Space Station Mir

Top Ten Books I'm Excited to Read in 2012

2012-01-24T01:20:00.001-05:00

I missed this Top Ten Tuesday topic for The Broke and the Bookish, and this week's a freebie, so here goes.

1.Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain

2. Abarat: Days of Magic, Nights of War by Clive Barker

3. The Winter Palace by Eva Stachniak

4. Catherine the Great by Robert K. Massie

5. Range of Ghosts by Elizabeth Bear

6. Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisa Peshl

7. Insurgent by Veronica Roth

8. Sisterhood Everlasting by Ann Brashares

9. At Home: A Short History of Private Life by Bill Bryson

10. A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail by Bill Bryson

The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet

2012-01-23T16:59:00.000-05:00

4. The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet by Reif Larsen

It definitely feels like an accomplishment to finish the book I've been saying I'm going to read for at least the past two years now. I will say it took me a bit to get into it, to get used to the writings and maps in the margins and connect them with the rest of the story, but once I became accustomed to it, I read much faster. Although I'm not a cartographer or a fan of maps and charts in general, there was something about the patterns and connections of T.S.' thinking that felt familiar to me. There is never just a straight narrative in my head, there are always other tangents and questions on the side, so I appreciate Larsen's acknowledgment of that aspect of how we think. I'm not much of a spatial learner, but I'm trying to develop more appreciation for maps etc. and I think the book was helpful to me in that regard.

T.S. Spivet, a 12 year old from a ranch in Montana, constantly draws maps and makes calculations of, for example, how many corns of ear his sister Gracie shucks, how many were bad, and which pests were responsible for the bad ones. He gets a call from the Smithsonian that he has won the Baird Award, usually reserved for adults. Upon realizing that the Smithsonian doesn't know he's a kid, T.S. resolves to show up anyway and hitches a ride on a train out of town.

The runaway kid plot reminded me strongly of The Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, which does get a plug from T.S. toward the end of the book (as does, strangely, Moby-Dick, although the only similarity I can conjure is that of the single-minded pursuit of a quest, except that T.S. can hardly be called single-minded). T.S.' journey is surreal and quixotic and is ultimately a conduit for his strange and intriguing thoughts on the nature of life. His insight is punctuated with the recent grief of his younger brother's death, which gives the story the shape it needs.

I would recommend The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet to thinker and scientific types, perhaps even readers of graphic novels. T.S. is a largely convincing child prodigy and I, for one, would definitely enjoy a discussion with him. Whatever the pitfalls of the book, including strange plot devices and unfinished business, he's worth meeting.

Nonfiction Recommendations

2012-01-22T18:46:00.003-05:00

In reviewing my reading last year, there was quite a significant lack of nonfiction, and I've decided this year that I would like to more actively seek out nonfiction to read.

I know I will always prefer and probably have more fun reading fiction (although I'd love to hear of books that will challenge this assumption), but I do enjoy biographies and some memoirs (not of the celebrity or gimmicky variety i.e. I liked Reading Lolita in Tehran, reading Kim Kardashian's memoir I would regard as a punishment), and I've enjoyed being challenged by Stephen Hawking's The Theory of Everything and Richard Dawkins' The Selfish Gene. Bill Bryson has been recommended to me, so he's on the list, and I think I would be fond of travel writing, which I've heretofore mostly pursued in article rather than book form.

What nonfiction books do I have to read? Which authors will make me change my mind about the relative entertainment value of nonfiction? Which books will make me think, but not overload me with the nitty gritty?

Divergent

2012-01-13T00:00:00.000-05:00

3. Divergent by Veronica Roth

In the wake of The Hunger Games, I can't help but anticipate Divergent's popularity soaring to even greater heights. Right now, it's a slow buzz, but it deserves to grow and fans of The Hunger Games and dystopian lit with a strong female protagonist everywhere will be pleased.

Beatrice Prior was born into Abenegation, one of five factions formed after an apocalypse. Those who blamed selfishness chose Abnegation, those who blamed stupidity chose Erudite, those who blamed cowardice chose Dauntless, those who blamed dishonesty chose Candor, and those who blamed aggression chose Amity. On her sixteenth birthday, Beatrice will be allowed to choose which of the factions she will spend her life with. Faction comes before blood and if she chooses a different faction, she may never see her family again. On the day of her choice, however, Beatrice discovers that she does not fit neatly into one of the categories, but is instead Divergent, a dangerous mental state that can get her killed if the wrong people find out. With this knowledge, Beatrice chooses Dauntless over her birth faction and embarks on a rigorous and dangerous training program that may result in her death in any number of ways before or after she becomes a member.

Beatrice is my favorite kind of likable, kick-ass girl protagonist. She's got plenty of guilt and embarrassment from being raised to think of others before herself, but her natural instincts to assert and protect herself arise in her new faction. She's like any "good girl" learning to love her wild side, down to flirting, tattoos, and daredevil stunts. Her love interest, Four, is not a sweetie pie like Hunger Games' Peeta, instead he's older, cynical,and demanding as her training instructor, but with an integrity and emotional strength that matches hers. Roth is at her best in depicting the realistic tension between them. Overall, Roth demonstrates an acute understanding of characters and relationships between people, and that, again, is my favorite part of the book.

I enjoyed the slower pace of the book's first half and how we are allowed to get through most of the fascinating Dauntless training process before the inevitable debacle against Divergence begins. Unfortunately, the last third or so of the book goes at such a fast pace that it's impossible to process all of the twists and turns. While it keeps the pages turning, there's nothing really so remarkable about what happens, and slowing it down would have given certain events the impact they needed.

*SPOILER ALERT* At one point, Four is turned against Beatrice, a devastating turn that could have had a lot of emotional power...had it lasted for more than a few chapters. I was expecting it to last until the next book, since there's a sequel coming out this year! *END SPOILER*

I do appreciate that Roth gives this book a concrete ending, as so many series writers do not. I found Divergent a quick, enjoyable read and will be looking forward to the next book. It may or may not go on the SFF Lit list, it may have too many similarities to The Hunger Games without the same level of writing/plotting skills to back it up, but Roth is definitely a writer to watch.

The Fallback Plan

2012-01-12T17:38:00.003-05:00

2. The Fallback Plan by Leigh Stein

I suppose it's not surprising that my mother would find it amusing to buy me a book about a college graduate who moves back home with her parents. Fortunately, that's where the similarities between my life and that of the main character, Esther, end. (Okay, that and that we're both Jewish with obviously Hebraic names).

The plot, which I'm not sure exists, revolves around Esther's job babysitting for a couple who has recently lost their younger child. She befriends the mother, adores the daughter, and embarks on a vague affair with the father. As far as I can tell, the character has little depth beyond her love of the little girl, no ambition except to mooch off her parents forever, and does not change at all from the beginning to the end of this insipid production.

The character doesn't even have the redeeming quality of making me want to hate her, she's simply not worth it. I don't care about her feelings on any topic, and that would be the only reason to read the book. It's nice for Stein that this got her published, and as her bio unequivocally states that she no longer lives with her parents, it's clear that her character is at least not entirely biographical. The Fallback Plan, then, is hope for college grads everywhere. If we've got nothing else to do, might as well get published.

Her Fearful Symmetry

2012-01-12T16:43:00.003-05:00

1. Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger

I received this one from Bookmooch recently, and got to it right away since I found myself, unexpectedly, to be such a big fan of The Time Traveler's Wife. This book's plot and characters are not as intriguing, but are undeniably haunting. Where Chicago plays a role in the earlier book, Highgate Cemetery in London is the star of Her Fearful Symmetry. The author is a certified tour guide at Highgate, as is one of the main characters.

Twins Julia and Valentina inherit a flat in London from their aunt Elspeth, whom they cannot remember meeting. Elspeth is their mother's twin, but the two had an unspecified falling out before the twins' birth. Robert, former lover of Elspeth and future lover of Valentina, is our Highgate Cenetery tour guide. Martin, a middle-aged neighbor whose severe OCD caused his wife to leave him, becomes a project for Julia. I found both Robert and Martin to be more relatable and interesting characters than the twins, whose motivations often seemed unclear. It's not spoiling much to reveal that Elspeth as ghost is also a character and her motives are unclear as well as suspect. Niffenegger demonstrates again her skill for nifty organization of chapters, but the overall plot is frankly a bit flat.

For those interested in Highgate Cemetery or fans of Niffenegger, the book is an interesting read, but not as stunning or well-developed as its predecessor.

Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature

2012-01-04T15:25:00.001-05:00

My reading goals for 2011 were:

1. Find 10-20 good quality science fiction/fantasy novels

2. Make a dent in my list of seminal works to read

The second one was virtually ignored, so let's just forget about that. However, I promised a round-up of SFF Literature and I will deliver, although I think this will continue to be an ongoing project here.

I read 16 SFF titles this year, 17 including Gloriana's Torch, which has a large alternative history element.

Of these, I'm going to designate 6 books/series as part of the elusive category, "Literature." My qualifications for Literature may be slightly or even radically differently from anybody else's, but essentially I look for a distinct and effective writing style that uses language appropriately and creatively, a plot with a distinct structure (beginning, middle, and end, not necessarily in that order but present) that is appropriate to the genre/topic/characters, and characters that feel like real people and who can be understood, identified with and/or emotionally reacted to.

My candidates for SFF Literature are:

1. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (mostly on the merit of the first book, I was satisfied with the third, but the second disappointed me somewhat)

2. The Belgariad by David Eddings (he creates a realistic world and characters while following an almost perfect Hero's Journey)

3. The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick (He does something different with plot, language, and concept that puts him over the edge, even though some of his characters are lacking)

4. The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss (this is the gold standard, really. A tightly constructed and creative plot and character that is very interesting and still easy to identify with)

5. Gloriana's Torch by Patricia Finney (Her use of language, world-building, characters are all magnificent, and her plot is interesting if a bit loose)

6. The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger (her characters are achingly real and her gift with organization is amazing, even if the overall plot arc might lack some panache, the way she does it makes it unique)

That's far from 10-20, but I need a larger reading sample, so again, let's view this as an ongoing project.

Why did, for example, A Song of Ice and Fire, not make the list? George R.R. Martin, once you get past the shock value, isn't really doing anything special or interesting with his inevitably horrifying plotting, and his world-building and even characters pale in comparison to all but one (High Castle) of the books mentioned above. That doesn't mean he's not worth reading. It just means I don't see his books as having the same staying power as some of the ones above.

2011 Reading Meme, Borrowed from Boston Bibliophile

2012-01-03T19:06:00.000-05:00

How many books read in 2011?
52, including The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides and The Boy Detective Fails by Joe Meno. I started Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger before the New Year, but finished it afterward.

How many fiction and non fiction?
47 fiction and 5 nonfiction. Oops, might want to work on that!

Male/Female author ratio?
Not counting authors twice, I read 22 male authors and 15 female. I'm actually surprised it wasn't more even.

Favorite book of 2011?
It's a tough call, but I probably derived the most pleasure from Elizabeth I by Margaret George.

Least favorite?
A Song of Ice and Fire kind of got on my nerves. So, looking back, did Steal Across the Sky by Nancy Kress.

Any that you simply couldn’t finish and why?
If I couldn't finish anything, it was probably for a class and because I didn't have enough time. I also never finished The Origin of Species, probably because I wasn't in the right mindset.

Oldest book read?
The Romance of Tristan & Iseult, since it's composed of scraps of poems dating back to the 13th or 14th century or earlier, though there's no definite publication date.

Newest?
And So It Goes, Kurt Vonnegut: A Life by Charles J. Shields, which came out in November 2011.

Longest and shortest books?
Not sure, but Elizabeth I may have been the longest and The Facts Behind the Helsinki Roccamatios the shortest.

How many books from the library?
Eight

Any translated books?
Apparently only one, The Betrothed was translated from Italian.

Most read author of the year, and how many books by that author?
Shakespeare, since I took a Shakespeare class my last semester. I read a play or epic poem every week for 4 months, so about 16.

Any re-reads?
The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman, Emily of New Moon by L.M. Montgomery, and most of the Shakespeare plays were re-reads.

Favorite character of the year?
Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark from The Hunger Games.

Which countries did you go to through the page in your year of reading?
The UK, Italy, and many fictional universes.

