning out my closet, going shopping for some new clothes and polishing my resumé. Last week I found out that due to budget and other issues, I won't be returning to the library that I've been running for the last two years. Naturally I'm disappointed, but I'm also trying to look at it as a positive and an opportunity for new adventures. So there.
What you see to the left is the current state of my TBR pile. Got to get a handle on that as well- do some weeding and reorganizing. My reading priorities may well shift with the other changes in my life!
I'm also working on posts for this week's Book Blogger Appreciation Week, including my truly awesome giveaway of a new, hardcover copy of What It Is by Lynda Barry and a selection of comics samplers. I hope all of you will enter!
As of today the voting has closed but whatever the results, I want to thank anyone who voted for me for Best Literary Fiction Blog for your support. There are lots great things coming up this week- an interview with Jenn of Bibliolatry, a fun meme and other features. I'm taking the week off from reviews and other articles, so I have more time to participate in the BBAW festivities.
For my Book Blogger Appreciation Week giveaway, I'm featuring ahardcover copy of What It Is, by comics goddess Lynda Barry, as well as twelve samplers by publishers such as DC, Top Shelf, Dark Horse Comics, Red 5 Comics, Oni Press, Bongo Comics, Archie Comics and Marvel.
The centerpiece is the wonderful book by Lynda Barry, which is half memoir and half writing workshop. I loved this book.
If you have never read a graphic novel before, this is a fantastic opportunity to read a great book by a top artist and writer, and to get a grasp of what's going on in comics today with all the great samplers.
The rules for the giveaway are as follows:
Open to U.S. residents only.
To enter, leave a comment with your email address. If you do not leave an email address, your entry will not be counted.
I will use Random.org to select a winner on September 19 and notify the winner via email shortly thereafter. The winner has 48 hours to respond. If I don't hear back from you, I will choose a new winner.
Two extra entries if you're a follower.
Two more extra entries if you tweet or link to the giveaway and leave the link(s) in the comments.
The Woman Who Named God: Abraham's Dilemma and the Rise of Three Faiths arrived for review from author Charlotte Gordon. Looks fascinating!
I picked up Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner at a used bookstore; I've always wanted to read it.
The Jewish Husband, by Lia Levi, came from the New England Mobile Book Fair after it got a very positive write-up in one of last week's issues of Shelf Awareness.
My favorite fellow sarcastic Irish-Catholic redhead Kathy Griffin came out with her memoir, Official Book Club Selection, which I rushed right out to buy Tuesday after work.
I picked up The Conversion, by Aharon Appelfeld, from a books-for-sale cart at the temple library this week as well.
Lots of fun ahead! What are you looking forward to?
What’s the most informative book you’ve read recently?
I don't read a lot of nonfiction but fiction can be just as informative in some respects. Sarah Dunant's lovely, well-researchedSacred Hearts had a lot to teach about womens' lives in sixteenth-century Italy; The Marriage Bureau for Rich People talked about marriage rituals among Muslims and Hindus in India, andShalom India Housing Society contained lots of information about the Bene Israel community of India.
School for Love, by Olivia Manning. Published 2009 by NYRB Editions. Literary fiction.
School for Love, originally published in 1951, is a slight and bittersweet novel about a young English teenager, Felix Latimer, orphaned and marooned in Jerusalem in 1945. He finds a place to live with Miss Bohun, an eccentric distant relative and leader of a small religious cult. Felix befriends his fellow lodger the lonely Mr. Jewel and tries to eke out a life while he waits for a chance to return to England. Miss Bohun, narcissistic and full of self-pity, rules the roost through sheer force of will; when Mrs. Ellis, a pregnant widow, arrives, the house is thrown into disarray.
When I say that School for Love is slight, I don't mean that it is light fiction or insubstantial in any way; only that it is a quiet novel whose emotional impact builds slowly and almost imperceptibly. When Miss Bohun meets Mrs. Ellis, the reader gets a characteristic glimpse at Miss Bohun's insensitivity:
"What have you chanced upon?" Miss Bohun asked excitedly. "What are they? Oh! Irises! Such interesting flowers." She stared blindly at them for a moment, then swinging quickly round she all but trampled them under her feet. "I've all sorts of rare irises in the garden," she said. "A young botanist planted them here...He was going to Cairo...and he didn't know what to do with all these valuable bulbs - so I offered him a home for them."