Which book wouldn’t you have read without someone’s specific recommendation?
The Boy Detective Fails, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, The Believers, The Name of the Wind, and probably more. I can't thank my friends/fellow book bloggers enough!

Which author was new to you in 2011 that you now want to read the entire works of?
Margaret Cavendish. and all early modern women really, but Lanyer and Cary don't have any other authenticated works, though I could read the Edward II that might be Cary's. Also, David Eddings, Alessandro Manzoni, Patrick Rothfuss, and, er, more. I have delusions of grandeur when it comes to how much I can read.

Which books are you annoyed you didn’t read?
Special Topics in Calamity Physics and The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet. I have no excuse, I own them both.

Did you read any books you have always been meaning to read?
Yes, I did get to a lot of books that had been on the back burner, including The Perks of being a Wallflower, Neverwhere, The Other Queen, and The Belgariad.

Bonus question: How many science fiction/fantasy books did you read?
16, including The Hunger Games trilogy and the first three books of A Song of Ice and Fire, and counting The Belgariad as two books since I read them in two volumes.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

2011-12-29T23:14:00.000-05:00

50. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

The Perks of Being a Wallflower was recommended to me back in high school and I never got around to it. When I finally did, I thought it might have been too late. Then, I started reading.

Charlie is truly an unforgettable character. His view of the world is heartbreakingly open and thoughtful, curious as a baby and much more articulate. But the atmosphere that he evokes, of one small group, one facet within a high school builds an incredibly intoxicating, and, for me, nostalgic atmosphere. His friends are quirky and interesting, they're real people. And Chbosky seems to know that even when things get complicated, in spite or because of all the intense fear and sorrow that teenagers are capable of feeling, things can still feel like magic, or in Charlie's words "infinite."

I don't think I can write a very unbiased review of this book. To me, it felt poetic, lyrical, pitch-perfect. I suspect those who are fans of '90s indie bands would appreciate the references much more and I do like the distinctly '90s feel, because that's when I grew up too. But I have a feeling it's a book that will transcend the decades.

Neverwhere

2011-12-21T16:34:00.000-05:00

49. Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

I've been meaning to read Gaiman for several years now, and I finally did. This was the first Gaiman book that was ever recommended to me, and I borrowed it recently from a friend.

Neverwhere is the under London odyssey of a bumbling British straightman known as Richard Mayhew. He is told to beware of "doors," which take their form as a girl named Door from the underworld, whose family has the power to open anything, and for that are slaughtered, leaving her as the only survivor. She is dogged by malicious henchmen from the underworld known as Croup and Vandemar, and seeks protection from the roguish Marquis de Carabas and legendary bodyguard Hunter. Richard is pulled into her world and must leave his ordinary life behind to help her complete her mission to avenge her family and achieve his own desire to return to normalcy.

Gaiman's writing is undoubtedly the best part of the book, he has a wit and penchant for the absurd that for me was deeply reminiscent of Douglas Adams. I especially enjoyed the descriptions of the floating Market, that re-appears in a different location at appointed times. I suspect the book would also be a lot more entertaining for Londoners, as it creates an entire society that takes place in the Underground system and underneath London. One joke I did get (since it is practically forced down your throat, but..) is that the most frightening part of London under is beneath Kensington, a posh neighborhood in London above.

Probably intentionally, Neverwhere is a very simple quest story, with little attempt to disguise or embellish the classical narrative. We have our Trickster(s), our Animus, Anima, and our underdog hero. In some ways, Door might be considered the hero of the story, but Richard is undoubtedly our protagonist. All in all, Neverwhere would make a fantastic children's story, were it not for a few unfortunate references to adult activities. I'd recommend it to the YA set, but not to readers who prefer more complex material.

Top Ten Books I'd Like for Hanukkah

2011-12-20T00:00:00.000-05:00

I had to modify this week's topic for the Broke and the Bookish Top Ten Tuesday meme a bit.

Lately, I'm an inferno of book lust, despite a lot less time for actual reading, since I'm working 2-3 jobs/internships, plus grad applications, which are thankfully almost over. I did finish Neverwhere and The Perks of Being a Wallflower recently, which had both been on my to-read list for many years, and am more than halfway through The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides. I hope to get reviews up at some point, but we'll see.

1. Divergent by Veronica Roth

Sounds like a great dystopia novel with a kick-ass female protagonist.

2. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Heard such great things and I am a fan of beautiful, magical writing.

3. The School of Night by Louis Bayard

Heard him speak at the National Book Festival and am totally hooked by a tale of sixteenth century rogues and DC academics.

4. Out of Oz by Gregory Maguire

I loved Wicked, heard Maguire read a passage from Out of Oz, I want it.

5. The Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss

Loved The Name of the Wind, need more awesome fantasy in my life.

6. The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin

Again, need more awesome fantasy in my life.

7. The Map of Time by Felix J. Palma

Time travel, sci fi, and H.G. Wells, I'm intrigued.

8. Catherine the Great by Robert K. Massie

I hear great things and I know it's time I learned more about Catherine.

9. Destiny of the Republic by Candice Millard

I heard her speak and was totally overcome by her passion for her subject. This has to be good.

10. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

Heard about this one from Books on the Nightstand, plus a friend with similar taste loved it, so I expect I will too.

I could go on...

And So It Goes

2011-12-05T13:42:00.001-05:00

48. And So It Goes, Kurt Vonnegut: A Life by Charles J. Shields

I had the opportunity to meet Charles J. Shields and his wife Guadalupe at The Writer's Center in Bethesda, MD. The only authorized biographer of Vonnegut was a wonderful speaker, I wished I'd had him to speak the rest of the book to me, for as thorough and direct as his prose is, plus a prodigious knack for hitting all the most interesting details, his speaking was even more entertaining. In the Introduction, he writes of his first attempt to convince Vonnegut that he was a worthy biographer. His initial plea produced a mailed self-portrait from Vonnegut, with the caption “A most respectful demurring by me for the excellent writer Charles J. Shields, who offered to be my biographer.” In person, Shields recalled that it was his wife who "fastened on the word 'demurring'" and convinced him to try again, which he did with success. That little tidbit was left out of the book, as were the details of Shields' personal interviews with Vonnegut, which he described for the audience. However, I really have to admire Shields for keeping himself out of the book to the extent that he does. When reading, it really does feel like you're in the mind of Vonnegut and his friends and family, NOT Shields, just as a biography should be.

The character that emerges from Shields’ portrait is of a petulant, embittered, and attention-seeking man, who felt that his parents and brother misunderstood him, that publishers, editors, and critics undervalued him, and that even his first wife Jane, mother of their three children, never really loved him. Yet, Vonnegut could be remarkably kind, charming, and thoughtful. While teaching in the creative writing program at the University of Iowa, he noticed that the anonymous critiquing sessions that welcomed students from all classes had become a platform for bullies. He suggested that “sections should meet separately…with an instructor to guide the discussion,” that submissions no longer be anonymous, and overly subjective criticism be banned. All of these changes were implemented. Later in his career, after he became famous, a young writer disguised himself as a reporter in order to meet with him. Vonnegut called the young man’s bluff, but met with him anyway and encouraged him to write the article he had claimed to be commissioned for.

The Vonnegut estate would not allow Shields to quote directly from the 1,500 letters that he acquired over the course of his research. When asked at the event, Shields said he thinks they do not want the image of Vonnegut, as the crotchety, Mark Twain-like figure, to change. He concludes in the book that Vonnegut’s decision to adopt the Twain brand was a very deliberate affectation. Although Vonnegut is often associated with the Left due to his anti-war ethos, Shields argues that he was in fact a reactionary and an active capitalist. Vonnegut’s numerous stocks and investments in large corporations support this claim. The content of the letters, however, is pervasive throughout the biography. Two hundred were to Vonnegut’s sometime friend, editor, and agent, Knox Burger, to whom the biography is dedicated. Vonnegut wrote to Burger about his difficulties getting published in the early years, later about the failure to take his works seriously, being “cooped up with all these kids,” and also, about his affairs.

The first serious affair, which began a relationship that would last in some capacity for the rest of his life, was Lora Lee Wilson, a student in one of his creative writing classes at Iowa. Despite his lifelong love of women, Shields shows that Vonnegut held some very traditional ideas about women’s roles, which affected his relationship with Jane, his wife of thirty-four years. While Vonnegut wrote, Jane ran the household and raised the children, including his nephews. Shields writes, “He expected Jane to be a traditional wife who would blend her identity with his.” When they fought, his reaction was to run off and sometimes to chase after other women. Even after their divorce, they remained friends and he continued to write long letters to her. Occasionally, he would write a letter to Jane and then immediately after to a girlfriend. His second wife, Jill, whom Shields was not able to interview, appears in the book as a difficult, demanding woman who wanted to control whom Vonnegut was allowed to socialize with. Their marriage was also fraught with tension and included a few periods of separation.

In addition to the most private details of Vonnegut’s life, Shields also places his oeuvre in a biographical context. Shields notes that unsatisfactory sex is a pattern in Vonnegut’s earlier works, from Player Piano to Cat’s Cradle. “His affair with Loree [Lora Lee Wilson],” Shields writes, “would change the way he wrote about relationships in his novels.” She is the model for Montana Wildhack in Slaughterhouse-Five with whom Billy Pilgrim has a mutually satisfying sexual relationship.

Shields’ rendering of Vonnegut’s life, while not flattering, still manages to be respectful and interested in how Vonnegut captured the imagination of a generation, and continues to capture young minds; “if he had been a fully mature adult, it’s likely he would not have been able to frame young adults’ worldview so well.” From Vonnegut’s own assessments of his self, it’s likely that he would have agreed.

Top Ten Authors I'd Love to Have at my Thanksgiving Table

2011-11-22T14:08:00.001-05:00

This week's topic for Top Ten Tuesday at the Broke and the Bookish.

1. Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

After reading his new biography (review soon!), it might make more sense if I didn't want Vonnegut at my table. He comes off as bitter, attention-seeking, and womanizing. Yet he still seems like a charming and entertaining dinner guest when he wanted to be, so I'd be interested in conversing with him on a good day. Also, I feel like we might bond over similar pessimistic yet secretly optimistic worldviews.

2. Madeleine L'Engle

It was my dream to meet Madeleine L'Engle, especially because for a long time, she and Vonnegut were the only two authors I liked that were still alive. Both from her books and a taped interview that I have of her, she seems like the sweetest lady, besides being vastly knowledgeable and interesting. I think we would have a lot in common.

3. L.M. Montgomery

I love all of her books so much, and I'd like to think we are maybe similar people. I'd like to talk craft with her, but I'd also just like to listen to her talk about all her visions and intense feelings that beauty inspires in her.

4. Mark Twain

Another man who I'd like to catch in a charming, entertaining mood. Vonnegut's adoption of the Twain "brand" is something that Shields discussed a bit in the Vonnegut biography. But, I would love to meet the author of Huck Finn and talk about his motivations and listen to his amusing observations on any given topic.

5. Fyodor Dostoyevsky

I was deciding between Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky, but I think Dostoyevsky seems like a nicer person and we'd still get to discuss philosophy and nineteenth century Russia. I suppose I'm also assuming that we would somehow be able to communicate, as I don't speak Russian and I'm not sure if he spoke English.

6. Jane Austen

Austen might be a little wallflowerish in social situations, but hopefully I'd be able to draw her out. I'm sure her opinion of the other dinner guests would be exceedingly droll. I also have a feeling she'd love to meet Shakespeare.

7. William Shakespeare

It's kind of hard not to include the Bard on the list. Hopefully, this would put to rest all speculation as to whether he wrote his plays or not. I think he would be equal to the other guests and that of course they would all want to meet him (with the exceptions of Lanyer, who might have known him in life, and Cervantes, who may not have known of him at all).

8. Aemilia Lanyer

Lanyer would be a fascinating dinner companion, I'd want to hear all about her relationship with Lord Hunsdon and meeting Elizabeth I, and especially her views on women's role in society. Plus, we could finally settle whether or not she was Shakespeare's Dark Lady.

9. Gregory Maguire

Maguire is the only live author on my list. I heard him speak at the National Book Festival and was utterly charmed. I think everyone would find him entertaining and I know he's a fan of nineteenth century novelists, so he would at least enjoy meeting Twain, Austen, and Dostoyevsky.

10. Miguel Cervantes

The author of Don Quixote has got to be a riot. Even if he doesn't speak English, we might still be able to communicate a bit. I'd love to see him interact with Shakespeare, who I know was a fan, as well as Twain and Dostoyevsky who both expressed admiration and homage.

Top Ten Unread Books On My Shelf

2011-11-15T13:31:00.001-05:00

Clearly, I didn't look at today's Top Ten Tuesday topic at the Broke and the Bookish last night! Otherwise, I would have saved my TBR list. But here are some other books that still lie unread on my shelf, despite my desire to read them.

1. The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet by Reif Larsen

Been meaning to read since I attended a panel with Reif Larsen at the first Boston Book Festival.

2. Sisterhood Everlasting by Ann Brashares

Loved the Sisterhood books, still need to read this, although I'm afraid I won't love it as much.

3. The Room and the Chair by Lorraine Adams

Great story about how I attended a Bookslut Reading for this, which just happened to coincide with my visit to Berlin.

4. Sandition and Other Stories by Jane Austen

Been meaning to read these forever, and recently picked up a copy in a used bookstore.

5. King of the Murgos by David Eddings

The second book of the Malloreon, the follow-up series to the Belgariad, which I loved.

6. Demon Lord of Karanda by David Eddings

The third book of the Malloreon.

7. Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl

Recommended to me a long time ago and received from Bookmooch, but haven't read it yet.

That's all I can think of at the moment, sure there are more somewhere, probably in boxes....

Settling the Dust

2011-11-14T23:03:00.001-05:00

46. The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman
47. The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman

Since I last reviewed a book, I've had a lot going on (more on that in a moment). A friend left his copy of The Subtle Knife in my car, so I took the opportunity to reread it. I read His Dark Materials back in middle school, I picked up The Amber Spyglass the week it came out. Since then, I've reread the first book, The Golden Compass, a few times, but not the other two.

I hoped I'd have something profound to say, but while the hierarchy of angels and Pullman's objective in vilifying the Catholic Church appear more clear in a second reading, to say nothing of Lyra's "sexual" (I put quotes because it's more love than sex oriented) awakening, there's not quite as much going on as I remembered. Still, this mysterious Dust that surrounds adult sentient beings, this conscious matter, dark matter, angels, what is this? It feels like a forced collision of science and religion that has hope, but doesn't ultimately work. Or perhaps, very likely, I'm misunderstanding something.

In settling my own personal Dust, well, there seems no end in sight. I have a new part-time job, a slightly older internship, grad school applications, and I was studying for the GREs and GRE Subject Test in English Lit, but those are thankfully over. I recommend Princeton Review and beginning to study more than a few weeks in advance...

Don't know when I'm going to have time to read, but on the TBR shortlist:

And So It Goes Kurt Vonnegut: A Life by Charles J. Shields

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

The Boy Detective Fails by Joe Meno

The last three are on loan from friends and thus higher priority than all the books I own that I have yet to read.

Top Ten Books That Were Out of My Comfort Zone

2011-11-08T18:01:00.003-05:00

Today's Top Ten Tuesday at the Broke and the Bookish:

1. The Theory of Everything by Stephen Hawking

I challenged myself to read this, and the first time, as interested as I was, I couldn't wrap my head around it. The second time I got through and understood a lot better, although much of it is still beyond me. Still, I'm interested and appreciate Hawkin's effort to write simply, so I know I will read this again someday.

2. The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli

Not the type of thing I normally read, this was for a 16th century British literature class (even though it's Italian), but I really loved it. It wasn't an entirely quick or easy read, but funny in parts and very thoughtful.

3. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

Nabokov is a master of language, so that in itself is difficult, but the subject matter was really what was out of my comfort zone. I'm glad I read it, but I can honestly say it made me distinctly uncomfortable the whole time and I definitely never warmed to Humbert Humbert.

4. Neuromancer by William Gibson

This weird compendium of technobabble eventually overcame me, I just couldn't get past all the new universe/technology distractions to the story.

5. Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce

I was very intimidated to read Joyce, and he's not really my cup of tea, but I got through it and really learned a lot about reading in general as well as Joyce's style and intentions in particular.

6. The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner

Faulkner and I just don't get on. I can't get past the dialect and confusing language and organization in general. Didn't finish, maybe another time.

7. A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers

What a title! Stream of consciousness drove me crazy, but I got through it. I've met Eggers though and he was so nice, it made me want to try one of his other books, despite not really digging this one.

8. Angels and Demons by Dan Brown

Not the kind of thing I usually read, with good reasons. One of the most boring and predictable books I've ever read.

9. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

Again, I don't usually read thrillers, but this one got such high praise, I picked it up and really enjoyed it. So, just goes to show you shouldn't write off an entire genre.

10. Sookie Stackhouse novels by Charlaine Harris

"Trashy", chick-lit vampire books are not really my cup of tea either, these are fluffy, but amusing reads, if you can ignore the recaps of all the silly, dramatic events that have gone before.

Top Ten Books I Had Strong Emotions Over

2011-11-01T18:32:00.002-04:00

Love the topic, Broke and Bookish! I also really like Readerbuzz's interpretation.

1. Twilight Saga by Stephanie Meyer

I read the first chapter of the first book, but I've read summaries, reviews, and feminist outrages on all the books because of how big the series got. I've also had to deal with 10-12 year-old girls telling me how romantic Edward is or how hot Jacob is. So. From what I've seen, terrible writing. But worse, millions of young girls are getting close-minded, sexist, and downright dangerous messages about how they should negotiate relationships with men. In conclusion, I have very, very strong feelings about these books without really having read them.

2. As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner

The first Faulkner novel I failed to get through. Maybe I'll give him another shot sometime, but just. Ugh.

3. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz

SOOO good! Read it now!

4. Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce

We had an intense love/hate relationship, but we made it through.

5. The Magicians by Lev Grossman

This book made me so angry and fascinated me so much at the same time. It destroyed my childhood, but I couldn't stop reading.

6. Beggars in Spain by Nancy Kress

One of the most brilliant books I have ever read. Seriously.

7. Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld

I got so deeply immersed in this, despite or because of hating the protagonist.

8. Born Confused by Tanuja Desai Hidier

So lyrical, so poignant, every time I read it I find something new.

9. Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli

Cute, quirky, and heartbreaking.

10. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

If he were older, Huck Finn would be my boyfriend (not really, but...maybe).

I've been trying really hard not to use the same books over and over for everything, because then obviously Lord of the Rings and Jonathan Strange would have made this list.

Favorite Book Quotes

2011-10-29T21:35:00.002-04:00

Question: What is the novel you find most quotable or what are five of your favorite quotes from novels?

My Answer:

"We are such stuff as dreams are made on." Prospero, in The Tempest. And, okay, it's not a novel, but this is definitely one of my favorite quotes and one of the ones I think of most often.

"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man possessed of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife." This has to be one of the finest wrought and most memorable first sentences in literature, from Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice.

"There seems almost a general wish of decrying the capacity and undervaluing the labour of the novelist, and of slighting the performances which have only genius, wit, and taste to recommend them."
-Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey

"She had been forced into prudence in her youth, she learned romance as she grew older-the natural sequel of an unnatural beginning."
-Jane Austen, Persuasion

Austen's words are so insightful, memorable, and snidely clever all at the same time...

“Sometimes we wear masks, sometimes we can be ourselves, sometimes the masks are truer than the faces." -The Queen's Fool by Philippa Gregory

Gregory also often has insightful statements about her characters, particularly Elizabeth I.

I have a lot more favorite quotes, but I'll stop there. Please comment with yours!

Top Ten Books for Halloween

2011-10-25T21:27:00.000-04:00

Here's my go for this week's topic at the Broke and the Bookish.

1. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

Still one of the scariest books I've ever read. I'll never forget staying up all night thinking that the madwoman was coming to get me.

2. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

After the whole Jane Eyre debacle, there was no way my mom would let me touch Frankenstein. Naturally, I snuck around and got my hands on it anyway. I didn't find it nearly as scary, I was more interested in how he got those dead body parts to reanimate anyway and feeling sorry for the poor abandoned monster.

3. The Ghost Writer by John Harwood

An old creepy mystery that I read as a kid.

4. The Oxford Book of Scary Tales

These are the ghost stories I'd scare my little sister and her friends with, I used to bring it out every Halloween and every camping trip.

5. Falling Up by Shel Silverstein

Shel Silverstein is frightening. I'll never forget the poem about the man who grew old standing in the corner of a classroom and especially not the little line on the flap about disappearing into the covers if you looked too long...I never looked again and even hid the book in the back of the closet for a while.

6. Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen

The perfect antidote to creepy tales, with that amusing Gothic style leading only to parody a more conventional, but still hostile, reality.

7. The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe

I didn't actually finish it (someday), but it's a Gothic classic.

8. The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole

The first Gothic novel, an enjoyable chill but not really scary.

9. Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

Du Maurier is the queen of Gothic, her books, and definitely Rebecca, her best known, is frightening not because of what happened, but why and how.

10. Lost by Gregory Maguire

I've yet to read it, BUT it seems like a perfect Halloween read; specters, A Christmas Carol, and Jack the Ripper are involved.

Children's Books Giveaway

2011-10-19T12:00:00.000-04:00

I've gotten some beautiful copies of children's books from the class I help teach in the summer, but this also means I have some duplicate copies. All books are like new or lightly used. If you know a young person who would really enjoy one of these classics, leave a comment with your answer to the question, which book you are interested in, and your email address. Sorry, I am only willing to send within the continental United States. Winners will be chosen randomly. Entries will be accepted until Nov. 1 and winners will be announced in November. Covers are as pictured!

Redwall by Brian Jacques

The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster

The Little Prince by Antoine De Saint-Exupery

Question: What was your favorite book as a child?

My Answer: I think I've already answered this or a similar question. My favorite book from childhood was A Wrinkle In Time by Madeleine L'Engle, closely followed by The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis and all the Chronicles of Narnia, the Anne of Green Gables books by L.M. Montgomery, and Little Women and its sequels by Louisa May Alcott. The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien were my favorite from about seventh grade on. Now that I think about it, these books also probably have the biggest impact on how I think about the world and the kind of books I want to write someday.

Top Ten Books Whose Titles or Covers Made Me Buy Them

2011-10-18T00:00:00.000-04:00

This week's topic at the Broke and the Bookish is Top Ten Books Whose Titles Or Covers Made Me Buy Them.
Another topic that challenges my usual way of thinking about books! Because...I really DON'T judge books by their cover.

That's not entirely true, I'm sure there are some subtle things that will make one cover catch my eye over another, but I'm not very aware of it, and I tend to pick up books that a) I've already heard about from a friend/fellow book blogger/newspaper review or b) are in a topic or genre I'm already interested in. If I do pick up a random book, I'm more likely to judge it by the blurb on the back or a quick skim of the first few pages than the picture on the front cover. That said, here goes.

1. Gloriana's Torch by Patricia Finney

I saw the cover in the library and was immediately intrigued when I recognized the Armada portrait. I might not have noticed it otherwise and I'm glad I did because this was definitely one of my favorite books this year.

2. Elizabeth I by Margaret George

Notice a theme here? I actually didn't choose this book because of the cover or title, I knew I wanted to read it the moment I heard about it because of its author and subject. However, if that hadn't done it for me, the cover would have.

3. The Facts Behind the Helsinki Roccamatios by Yann Martel

The title really had me guessing, unfortunately the stories didn't live up to the anticipation. But also, I read it because I loved Life of Pi.

4. The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

I'd already read The Hitchhikers' Guide to the Galaxy, and I saw this really nice hardcover, gold-edged copy from Barnes & Noble, so it's not exactly a case of arresting cover art, but definitely the nice packaging encouraged me to buy it.

5. My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier

Again, another nice Barnes & Noble hardcover in the bargain bin caught my eye.

I can't think of any more right now, I look forward to reading everyone else's lists!

Top Ten Books I Wish I Could Read Again for the First Time

2011-10-11T18:27:00.002-04:00

This week's Top Ten Tuesday at the Broke and the Bookish is Top Ten Books I Wish I Could Read Again For The First Time. Usually, books that I love, I just want to read again, period, and I often find I get more out of a second reading. Still, there is a certain pleasure in reading for the first time.

1. Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

The first time I read LOTR, I savored it and loved it and just enjoyed spending time in every place and with every character and I got INCREDIBLY emotionally invested, and it's never quite the same, even though I pick up on more in subsequent readings.

2. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

I just loved being pulled along by the wit and sparkle, and yes, I knew they were getting married in the end, but I had no idea how that was going to happen. I also kept waiting for what I considered enough vindication for Darcy, never really got there...

3. Harry Potter 1-7 by J.K. Rowling

An experience like no other, because of all the hype and the fact that everybody I knew was reading it too, it really was magic.

4. The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

Also a magical reading experience, especially because I didn't get all the Christian allegory stuff back then, so I could just relate to the characters and laugh at the narrator and marvel at the strange creatures.

5. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

It's funny because the first time I read Huck Finn, I just enjoyed it so much, I was totally riveted by the adventurous nature of the story and admiring of Huck and Jim and had no idea about the implications of anything. I've also loved analyzing it later, but it's a very different experience.

6. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

I remember hanging on every word, wondering what feat of imagery and language would occur next. I just remember thinking it was sheer beauty.

7. Dune by Frank Herbert

Much like with LOTR, I had an incredibly mesmerizing experience where I got very attached to the characters and very interested in the inner workings of the universe.

8. His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman

I'd never read anything quite like it before, nor have I since. It was a fantasy world that really made me think in delightfully philosophical ways.

9. Wicked by Gregory Maguire

I was entranced and couldn't wait to see what twisted thing would happen next.

10. Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke

I know, I also put this on my list of books I want to re-read, but reading it again for the first time would be better because then it could be new again...I just wanted this book to go on and on forever. I'm really hoping she'll write a sequel.

Reading Women, Personally

2011-10-10T23:29:00.000-04:00

45. Reading Women: How the Great Books of Feminism Changed My Life by Stephanie Staal

Reading Women is neither more nor less than it claims to be. The memoir-in-books begins with a quote from Virginia Woolf; "When a subject is highly controversial-and any question about sex is that-one cannot hope to tell the truth. One can only show how one came to hold whatever opinion one does hold. One can only give one's audience the chance of drawing their own conclusions, as they observe the limitations, the prejudices, the idiosyncracies of the speaker."

Staal, despite what I perceived as limitations in her interpretations of the texts, fulfills the conditions of the quote admirably. In her Author's Note she explains, "Let me be clear that I approached these books as neither critic nor scholar but rather, as Virginia Woolf put it, 'the common reader.''" I suppose this is what ended up being particularly disappointing for me, because, without knowing it, I had expected and hoped for a much more insightful analysis of texts like Simone de Beauvoir's The Second Sex and Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique, rather than highly personal reactions to Beauvoir and Mary Wollstonecraft as people, and well-known critiques of Friedan. I haven't read these texts myself, and I do intend to, and Staal does provide a useful introduction in terms of biographical context and summary, but she goes no further. I didn't find Staal's personal story compelling either, it's unfortunately a familiar one. Admittedly, I might feel differently were I a wife and mother myself, but while I'm not unsympathetic to her, her motherhood and marital troubles explained her interest in feminist texts, but she didn't actually show how the texts changed her life as far as the way she related to her husband and daughter. I'm not necessarily saying she should, but I felt that was what the book was claiming.

When Staal thinks "So what?" in response to Judith Butler's Gender Trouble (which I have read in part), I have a lot of trouble relating to her. When it comes to issues like queer gender and sexuality, pornography and sex bloggers, Staal and I are just not from the same generation. She does give me a view into women who are against pornography for feminist reasons, but it's not one I can wholeheartedly agree with. In regard to Erica Jong's Fear of Flying, I learned "for all its vaunted sexuality...there was a lot of talk...but not much action," which is perhaps something I would be interested to learn from a book review, but really doesn't say how the book helped propel feminism or what points it has to make. For me, there were two problems with Reading Women; not the depth of analysis I wanted and a lack of personal connection to Staal.

The most valuable part of the book for me was the reading list for the Feminist Text classes that Staal took. While many of the books that Staal discusses would have been on my feminist to-read list, there are others, and particularly articles, I might never otherwise have heard of. If I found her book less than compelling, she does succeed in spurring my interest in some of the texts she reads. I also appreciate the list of other books that Staal recommends.

In the same way that I feel Staal's book chronicles extremely personal and simplistic reactions to feminist texts, I feel that my reaction to her book was also very personal. I can see where another kind of reader would find Staal very valuable. I also see where someone who relates a lot more to Staal's life experiences and concerns would better appreciate the memoir aspect of her book. Something to keep in mind when reading my review.

Top Ten Mindblowing Book Endings

2011-10-04T12:00:00.000-04:00

This week's topic for Top Ten Tuesdays at The Broke and the Bookish is "Top Ten Book Endings That Left Me With My Mouth Hanging Open (because of the cliffhanger or because it the ending was MINDBLOWING, etc. Be careful with spoilers on this one! :P)."

First of all, what a great question! Second, this is kind of difficult for me to answer for two reasons; 1) I'm unusually good at predicting endings and 2) I don't tend to read for plot, but for character, detail, language, world-building, insight into humanity etc. Therefore, a lot of the books I read simply do not have surprising endings, because that's not the point. Still, I'll try my best.

1. The Giver by Lois Lowry

I remember reading The Giver for the first time and crying at the end. It is still one of the few books that has ever made me cry. I had not predicted the ending at all, but I liked it. I was also a lot younger when I read this, though, so this was before I was particularly good at guessing endings.

2. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

While the ultimate ending and most of the twists didn't surprise me, there was one climactic event that did blow my mind, but I won't reveal which one it was.

3. The Beautiful and the Damned by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Fitzgerald is very much a writer to read for language, detail, and observations on the human condition, but the actual ending of this book did surprise me because the rest of the book seemed leading clearly in one direction. I think the point though is that whatever the outcome of the supposed quest, the nature of the relationships in the novel were going downhill. I hope that's not too much of a reveal?

4. A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin

Especially at first, I found Martin very unpredictable. Basically, all the books just end in outrageous and violent places, so I've come to expect that even if I can't predict all the actual events.

5. The Time Traveler's Wife

When I first began reading the book, I would never have guessed the ending, but toward the end of the book, it is revealed how it is going to end, it just remains to see the details, which is one of the exquisite things about this book and its careful non-chronological structure. I'm not sure if that qualifies though.

6. Chapterhouse Dune by Frank Herbert

This is the last of the six original Dune books. Dune is the most complete universe I've ever encountered (yes, including Middle Earth, as much as it hurts me a little to admit it), and this book just ends in an absolutely awesome place.

7.The Belgariad by David Eddings

The basic plot is predictable, as is the ending, but the actual climax is pretty epic.

8. The Farthest Away Mountain by Lynne Reid Banks

Again, not unpredictable, but just awesome. This was one of my favorite books as a child.

9. Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine

You know exactly what's going to happen, but I'm fond of how Levine does the ending. Another childhood favorite.

10. The Stranger by Albert Camus

Another where you know what's going to happen, but the character's reaction is pretty damn surprising.

Tudor Treasure

2011-10-03T22:19:00.000-04:00

44. Elizabeth I by Margaret George

Like her Autobiography of Henry VIII, Margaret George's Elizabeth I is a foundational text in Tudor fiction. Every moment of this book was an absolute pleasure to me, and I have devoted many hours to reading about Elizabeth Tudor and Elizabethan England, both fiction and non-fiction. George writes with the authority and thorough consideration of the queen herself, and brings to life arresting portraits of many Elizabethan figures, particularly the underrepresented (in Tudor fiction and biography) Letitia Knollys and the ubiquitous William Shakespeare, but I also reveled in her portrayals of the Earl of Essex, Sir Walter Raleigh, Sir Francis Drake, William and Robert Cecil, Edmund Spenser, and lesser known figures like Admiral Charles Howard and his wife Catherine, nee Carey.

As soon as I saw that George was coming out with this book (it came out in May), I wishlisted it on Amazon. Then, I received it as a graduation gift from my aunt! I had been saving it to read for an auspicious time, when I found out that Margaret George was going to be at the National Book Festival. I started reading right away and was a couple hundred pages in when I met George, got my book signed, AND attended her panel and got to ask her a couple questions during the Q&A sessions. I've realized I turn into a babbling fangirl at these events, but I think I managed to convey my appreciation, especially for the vast amount of research that George does and incorporates so masterfully into her novels. One of my questions was about her interpretation of Elizabeth's character. George's Elizabeth seems more logical, calm, and authoritative than many Elizabeths I've seen in the works of Philippa Gregory, Rosalind Miles, Robin Maxwell and others. I asked her if this is her view of Elizabeth's essential character or a character that she developed when she grew older, as George's book covers the last 15 years of her life, while the other books tend to focus on her younger years. George's answer was that she sees Elizabeth as always having been very self-collected, self-aware, and that she doesn't think she ever really lost control. She believes that "semper eadem" (always the same in Latin) was a motto that fit Elizabeth well, despite Elizabeth's famous changing of her mind and notorious fits, these, she seems to think, were calculated acts. This interpretation interests me, as this is the type of Elizabeth I would like to believe in. I don't like, or find realistic, these uber-romantic portraits of her that some people have. No doubt she had emotional needs like most people, but she clearly ruled with her head, not her heart.

The book is told from the points of view of Elizabeth and her estranged cousin Laetitia, or Lettice. The two never meet throughout the book, except for one occasion, which I suspect is a narrative invention of George's, but I would really like to know for sure. If my assumption is correct, then the "confrontation" scene is part of what I've observed to be a trope of literature about Elizabeth that pits her against another woman, typically Mary, Queen of Scots, but in Sir Walter Scott's Kenilworth, it is Amy Dudley, who actually is a stand-in for Lettice, as Scott plays with dates and situations. Dudley was Leicester's first wife, whom he married openly during the reign of Edward VI, but when she died young under suspicious circumstances, he later had an affair with and then secretly married Lettice without Elizabeth's knowledge. It was this marriage that, when discovered, drew Elizabeth's infamous ire and permanent banishment for Lettice.

The book opens with the imminent arrival of the 1588 Spanish Armada, but actually numerous Armadas threaten England throughout the book, only to be vanquished by weather and bad luck. These are all historically accurate, just little commented upon. The other perpetual threat throughout the novel is the Earl of Essex, son to Lettice, stepson to Elizabeth's beloved Leicester (whose exit is soon after the first Armada), and courtier and rumored lover to Elizabeth. George (and rightly so, I believe) makes little of the supposed love affair, except for one scene that she explains as pure invention, although it provides great insight into Elizabeth's character. George's answer to the virginity question, one she answered both in her panel and in the book, is that Elizabeth did indeed remain a virgin, for practical reasons. Instead, George shows Essex in a truly historical light; he was a petulant spoiled boy filled with dreams of military glory, whose appeal and bids to the populace made him a threat. His own deluded beliefs about his deserts at Elizabeth's hands and then depression at her rejection of him seemed to have even made him a bit deranged in the end. George carefully builds up Essex's interactions with Elizabeth, his long store of non-achievements, and his activities that grow ever more seditious and treasonous. In the book, he is compared to Mary, Queen of Scots in the level of threat he draws, because he is young, handsome and strong and actively courts common favor. Elizabeth could not have him playing her own game against her. I have studied some of the ballads surrounding Essex at the time and these alone make me understand why he was considered so dangerous.

A delightful aspect of this novel is George's obvious rapport with Shakespeare's works and how this leads her to interpret his character as well. Several of Shakespeare's plays feature in the novel; at court, in the theatre, and in dialogue between the characters. In an unlikely but charming twist, she makes Lettice Knollys Shakespeare's Dark Lady (especially unlikely, I think, due to Lettice's red hair, and also, would she stoop so low?) and the Earl of Southampton the Golden Boy of the sonnets. While the latter is more likely, she does in this way sidestep the possibility of Shakespeare's bisexuality and instead keeps his relationship to Southampton as a patron and as a fellow lover of Lettice. Even when not reciting from his plays, George's Shakespeare uses the language one imagines he would, if he talked in a slightly more modern vernacular. I hope she takes him on as her next subject, I would be fascinated to see what she could do with Shakespeare's life.