How kind of her, no? Schnorring some expensive flowers (which she carelessly destroys) is the least of her sins, and Felix's awareness of her awfulness dawns very gradually, from the slow unfolding of the backstory of Frau Leszno, who we meet as Miss Bohun's servant but whose actual position in the household is very different, to Miss Bohun's cruelty towards Mrs. Ellis and finally to a stunning betrayal of Mr. Jewel and Felix himself. Felix's growing awareness of her nature and ability to set boundaries and stand up for himself marks the arc he must travel towards maturity.
A literary coming of age novel for adults, School for Love is a treasure I'm glad to have come upon. The language is clean and unpretentious and the setting, Jerusalem of 1945, is fascinating and colorful. Much of the action takes place within the confines of Miss Bohun's house but the reader will get a glimpse of a scarred, transient population living on the fringes in a cosmopolitan city both young and ancient, where everybody's life feels unsettled and temporary- as though life is something that happens elsewhere, and here is just a waystation. In her introduction, author Jane Smiley characterizes the novel as "idiosyncratic and neatly controlled...with sharp, uncomfortable characters." Manning has crafted something quite lovely nonetheless.
Rating: BUY
FTC Disclosure: I did not receive this book for review from the publisher.
Yesterday I got the great news that Boston Bibliophile has been short-listed for Best Literary Fiction Blog for Book Blogger Appreciation Week. I'm so honored to be listed along with all the other terrific blogs who were also nominated.
You can vote for Boston Bibliophile (0r whoever you want) over at Book Blogger Appreciation Week's Awards and Nominations page.
There are tons of great bloggers nominated for all kinds of great awards. You can vote or just check out the folks nominated in different categories. Voting is open until Saturday September 12 at 11:59 PM EST. Go on over and check it out!
Bowl of Cherries, by Millard Kaufman. Published 2007 by McSweeney's. Literary Fiction.
Bowl of Cherries is the first novel by screenwriter and Mr. Magoo co-creator Millard Kaufman, who passed away this year at the age of 92. It's the story of one Judd Breslau, a teenage prodigy who finds himself working for an eccentric scholar. Soon Judd falls hopelessly in love with the scholar's mercurial daughter, Valerie, and follows her to the ends of the earth. Almost literally.
When the story opens, Judd is in prison in a backwater of Iraq, awaiting his execution at the hands of his rival for Valerie's affections. From there Judd tells us his backstory interspersed with the slow forward motion of his hopeless-seeming predicament. The narrative has a picaresque quality as we follow his adventures from Connecticut to New York to Colorado and Iraq, and Kaufman writes in an elevated, literary style not at all like the voice of a fifteen-year-old. Whether you find this charming or annoying will determine how you feel about the book as a whole. On moving to Colorado and finding his mother, he notes
The house sat on the crown of a snowy hill, gleaming in the twilight. A big-shouldered stone fireplace dominated the living room, and next to it stood my mother. She wore the white robes of a vestal, cinctured with the silver and turquoise of the Navajo. From her neck depended a silver chain, and her earrings were like quoits. I had never seen her so gussied up, but the style was matchlessly Mother's.
Here you can see the penchant towards preciousness and hoity-toity vocabulary which dominates the entire book. Those of you bloggers who participate in Wondrous Words Wednesday will feast. It didn't bother me that the style doesn't really sound like that of a teenager; what bothered me was that the style muddied the action and slowed the pace, so rather than skipping along, I felt like I was crawling through molasses to find out what would happen next.
The best thing about Bowl of Cherries for me was the comic cast of characters. Phillips Chatterton, the bathrobe-clad scholar, back-stabbing Abdul and inconstant Valerie made the book memorable and kept me reading. Even the minor characters are brought to life with color and texture. It's a coming of age story for readers of idiosyncratic literary fiction with an emphasis on stylized writing and character over plot. It's not destined to be a favorite, but I'm glad I picked it up.
Rating: BORROW
FTC Disclosure: I did not receive this book for review from the publisher.
Do you memorize poetry? Did you have to in school? Do you still read poetry? Is there any poetry that you can recite by heart? I read this great post the other day at I Will Dare.com and it inspired me to think about my own love of poetry.