George concentrates on important aspects of Elizabeth's life that few of her other fictional historians seem to spend much time on. For example, she focuses on the relationship between Elizabeth and her favorite ladies-in-waiting, especially her cousin Catherine Howard (Carey), and Marjorie Norris. Other women rarely figure in tales about Elizabeth, except as adversaries. Yet, Elizabeth was constantly surrounded by women in her private chambers, it's amazing that no one else has found them important enough to more than mention. George places more emphasis on Elizabeth's adventurers, like Drake and Raleigh and their voyages. All of her privateers, not just the best-known, Drake, but John Hawkins, Martin Frobisher, Sir Richard Grenville etc., get at least a mention here. Admittedly, these men get a lot of attention in non-fiction, like The Pirate Queen by Susan Ronald, that I've also been dipping into lately, but in fiction it's all about the Virgin Queen's alleged lovers. Burghley, Cecil, and Walsingham are not particularly original here either, but they've been delved into enough. A recurring theme in George's book is Elizabeth's feeling about the legacy of Henry VIII. In her panel, George explained that Elizabeth separated her father into "the man" and "the king," and as a king, she revered him and craved his approval. I can imagine her father did cast quite a shadow over her life, but how much she wanted to be a part of his legacy and how much she wanted to distance herself from it is another question. She kept his religion, but reversed his policies on war and spending; in many ways her court tried to follow his in grandeur and artistic pursuits though.

Read this book; fans of historical fiction, anyone interested in the Virgin Queen, anyone who loved Wolf Hall, anyone. It's a long book, but deftly written and organized. Just when you're tired of one narrator, the story shifts seamlessly to the other. This is another fictional biography, as great or greater in scope, understanding, and wit as the earlier book.

Top 10 Books I Want to Reread

2011-09-27T00:00:00.000-04:00

I'm participating again in Top Ten Tuesdays, there are so many great topics coming up.

This week's Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, is Top Ten Books I Want To Reread. This is easy for me, as I want to reread every book that I've ever really loved. I haven't been focusing on re-reading much lately, but I'll list the books that I would most like to re-read in the near future.

1. Emily's Climb and Emily's Quest by L.M. Montgomery

I already talked about how the TV series sparked my interest in going back and re-reading the books, and I can always use some L.M. Montgomery to make me feel better.

2. The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer

I wanted to re-read these as soon as I read them, but I was too swamped with reading for school back then. Now, I have a new reason to re-read them-I'm taking the GRE Subject Test in English Literature fairly soon.

3. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

I know I read it very recently, but I want to read it again right before the movie comes out in March 2012.

4. For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway

I've wanted to re-read this since I got back from Spain, I have a feeling it will mean a lot more to me after that experience, especially the way the characters speak.

5. Moby-Dick by Herman Melville

I really enjoyed Moby-Dick the first time I read it, for a class, but I want to savor it more slowly.

6. Don Quixote by Miguel Cervantes

My professor told me this is a good book to read at every stage in your life, and I think I've reached a new stage.

7. The Female Quixote by Charlotte Lennox

I think reading this in conjunction with Don Quixote and building on everything I've learned since I read this book could be a very fun experience.

8. Anna Karenina

I need to read Anna Karenina again. There is nobody like Tolstoy.

9. The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

I want to go through The Idiot more slowly and get more out of it.

10. Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell

Because it was just so good.

There are plenty of other literary canon type books that I need to re-read or partially re-read soon, like Paradise Lost, Gulliver's Travels, the Aeneid, the Iliad...

Book Festivals in DC/Baltimore Area

2011-09-23T14:10:00.000-04:00

This weekend is a bonanza for book lovers in the Washington DC/Baltimore region. Three book festivals were/are going on this week and weekend.

The Fall for the Book Festival, sponsored by George Mason University and The Writer's Center in Bethesda, MD, among others, had events all over the DC area this week.

I attended the event with Amy Tan on Tuesday. It was a long drive for me, but well worth it. She read from her new book, The Valley of Amazement. She spoke in the voice of her character, an aging courtesan speaking to a younger virgin courtesan that she is training. It was as if the character took over her body, she assumed a tone of instruction, "I may be old, but remember, when I was 19, I was one of the ten beauties of Shanghai..." She kept glancing significantly at the audience. The older courtesan warns the younger that if she does not want to "wear out her insides," she will learn a song for every suitor and how to play on the emotions of every type of man. It's definitely a departure from her earlier work in terms of raciness, as she admitted, but it's actually inspired by her grandmother, whom she believes may have been a courtesan. I got my copy of The Bonesetter's Daughter signed and I told her it was "awesome." I feel really silly about that. I mean, yes the book was good, but "awesome" is not the right word and doesn't in any way convey what the book meant to me. I was thinking about how there isn't time at these things to say anything significant. I might as well not have met her at all. I think next time (as in, tomorrow!), I'll write a letter and give it to the author. That way, I don't take up any time and they can read it later if they want and know how much they meant to me. I don't know if I'll actually have time to fulfill this meaningful intention though.

The Baltimore Book Festival, which unfortunately I won't be able to attend at all is going on today Sept 23-Sun Sept 25.

This weekend, I'll be at the National Book Festival both days. I've never been able to make it before because I've been in Boston. I'm so excited for the lineup, I will definitely be catching Toni Morrison, Gregory Maguire, and Margaret George, whose book I'm reading right now, and there are so many other good authors to choose from. I might also join the LibraryThing meetup.

If you're in the DC/Baltimore area, check these out this weekend!

2011-09-23T12:34:00.000-04:00

43. Brisingr by Christopher Paolini

I have a lot of mixed feelings about the Inheritance Quartet (formerly Trilogy). On the one hand, there's something there. There are interesting characters, a classic fantasy plotline, and a clear interest in exploring fantastical cultures like those of Dwarves, Elves, and "Urgals," a less sinister stand-in for Orcs or Trolls. On the other hand, a lot of it is obviously derivative (of Tolkien in particular) and events feel contrived to an extreme degree. I read Eragon after the movie came out in 2006 and liked it enough to read Eldest. I thought Eldest was much better in terms of language and organization, and I enjoyed the inclusion of Roran's story and point of view. Then, Brisingr came out in 2008. I went to the store and bought the book the week it came out. I started reading. I put it down. And I haven't picked it up again until now. I got through about the first third of the book and it just wasn't holding my attention. This time was better and I got through the whole thing, but there were definitely moments when I was just like "All right, I'm not really enjoying reading this right now."

Our orphan/under-dog/misfit hero, dragon rider Eragon, his cousin Roran, and dragon Saphira open the book on a quest to rescue Roran's beloved Katrina and slay the evil Ra'zac, who killed Eragon's uncle and Roran's father,Garrow, and Eragon's mentor, Brom. Meanwhile, Nasuada, leader of the Varden, the resistance against evil king Galbatorix, moves to consolidate her position and begin the war against Galbatorix with an unsteady alliance of Dwarves, Elves, Urgals, and Men. One thing that can be said for Paolini is his book is almost aggressively egalitarian; Nasuada is female, as is Queen Islanzadi of the Elves, Urgal women hold power over the men, and some of the Dwarf clan chiefs are women. When Katrina is rescued, she is described as a strong woman who looks capable of rescuing Roran if their situations had been reversed, but unfortunately her character is not further developed beyond being the object of Roran's affection. Saphira, of course, is the best developed female character in the book and I think Paolini's best and most unique feature. In this book, he speaks from Saphira's point-of-view, which, while it seems to be interjected randomly, he at least does a convincing job of. Although, I think he characterizes Saphira well enough in her dialogue with Eragon and he should keep that up.

One of the reasons I might be more critical of Paolini than other authors is that I consider him a contemporary, I'm only a few years his junior, and we were clearly raised on the same diet of fantasy literature. So, I'm going to pretend I can speak to him directly.

The "Beor Mountains" and the "Strait of Melian"? Come on, Chris, your homage to Tolkien is glaring. I like that you had the idea that Orcs can be people too, I really do. I like your version of the Dwarf clans But does everything really work out that neatly? Really? I get that we need another father-mentor figure sacrifice, goodness knows we haven't had as many as J.K. Rowling, but reversing a revelation from another book? Not cool. Contrived. That's the only word for it. You could have done something really cool with what you had, instead you backtrack. The new revelation? Awesome, except I'm confused. I thought when humans died, their dragons died too, but not vice versa? But now this book makes it sound like it's only "likely," not always. Check into it. You've got to re-read your own backlist.

This book is teeming with so many obvious hints of what's coming next, but all of the fragments just don't hold together that well. I get that there's another book coming and you need to make references to all these random strangers, but Eragon's quota of chance encounters is definitely overdrawn. Angela is my favorite. I love her, I really do, and I love that she's based on your sister (although how that could be scares me a little). But she needs to take a front-and-forward role, right now. Stop dancing around it. She better be Galbatorix's sister or something and know how to defeat him. And yes, Elva scares me, are you happy now? Because who knows if she's going to be a friend or foe-oooo what now.

Final comments: Cut the random skipping around of viewpoints. If you're going to use different viewpoints, use them regularly and with purpose. I don't care how often Roran and Katrina cuddle. Watch the run-on sentences. Eragon and Arya-build it up more, give them more than one scene, not just snippets. I don't see how you're going to pull this whole mess together in just one more book, but good luck.

Recommended to fantasy readers, other readers should probably leave it alone, there are much better representations of the genre.

Book Blogger Hop 9/16-9/19

2011-09-16T21:43:00.002-04:00

This week's Book Blogger Hop question is:

“As a book blogger, how do you introduce yourself in your profile?”

My Answer:

I like to stick to the essentials so that people know the important things, but don't have to spend forever reading my profile. I mention my credentials (I'm a BA in English), a couple interests I have outside of books (travel and friendship) and my favorite types of books, so readers will know what type of books I am likely to review. I really am all over the place, but if I focus anywhere it is on 16th Century Brit Lit, 19th Century Brit Lit, and Science Fiction/Fantasy. I think it's better overall to err on the side of less information than more, because if anyone wants more, they can ask and I'm happy to answer!

Emily of New Moon and Portrait of the Artist as a Child

2011-09-16T21:18:00.000-04:00

42. Emily of New Moon by L.M. Montgomery

Recently, I discovered on Netflix that Canadian TV had produced a television series of Emily of New Moon. I had gobbled up the Anne of Green Gables books as a child and when those were done, I turned next to the Emily trilogy. What a treat! If Anne was exquisite, Emily was divine. Anne and Emily are both aspiring child writers growing up on Prince Edward Island, but the Anne stories are really about Anne's adventures and friendships more than her writing. Not so with Emily. While there are still delightful childish adventures, Emily is very much a book and a trilogy about a writer coming of age. Some chapters are written entirely in Emily's voice, in her Jimmy-books, notebooks given to her by her cousin Jimmy in defiance of her tyrannical Aunt Elizabeth. We get to see some of her poems and hear about the stories she is writing. One can only imagine that the more subdued Emily is a closer portrayal of L.M. Montgomery's own development as a writer, especially since they share many of the same flaws, including overly "fine" descriptions and a prolific use of italics!

Upon discovering the TV series, I had to watch it. And upon watching the TV series, I had to reread the books. Within one week, I had watched more than half of the 13-episode first season and re-read the first book. I am now in the middle of the second book, Emily Climbs, which has been a more daunting proposition for me as I don't actually own it. I remember procuring the second and third books from the library as a kid, but the library near me doesn't seem to have it anymore, so I am reduced to reading it online. Thank goodness for Gutenberg Australia, who seem to love L.M. Montgomery as much as I do. I am happy to report that the TV series sticks very close to the spirit of the books, and while it does take liberties in embellishing stories from the book or inventing its own stories, the story arcs fit in almost seamlessly with Montgomery's style and themes. The characters and overarching plot remain the same.

All this brings me to my central question. What should the childhood of an author look like? Emily is relentlessly fanciful and invents all kinds of imaginary friends, like the Wind Woman, and assigns personalities to trees and houses. Imaginary friends and anthropomorphizing nature are also elements of Anne's character. Both girls are orphaned and oppressed by uptight, domineering women, though Aunt Elizabeth is certainly more formidable than Anne's Marilla. Emily is forever scribbling, she describes a sense of rapture that she calls "the flash" that occurs when she views a particularly beautiful natural spectacle or meets someone fascinating. She writes poetry and epics, favoring absurdly romantic plotlines. [Aside-While L.M. Montgomery's style of writing could certainly be called romantic in its emphasis on sensitivity to nature and beauty, she writes about the ordinary life she must have known, not the knights and ladies, priests and nuns that Emily invents. In that way, she learned well the lesson that Emily's mentors try to teach her, though it looks like she never could curb all of the "fine" detail. It's funny, because in some ways I do consider it a weakness in her writing, that she has to describe every sunset and every field, on the other hand it's as if the text itself is aligned with the mood of the characters.]
Emily's gift in writing is acknowledged repeatedly throughout the book by characters who know what they are talking about; Emily's father, a failed journalist, a Catholic priest she encounters, a family connection and older friend Dean "Jarback" Priest, her friends Teddy, Perry, and Ilse, and of course Cousin Jimmy. What I wonder is: did Lucy Maud Montgomery believe that only fanciful, sensitive children could be writers? Did she believe that suffering in childhood was necessary to a budding writer? Did she believe that writers were born and not made?

Another interesting angle to explore is another author's portrayal of a young writer's childhood; James Joyce's Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. Stephen is shown as unusually impressionable and sensitive, and the book ends with writing from his journal. Stephen does not consciously scribble like Emily, but the thoughts in his head often sound wild and romantic. He is obsessed more with the sounds and sensations of the city of Dublin than those of nature, but that reflects his urban upbringing. Why did both authors seem to arrive at the conclusion that sensitivity is intrinsic to the nature of the artist?

As an aspiring author, I've often compared myself to Anne and especially to Emily and fallen short. While there are numerous childhood scribblings, none of them, I feel, have really any merit whatsoever. In recent years, I've barely written anything creatively and what I have is mostly drivel. I have lots of ideas, but not the time or patience thus far to put them into practice. Was I sensitive as a child? Yes, but in a way that simply resulted in me being very hurt all the time and no good poems to show for it. I was less tuned in to people than I was terrorized. As I got older, I developed a rather thick skin, which I think has been very good for me. However, I do very much admire L.M. Montgomery and consider her a model for things that I would like to write someday. I hope my lack of a tragic, overly imaginative childhood hasn't doomed me.

What do you think a writer's childhood should look like? Do you agree or disagree with Montgomery's portrayal?

Top Ten Tuesday

2011-09-13T16:47:00.000-04:00

I know, I've really been getting on the book-meme train here. I'm going to try out Top Ten Tuesdays from The Broke and the Bookish.

This week's top ten is in honor of Book Blogger Appreciation week:

Top Ten Books I Read Because of Another Blogger

My Answer:

I think quite a lot of books I've read or want to read are because of other bloggers, but I'm not as good at keeping track of where these recommendations come from. Some aren't necessarily from the blogger I was reading, but from someone else in the Comments section or a link I followed. So, I'm only listing books I definitely know I read because of another blogger.

1. The Believers by Zoe Heller

I know I read this because of the review I read at a Commonplace Blog.

2. A Clash of Kings and A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin

I continued reading A Song of Ice and Fire after Biblibio assured me it gets better. While I found the style similar, it was enjoyable to get to know the characters better.

3. Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell

I read about Cranford on Wuthering Expectations and I am very glad I did. I was very pleased and more Gaskell is definitely on my list.

4. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

I know I heard about The Hunger Games on a blog, but I can't remember where I heard about it first. I feel like all the YA blogs were buzzing about it around the time Mockingjay came out.

5. American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld

I did know about this book before, but I definitely decided to read it sooner rather than later after I read Litlove's review.

That's my half of a Top Ten Tuesday!

Book Blogger Hop

2011-09-09T15:39:00.000-04:00

I've been trying to read more book blogs lately and I ran across the Book Blog Hop. This looks like a great idea to me and it will be a good way to find new blogs every week.

So here's the link for this week's Hop and this week's question is:

“Many of us primarily read one genre of books, with others sprinkled in. If authors stopped writing that genre, what genre would you start reading? Or would you give up reading completely if you couldn’t read that genre anymore?”

My Answer:

I wouldn't say I primarily read one genre of books, unless you count a category as wide as "fiction." I definitely read way more fiction than nonfiction. Other than that though, I read contemporary fiction, literary fiction, science fiction, fantasy, historical fiction, classics, fiction from different periods and cultures, and occasionally drama and poetry. Once in a while I read nonfiction on a topic of scientific or sociological interest, or a biography. The only books I really don't read are mysteries and thrillers and I have read a few of those. So....if writers stopped writing fiction, well, I'd just read the backlog! But if there were no more fiction, I would read significantly less. If people stopped writing science fiction, I would be sad, but there's so much other stuff out there that it probably wouldn't slow my pace.

2011-09-06T21:40:00.001-04:00

41. American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld

As you know, I've been looking forward to this one for a while, especially after I snagged it recently in a bargain bin. Sittenfeld's Prep was a book that made a big impression on me and made me vow never to be like her passive-aggressive protagonist, Lee Fiora.

American Wife has a much more likable protagonist in Alice Blackwell,the fictional counterpart of Laura Bush. The novel chronicles Alice's life at four addresses, her childhood home in Riley, Wisconsin, her bachelorette pad in Madison when she works as a school librarian and meets husband-to-be Charlie Blackwell (fictional counterpart of George W. Bush), her home with Charlie and their daughter in a Milwaukee suburb when she considers leaving him, and 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue when she's re-considering her choice to stay silent on issues where she disagrees with her husband the President. Like Prep, this novel is written in retrospect and often re-counts events out of order. While I enjoyed the thoughtful commentary this enabled, and these comments were often the best part of the book, the continuous switching back to an earlier time or explanations of the past to make sense of the present were jarring. I think there could have been a much more linear storyline without sacrificing the retrospective commentary.

I think Sittenfeld manages here to create a complete and complex character in Alice Blackwell, someone who, if not entirely representative of Laura Bush, is reflective of certain characteristics of some American women and wives of the elite in particular. Alice is quiet, bookish, and not particularly political, but she has ideas, passions, and priorities of her own. She falls in love, really in love with Charlie Blackwell, and the portrayal of their courtship is achingly sweet and real. She does assert her opinions to Charlie in private, though she agrees never to contradict him in public, a deal that she is comfortable with for a long time. Sittenfeld delicately inserts into the storyline issues like homosexuality, abortion, religion, racism, sexism, and class privilege, but these themes make sense within the context of Alice's fictional life and seem to arise naturally. This is not a black-and-white story, and Sittenfeld understands that, although perhaps she makes Alice Blackwell a little more conflicted than she might actually be.

The line that I think best sums up the complications of Alice Blackwell and perhaps of a segment of American women is; 'If I am diffident, then my diffidence stems in part from my aversion to arriving hastily at decisions. (519)" She continues, "During the lead-up to the war, I sincerely didn't know what I thought the right course of action was; I read articles for both sides and I found convincing arguments in each." If Charlie Blackwell is confident, if he is naive, simplistic, pigheaded, his wife is too thoughtful to go ahead with such momentous decisions. I think this might partially be how we socialize boys and girls, where boys are encouraged to be impulsive and girls are encouraged to consider everyone's feelings. There are still some even older ideas that women concern themselves with private, domestic life while men concern themselves with public life. Add to this the particular circumstances of Alice's life and it's no wonder she feels the way she does. I can't fault Alice in this book and even Charlie is charming in his love for his wife. Sittenfeld reminds us again that people are people and nothing is as plain as the news media would have us believe.

Recommended to fans of literary, character-driven fiction , although it may be more palatable to those of a liberal political persuasion.

Which Austenian Heroine Are You?

2011-09-01T16:47:00.002-04:00

Take the Quiz here!

I think perhaps I am most like Elinor, though I'd rather be an Elizabeth Bennet or an Anne Eliot. What Austenian heroine are you?

2011-08-31T23:38:00.000-04:00

40. The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

The Name of the Wind had been recommended to me with exceptionally high praise. I looked forward to it, but I also feared that my expectations were raised too high.

They were-and they weren't. The Name of the Wind is no Lord of the Rings. It is no Harry Potter. It has entirely its own magic, or should I say sympathy?

Kvothe (prounounced like "quothe," now isn't that just lovely to say?) is our protagonist, our orphan underdog hero. Rothfuss opens the book with a silent inn, "a silence of three parts," in a small provincial town apparently on the edge of a large, dark crisis involving demonic forces. There is more than there seems to the quiet innkeeper "Kote" and when he encounters the traveling scribe Chronicler, he is convinced to tell our main character's story, his story.

I have not read much epic fantasy told in the first person, so Rothfuss gets originality points here. His chapters are short and well-organized. His language is clean and precise. I often complain about this Hemingway-esque language in science fiction and fantasy books, but Rothfuss elevates it to an art form. He does it right. He says what he means to say, carefully, evocatively and briefly. I will admit that is more than can be said for Tolkien, though I'm fond of his syntactical structure myself. He repeats descriptions of characters and I was exasperated with the word "maudlin" by the end, in the same way that Martin's books made me sick of the word "craven." But, with Rothfuss, I felt his repetitions were deliberate and in keeping with his storytelling schtick, a touch of Greek epic if you will.

One thing I found especially brilliant is Kvothe's upbringing among a troupe of entertainers. His parents are actors and musicians and he grows up on stage. I have never met with a better way to introduce a reader to a new world. There is no extensive exposition, but no slow confusing build-up either, all the necessary information about the cultural values and myths of "The Four Corners of Civilization" is contained in songs and play dialogues that are related in the beginning. Of course, there is a sense that there is more to learn and by the end of the book we have still not learned all that is referred to. A perfect set-up for a trilogy. But this book stands on its own as well, there are a series of smaller and bigger quests and resolutions. The small cast of characters is easy to keep track of and while minor characters are not as fully developed as I'd like, they are more than stick figures.

We observe Kvothe's formative years, he must lose his parents and end up living rough on city streets for a while, where have I heard that one before? Oh yeah, and then he gets into the school for wizards. Except, in Kvothe's world, "arcanists" don't perform magic, they perform "sympathy," making bindings between objects to light candles, for example. And of course, the more advanced students can learn "naming," which is what Kvothe really wants, how to call the name of the wind and bend it to his will. Rothfuss plays on a lot of familiar themes on the power of words and the danger of power. Then there is the Girl, Denna or Dianne or Deanna, the wild, enigmatic love of Kvothe's life. The knight's got to have his lady.

I would absolutely recommend The Name of the Wind to fans of fantasy and I will certainly be reading the rest of the trilogy. I'm even going to go ahead and call this Fantasy Literature, because it is a little different and I feel like it shows a very serious artistic effort and besides being entertaining, it...lives.

Mailbox Monday

2011-08-29T16:47:00.000-04:00

I have acquired a couple of books in the past two weeks, both at independent bookstores, I am proud to say, which makes me feel a little less guilty about giving into temptation. The first I bought at Busboys & Poets in D.C. It was my first time there and I will definitely be going back. While the restaurant is larger than the bookstore (and boasts plenty of vegetarian and environmentally sustainable options), the selection is quite specialized and charming. I noticed almost no recent bestsellers, instead the largest sections were on Poetry and Food Politics, with plenty of History, Social Justice, and a Literature section with focus on more obscure and international writers. I picked up an interesting-looking novel by Nigerian author Ngugl wa Thiong’o.

Wizard of the Crow takes place in a fictional African country under a dystopian dictatorship. From glancing through it, I can tell that it has elements of magical realism and intrusive narration that I will love.

I picked up The Name of the Wind at Trident Booksellers & Cafe in Boston, where I've spent many happy hours of my life and will hopefully spend more. I've had The Name of the Wind recommended to me quite a few times lately. I'm actually finished reading and my review should be up soon.

TBR

2011-08-26T17:05:00.000-04:00

Question: What are five books from your "to be read" stack. What makes you select a book for your “to be read” stack?

My Answer:

I feel like I have more books on the TBR pile right now than I have in a long time. Partly, this is because it was recently my birthday and partly it's because I've recently been indulging in book-buying much more than I should because it's one of the few things that makes me feel better in the midst of a current personal crisis.

So, five books...American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld, The Collected Works of T.S. Spivet by Reif Larsen, Elizabeth I by Margaret George, Sisterhood Everlasting by Ann Brashares, and Reading Women by Stephanie Staal.

These days, my TBR pile grows largely from reviews on other book blogs, but also from newspaper reviews, recommendations from friends and colleagues, and plain old browsing. In the future, I may start taking LibraryThing recommendations into account and at least once I did order a book just from browsing on Bookmooch.