I used to read and memorize a lot of poetry, just for the sheer fun of it. I was particularly fond of 20th century American poets like Elizabeth Bishop and Robert Frost. In my 20s, I read contemporary voices like Lyn Lifshin, Frank Bidart, and Ronald Wallace. And I love the British classics like Shelley and Wordsworth and Tennyson. Americans Dickinson and Poe. Travel introduced me to French masters Jacques Prevert and Paul Eluard and Irish poets Eavan Boland and Brendan Kennelly. These days I like to read Kim Addonizio and Ellen Steinbaum. And more.
So how much can I remember? Let's see. I'm probably going to make some mistakes but I'll do the best I can without cheating!
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood and sorry I could not travel both and be one traveller, long I stood and looked down one as far as I could to where it bent in the undergrowth. Then took the other, as just as fair, and having perhaps the better claim because it was grassy and wanted wear, though as for that the passing there had worn them really about the same. And both that morning equally lay in leaves no step had trodden black. I saved the first for another day yet knowing how way leads on to way I doubted I should ever come back. Two roads diverged in a yellow wood and I, I took the one less traveled by and that has made all the difference.
Nothing Gold Can Stay Nature's first green is gold, its hardest hue to hold. Its early leaf's a flower But only so an hour.
(I forget the rest!)
Indian Serenade, P. B. Shelley I arise from dreams of thee in the first sweet sleep of night when the moon is hanging low and the stars are shining bright. I arise from dreams of thee and a spirit in my feet hath lead me- who knows how- to thy chamber window, sweet!
(that's all I remember!)
Daffodils, by W. Wordsworth I wandered, lonely as a cloud, that floats on high o'er vales and hills, when all at once I saw a crowd- a host of golden daffodils beside the lake, beneath the trees, fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
(there's more- but that's all I remember.)
A little from Prévert-
Et la verre était vide et la bouteille brisée et le lit était grand ouvert et la porte fermée
et toutes les étoiles de verre du bonheur et de la beauté resplendissaient dans la poussière de la chambre mal balayée.
Et j'étais ivre mort, et j'étais feu de joie, et toi ivre vivante, toute nue dans mes bras.
(that's all I got- please pardon any grammatical or spelling errors in the French- I am doing this from memory!)
When I was in my teens I memorized poetry as a hobby. Probably one of my all-time favorite individual poems was Elizabeth Bishop's"One Art," from her wonderful book Geography III. It's written in a French formal style called a villanelle, a 19-line-long poem with an interesting and echoing rhyming structure. It starts The art of losing isn't hard to master.
I wish I could still remember the rest!
What about you? What are your favorites? I used to really love reading (and writing) poetry and it's something I really miss. I need to make some kind of resolution about reading poetry more regularly and trying out new voices. Any suggestions?
This Sunday, I think I need to get a handle on my blog!
I have a lot to talk about these days and I need to spend some time doing some planning.
Book Blogger Appreciation Week is coming up, and with it a week's worth of posts on various subjects, including my upcoming interview with Jenn of Bibliolatry, which I'm very excited about. She's a super blogger and a great person to get to know. You should read her blog!
And there's been a lot going on that I want to talk to you about. I realized I never finished posting about Readercon, and even though it was a while ago now I think there's a lot of material worth sharing and talking about. Also, I got a review offer the other day for a novel based on a Holocaust hoax, and I have some thoughts about that. Then there's the recent news about Cushing Academy, a Massachusetts prep school that's dismantling its library in favor e-readers and a new coffee shop. I don't even know where to begin on that one, but I'm going to dive in somewhere, no doubt! Then there has been a conversation going around more than one library listserv on putting ARCs in library collections, and of course I have an opinion about that as well.
And I have links to share. And some blog posts that have inspired me in one way or another.
Finally, I'm way, way behind on reviews and need to make some effort to get caught up.
But before I get to all that, I'm going to enjoy Labor Day Weekend by spending some time with friends and family. My Dad is getting ready for a trip to China next month, and one of my best friends from college is in town for a visit. I've got a full plate!
How to Paint a Dead Man, by Sarah Hall. Published 2009 by HarperCollins. Literary Fiction.