An Addictive Mishmash of Horror

2011-08-25T14:46:00.000-04:00

38. A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin

39. A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin

* WARNING: SPOLIERS FOR THOSE WHO HAVE NOT FINISHED A GAME OF THRONES*
I've been obsessively reading these sequels to A Game of Thrones, but after looking back at that review, I have to say my comments overall are rather similar.

A Clash of Kings introduces us to a few new point-of-view characters. We have Davos, also known as the Onion Knight, who is sworn to serve Stannis Baratheon, brother to the late King Robert. If the accusations of incest between Robert's wife Cersei Lannister and her twin Jaime are true (and we readers know they are), Stannis is the rightful heir to the throne. This doesn't stop younger and more charming brother Renly Baratheon from claiming the crown nor does it stop Cersei crowning her son Joffrey in the name of his alleged father. With Eddard Stark dead, his son Robb becomes the King in the North, a move that none of the claimants to the Seven Kingdoms like since it removes half their would-be territory.

Of course, we're still rooting for the Starks, but now we get a viewpoint into what's going on with Stannis, and it's scary. Melisandre, a priestess from faraway Ashai, wins the king's ear with the power of her god, R'hllor, the Lord of Light. Previously, we've had the "Seven" gods of the South, more clearly defined in the second book (The Mother, the Father, the Warrior, the Maiden, the Smith, the Crone, and the Stranger) and the nameless old gods of the North the Starks pray to. We've also got a viewpoint into Theon Greyjoy, formerly the Starks' ward, now returned to his father, the onetime Iron King, in hopes of an alliance. The Ironborn have different plans and Theon is driven to the deepest and most unforgivable of betrayals.

Meanwhile, our old friend, and my favorite character, Tyrion the Imp, becomes the King's Hand in his father's name and moves to skilful political and military wrangling that delighted my heart. The second book in the series is better structured, kinder to the characters, and a place where I really came to enjoy them, even the despicable Theon I found amusing.

What I love most about this series is that I find it unpredictable. Especially with fantasy and sci-fi, I can usually predict what's coming next. Not with George R.R. Martin, at least not in the second book. However, A Storm of Swords, while still engrossing, was not nearly as enjoyable for me. I think it's because I've finally caught on to how Martin does things and also because I'm beginning to detect small flaws and inconsistencies, and a number of printer errors in my copy didn't help either. While after the first book, I expected all minor characters to die sooner or later and I wasn't holding out hope for a good deal of the major characters either (one of my predictions is that none of the major characters from the first book will be alive in the last, but we'll see), but now I'm seeing that every move leads toward escalated conflict, to an insensible degree. I understand that is most of why the series is so addictive, because there's always the tension of what will happen next, but I often don't like what happens next (but yes I am having an emotional reaction, which is some success for Martin), and most damningly, characters' actions aren't making sense to me in terms of how they've been characterized. Lord Tywin, father to Cersei, Tyrion, and Jaime, seems especially erratic, as does Jaime, who now emerges as a likeable POV character. I don't get what Stannis' deal is in this book nor the Hound and Arya gets less and less likeable and more and more screwed. I don't like that Tyrion's not in power either and how he gets treated seems very odd and just to mess with the readers.

Probably, the characters' motivations and complications are all very clear to Martin and I was able to make a lot of predictions based on clues earlier. Like, I'm not surprised the Hound turned out to do something good, I know Ser Jorah was reporting on Dany and I kind of suspected that Whitebeard was Barristan Selmy. But. Motivations for certain actions still don't seem clear to the reader and I think it's more a function of trying to add in as much action and gratuitous violence as possible than of showing how complex the characters are. I could be wrong, this could be deeper than I know. The only way to know is to read all of it, though it's not all out yet. Still, I'm taking a break from A Song of Ice and Fire for now while I'm stewing and I'll get back to it later.

2011-08-18T10:09:00.000-04:00

37. Eon by Greg Bear

Eon is a quirky book of epic proportion. On the cover, the Washington Post is quoted, "Eon may be the best constructed hard SF epic yet." While I'm not sure I can agree with Dune in mind, Eon is definitely hard SF that still remains likable, understandable, relatable to us non-math/tech/science people who still enjoy sci fi. In its scope and weirdness, it reminded me of Neuromancer, a book I tried to read a year and a half or so ago, but it was just too immersed in its own strange reality for me to get into.

Like many SF writers, Bear uses short, direct, and sometimes clunky sentences to describe his characters and his world. Few of the characters are fully fleshed out, even the main characters seemed stock-ish to me. Brilliant young woman, hardened administrator, disaffected Russian, etc. However, what makes this book crackle is the plot and the ideas behind it. Bear's imagined futuristic human society is also fascinating and creative.

The readers enter a world on the brink of nuclear war between the United States and the Soviet Union. A mysterious asteroid enters Earth's orbit, and NATO organizes a team to investigate. Rumours abound about the wonders found within, but it's all kept top secret, and the Russians are only allowed to participate after four years. Our main characters are the hardened administrator who is charged with the deepest of secrets, Lanier, our young ingenue, Patricia Luisa Vasquez, our Russian dreaming of the stars, Mirsky, and our futuristic new world guide, Olmy. I wouldn't be giving much away if I say that nuclear war does break out and that our heroes, with Olmy's help, will have to contend with the futuristic society somewhere inside the Stone, as they call the asteroid.

This is a novel about the endless possibilities of the universe and the endless varieties of how humanity can divide itself. Bear, instead of going utopian or dystopian, accepts humanity and its divisions and shows how if we truly accept each other, we let each other go our separate ways. I don't know if that message is his definitive answer to the Cold War, but that's what I got from it. Please read Eon if you love SF, and especially if you're a physics geek, I think you'll really get a kick out of it. But if you're not, never fear, it's still an enjoyable ride.

Specious Origins and Opinions

2011-08-16T12:55:00.000-04:00

36. Origins of the Specious: Myths and Misconceptions of the English Language by Patricia T. O'Conner and Stewart Kellerman

I'm back from vacation, where I managed to get a lot of reading done, of which this is the first. Although there are two authors, the book is written in O'Conner's voice and I will refer to her as the author.

This systematic breakdown of contemporary (and primarily American) English usage declares the true history of popular language faux pas in an attempt to establish the legitimacy or illegitimacy of rules such as "No prepositions at the end of a sentence," and "No split infinitives," as well as words like the ever-bastardized "ain't", and the true origins of words and phrases, including how bad bad words really are and why.

Interestingly, O'Conner comes out against some of the best-known "rules" of the English language, both "No prepositions at the end of a sentence" and "No split infinitives" are Latinist add-ons that she claims make no sense for English. O'Conner constantly belittles those poor eighteenth and nineteenth century schmucks like Alexander Pope and Samuel Johnson, who tried to make English "more like their beloved Latin," in O'Conner's words. She even knocks on British spellings, like "colour" and "centre" and "realise." These, she claims, are Norman French endings or affectations imposed by later Francophiles. While I'm personally fond of the way those spellings look (call me an Anglophile), I do feel it's rare and riveting to see a defense of American English, and she goes so far as to say that the American accent is closer to that of sixteenth century Britons than the accent of Britons today.

The most upsetting myth to be dispelled, for me, was that "marmalade" did not come from "Marie's malade," a concoction made for Mary, Queen of Scots. O'Conner shows that the usage was common much earlier, and that another version of the tale claims the "malade" was for Marie Antoinette! Guess she didn't have marmalade with her cake! (And the "let them eat cake" tale is far older than poor Maria Antonia, as I hope you all know).

O'Conner defends some mispronunciations (even the much-maligned "nucular") and begs her readers to expunge others, like "neesh" for "niche" (it's pronounced "nitch"). While her research on many word myths and origins is commendable and compelling, O'Conner seems to combine an odd blend of prescriptivist and descriptionist language standards. O'Conner's English scorns foreign impositions, particularly French and Latin spellings and pronunciations, but applauds or at least accepts modern changes in meaning and pronunciation, as long as the (American) majority has put it into use. To me, she seems to fight a strange battle, for an American English that clings to Anglo-Saxon roots and selectively incorporates modern slang, but rejects slightly older impurities. An interesting book indeed, but not without its own misconceptions.

The Most Annoying Character Ever

2011-08-03T19:32:00.000-04:00

Question: Who is the most annoying character ever?

My Answer:

Holden Caulfield is whiny for sure, but he never haunted me like Lee Fiora from Curtis Sittenfeld's Prep. Lee is simultaneously the most annoying and the most terrifying character I have ever encountered. She reminds me of all the worst parts of myself, plus things that I never imagined all those quiet girls might be thinking behind my back. Lee is aggressively passive, so compliant and impressionable she makes me want to scream. Her real personality, the one she submerges in her thoughts, is judgmental and outright cruel. It's clear that Lee hates herself, but she projects that hate on everyone around her and her prep school world is a nightmare. The only "good" thing is when she finally gets together with her longtime crush, but that turns out to be the most corrupt, tainted thing of all, as she allows him to take advantage of her body and leave her nothing in return.

By the first time I finished the book, I was sick of Lee and her constant complaints and judgments, but like a trainwreck, I returned. The writing is painfully and honestly real, and what makes her annoying brings her back to mind again and again, as a reminder of who I never want to be.

Mailbox Monday

2011-08-01T22:31:00.001-04:00

I'm late (by US Eastern Standard Time), but I'm back for Mailbox Monday.

Last week was my birthday. I received the following book in the mail as a gift;

My boyfriend knows the author, and it looks really interesting. I've been meaning to read more about Prague for a while now, since I went there last year.

Much to my surprise, the copy of Atlas Shrugged I thought I had gotten from Bookmooch turned out to be a set of cassette tapes of Atlas Shrugged. Fortunately, I do have a cassette player, but I've never listened to books on tape before, aside from a couple during family car trips. I haven't quite decided what I'm doing with them.

Happy Monday!

Homage to Brian Jacques and Redwall

2011-07-26T22:05:00.001-04:00

Question(s): What do you think was the saddest character death or best/most satisfying character death (or both!) from a book?

My Answer:

I've had to contemplate a lot of character deaths recently as my class just finished the first book of the children's fantasy series Redwall. The author, Brian Jacques, passed away this year and in fitting tribute to him, we held a memorial service for the dead characters. Rats with magnificent names like Cheesethief (my favorite), Redtooth, Darkclaw, and Mangefur have all bitten the dust along with weasel Scragg and ferret Killconey. With that in mind, the deaths of all the adversaries in this book are particularly satisfying. Cheesethief is mistakenly shot with an arrow while posturing in the clothes of the Rat Chief, Cluny the Scourge. The death of Enemy Number One, Cluny himself, is a resounding example of poetic justice, as the bell which features in his dreams, is cut down by the mouse hero Matthias to crush him. Jacques writes these brilliant death scenes in varied manners that I know bring delight to the heart of little boys and girls. There are also a few sad and affecting deaths on the side of the good Redwall Abbey mice.

However, the saddest death I have encountered in literature remains the death of the dogs in Where the Red Fern Grows. I defy anyone without a heart of stone to read it and not cry. There's something about animals, but particularly dogs, dying, that arouses my (and I think many other people's) sense of injustice to a greater degree than human death does. Human death is more acceptable, because humans can comprehend death and its meaning, as animals cannot. The same applies for children, I suppose. Keep in mind also that I mostly read fiction. I'm sure I'd be more upset by true tales of gruesome and untimely death, but I don't tend to read the types of books that contain that.

Mailbox Monday

2011-07-25T19:40:00.000-04:00

I'm trying this out for the first time, I've been meaning to join more book blogging meme groups.

This past week, I received Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisa Peshl in the mail from Bookmooch. It's been on my wishlist for over a year now, and I'm excited to read it along with all my other new books.

In other news, has anyone ever gone on a book-buying binge and then just been too overwhelmed at what to read next? That might be my next question for readers!

The Time Traveler's Wife Movie

2011-07-23T10:12:00.000-04:00

Last night, I watched the film adaptation of The Time Travelers' Wife. While the actors' appearance and the set of the film were exquisitely appropriate, particularly the meadow and Claire's studio, the film never really captured the emotional tension of the book. As my sister pointed out, the book's real pleasure came from Niffenegger's carefully plotted, non-chronological sequence of events, nearly all of which was missed in the film. The movie instead follows Henry's chronological life (as best it can be followed) with only a couple of flashbacks to Claire's childhood, missing some of the best scenes in the book. Overall, it's not that the movie didn't portray the most important plot points and character background, but mostly that it skipped over the fine details and especially the darker and less palatable ones, that make these characters who they are.

For example (SPOILER ALERT), the movie avoids how Henry really convinces his doctor that he is a time traveler-informing him that his son will be born with Down syndrome. It also translates the loss of Henry's feet to hypothermia into a short stint in a wheelchair. Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams look picture-perfect as Henry and Claire. McAdams' acting is convincing, though she looks too young at times to portray the older Claire. Bana is moody, but not dark enough, as Henry and he never looks convincingly old. These may be more the fault of makeup artists or lack thereof however. But taking away the time Henry beats up a football player who abused Claire not only avoids unseeming darkness, but takes away an important bond between the characters. I do love a statement that McAdams as Claire makes in the movie that I do not believe is in the book, "You impressed yourself upon the mind and heart of a young girl. I never had a choice!" This is cutting to the heart of who Claire and Henry really are, and the trick that time-travel has played on them.

If you've read the book, you don't really need to see the movie. It just isn't as good and has few redeeming qualities. As a movie, it's probably a tearjerker for those who like that sort of thing and enough remains of Niffenegger's plot to be mildly entertaining. The pace seemed to me to be too fast and (ironically) continually skipping ahead in time, but that's probably because I'm aware of how much from the book was missing.

Sixteenth Century Italy, Nineteenth Century Style

2011-07-21T19:20:00.000-04:00

35. The Betrothed by Alessandro Manzoni

Finally, I've finished The Betrothed, an epic nineteenth century Italian novel that in my version (pictured above) is 720 pages in length. Manzoni, evidently a devoted scholar of sixteenth century Milan, weaves his story into the history of that time and place, including politics, religion, famine, and plague.

Renzo and Lucia are our betrothed couple, and their troubles beset them before their intended wedding day, when the local lord, Don Rodrigo, forbids the parish priest, the cowardly Don Abbondio, to perform their marriage. Renzo and Lucia, along with Lucia's mother Agnese, are poor country folk in Pescarenico, a small town in Lecco, a territory belonging to Milan. Renzo tries to achieve justice as the more powerful townsfolk turn a blind eye. Don Rodrigo prepares to kidnap Lucia. The plot is thwarted, but the lovers must go separately into exile. We begin to meet a wide cast of characters, specifically do-gooders and not-so-good-doers, in regard to our young couple, and also to hear about a series of events that concerns them only marginally. Renzo finds himself in the midst of bread riots in Milan, Agnese is later caught in the path of invading Frenchmen, and all our friends experience the plague, although much less detail is given to their particular sufferings than to the wide-ranging effects and consequences in Milan.

As I described in an earlier post, Manzoni's meta-narrative style amused and pleased me greatly. His descriptions of characters, particularly their thoughts, demonstrated for me a great understanding of humanity. The best examples are Manzoni's forays into the head of Don Abbondio, the consummate coward whose inaction is the cause of the series of events recorded in the novel.

"Through all this conversation, the thing that was most vividly present in his mind was the picture of those bravoes who had threatened him and the reflection that Don Rodrigo was alive and well and would come home again one day or another in all his power and pride, and also in a bad temper. The splendid appearance of his guest, his noble appearance and his eloquent words inspired the cure with confusion and a certain fear; but it was not a fear that mastered him completely, or prevented his mind from formulating objections, because the thought was in his mind that the Cardinal, at least, would never have recourse to bravoes or swords or muskets." (478)

I love this incredibly human portrait of fear, and the type of logic that no one would want to admit to. Manzoni makes it a strong point in this novel to note that evildoers can never get away with their deeds unless frightened bystanders let them. It is those who fear more for their life than their soul who are the real villains in Manzoni's world.

Don Abbondio notwithstanding, the Church in general gets a very respectful treatment, particularly the monks of the Capuchin order. Something of a mentor/hero figure is Father Cristoforo of the Capuchins, whose powerful personal history of forgiveness foreshadows the thread of forgiveness throughout the novel. Other heroes are the aforementioned Cardinal, Federigo Borromeo, and various other priests and monks. For balance, we do meet the slightly corrupt head of the Capuchins, who bends to the political wrangling of Don Rodrigo's uncle to have Father Cristoforo transferred, and a nun known as the Signora, with sins on her head and a tragic past, who betrays Lucia. While many parts of Manzoni's narration appear to be satire, his affection for the Church is serious and constant, especially in contrast with his portrayal of the government as ineffective at best and corrupt at worst. Manzoni makes a joke throughout of the numerous edicts published to ban or promote this or that, none of which are obeyed or enforced except immediately after publication.

One satirical exchange that I enjoyed, definitely a product of Manzoni's perception of the sixteenth century, deals with letter writing. Lucia charges Agenese to write to Renzo with upsetting news. To undertake her duties, Agnese employs a letter writer to whom she dictates. None of our trio are literate. Manzoni describes the process:

"The peasant who cannot write, and needs something written, turns to someone who has learned to use a pen...He tells the man what has gone before, with such clarity and logical order as he can muster, and then tells him, in the same style, what he wants to say. The literate friend understands part of what he says and misunderstands another part; he advises him, suggests a couple of changes, and then says "Leave it to me!" He takes up his pen and puts the first man's thoughts in literary form, as best he can; corrects them or improves them, adds emphasis or takes it away, even leaves bits out, as seems best to him...When such a letter reaches the other correspondent, who is equally ignorant of his ABC, he takes it to a man of the same calibre, who reads it and explains it to him. Then doubts arise over what the letter really means. The interested party, with his knowledge of what has gone before, maintains that certain words must mean one thing; but the man who is doing the reading, from his knowledge of the written language, claims that they must mean something else. In the end the man who cannot write must put himself in the hands of the man who can, and must charge him with the task of replying. The answer will be composed in the same fashion as the first, and will be submitted to the same sort of interpretation." (497)

This amusing interplay is a genius argument for literacy if ever I saw one! I know this is quite long, but I couldn't resist showing how funny and interesting Manzoni can be. If you enjoyed that passage, I absolutely recommend you read The Betrothed. A great project would be to compare this novel with contemporary British novels. Manzoni uses earlier conceits of an "anonymous author" and very nineteenth century moralizing, characterizing, and viewing of the big picture. Of course, I don't know if he was (and guess he was not) unique in this among Italian authors of the time period, another area of research to dive into sometime.

Rereading

2011-07-18T18:23:00.000-04:00

Question: Do you reread a lot? Why (not)? Name a book you have reread many times.

My Answer:

Yes.

I reread all the time. There are many, many books that I have read more times than I can count. Lately, I've been on a roll with reading new books instead of rereading, and I have so many new books I want to read that that looks far more tempting to me right now. However, the truth of the matter is that I get far more out of a book I read more than once. If I liked it, chances are good I will be reading that book again. If I don't reread a book, it usually means I didn't like it and considered it unworthy of my time. There are books that I initially couldn't get through that I went back and read happily, notably Stephen Hawking's The Theory of Everything, Madeleine L'Engle's A Circle of Quiet , and even Tolkien's The Hobbit.

I think the book that I have read the most is probably A Tangled Web by L.M. Montgomery. There is something about this book that never ceases to interest me, it has a very large and varied cast of characters and each one of their lives and especially the intersections in their lives resonates deeply with me. I haven't quite dug to the root of my interest, but I suspect it has something to do with a personal interest in a large and complicated extended family. The matriarch of the clan, Aunt Becky, is somewhat reminiscent of my own Nana.

I have also reread all of the Harry Potter books, Lord of the Rings books, and the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants books numerous times. I suppose series leave more scope for characters and plots to develop and it's pleasing to remind myself again of the intricacies involved and make new observations.

Falling Off the Wagon

2011-07-17T21:10:00.000-04:00

I've told myself over and over: no buying new books for myself. Library only, at least until I get a full-time job. Then I deposited my summer paycheck. And my mom decided to use the bathroom in the bookstore. And it was all over.

The Damage:

And the coup de grace:

American Wife I've wanted to read for a long time and snagged at a bargain price. Reading Women I read about at Litlove's blog. It sounded like the type of book that would be a good lead-in to feminist reading for me and it wasn't at the library. I had a strong emotional connection to the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series, so I couldn't miss this new book about the Sisterhood all grown up, even though I'm not sure how I'll feel about it. And I read Game of Thrones and have been watching the HBO TV series, the 4-book set will be a nice birthday treat.

I recently joined Amazon Associates, so the nice links will take you straight to Amazon if you want to read more about the books or snag a little treat for yourself.

Nineteenth Century Narrators

2011-07-15T21:33:00.000-04:00

I love narrators in nineteenth century novels. From Northanger Abbey to Belinda, Anna Karenina to The Idiot, the narrator is often my favorite character. I want my stories put in perspective, commented on, mocked. I want my characters brought down to size when they're being melodramatic or not quite honest with themselves. I want to know the story behind the story that they would never admit from a third-person perspective with totally different values. All of this is why I was enchanted with Kenilworth and why I'm now falling head over heels for Alexander Manzoni's The Betrothed.

Like Scott's epic, The Betrothed is a nineteenth century novel with a sixteenth century setting. I'm a bit familiar with the sixteenth century Italians, namely Machiavelli and Castiglione, both of whom get mentions in this book, but I really haven't dabbled much in Italian literature. It's amazing to see how similar the style was to the nineteenth century British writers. Obviously, my version is translated into English, so I'm not getting the actual colloquialisms (since reading side-by-side English and Spanish works, I've gotten a better feel for how far off translation can really be), but the cynical humor and penetrating observations on the nature of humanity must still be there.

Like Scott, Manzoni's not writing a novel, he's writing a portrait of an age not very well disguised with a Romeo and Juliet style plotline. His descriptions of famous men and situations of famine and disease in sixteenth century Milan go on for chapters-and I still love it. Manzoni is a forerunner of William Gold and Lemony Snicket. I hope to finish The Betrothed and have my review up by the end of the week. In the meantime, I'm thinking more Manzoni and more nineteenth century Italian lit has to go on my to-read list.

Bonus Question: How do you feel about third-person narrators that aren't really part of the story, but seem to insert their opinions fairly often, and even move away from the story to discuss topics of more interest to them?

2011-07-08T21:31:00.000-04:00

Question: What author do you own the most books by and why?

My Answer:

If I'm counting physical books, I own more Jane Austen books than any other author, but that's counting multiple copies of the same book, as detailed in a former book meme question. Otherwise, it's a close call between C.S. Lewis and L.M. Montgomery, I own 10 of Montgomery's books and 11 of Lewis'. It's not surprising because these are two of my favorite authors and also because they both wrote seven-book series that I love and own in full: The Anne of Green Gables series and the Chronicles of Narnia. I also own Lewis' Space Trilogy books, which are actually much more impressive than the Narnia books, and a book of his essays and stories, Of Other Worlds. In addition to the Anne books, I own the first Emily book, a few standalone novels, and a short story collection of Montgomery's. It's perhaps interesting to note that for both these novelists, while I was initially attracted by their popular series, I'm a much bigger fan of their more obscure works, and I hope to add to both these collections someday!

Happy Fourth of July and Another Question Set

2011-07-04T13:19:00.000-04:00

Happy Fourth of July! The Fourth has always been one of my favorite holidays, I have fond camp memories of painting our fingernails red, white, and blue and watching the fireworks. I'm not as patriotic as I used to be, but I'm still very glad that the Declaration of Independence was signed in the American colonies 235 years ago. Hope you enjoy the fireworks tonight if you're in the US!

Question(s): What are your book borrowing habits? Do you use the library? Do you prefer to try before you buy? What about lending your books to friends? Are you a good borrower, do you remember to return books?

My book borrowing habits are perhaps a bit inconsistent. I've used the library fairly often, usually in bursts and spurts, for the past four years. Before that, most of my books were bought and many of them were gifts or came from gift cards. When I was much younger, my mom did used to take me to the library more often, so I was borrowing regularly. To be honest, I'd prefer just to buy tons of books and have them around, but I've tried to be smarter about only buying books I know I really want and trying not to buy books I could get at the library. I do loan books occasionally to friends and my policy with that is I only loan books I wouldn't care about not getting back. I'm often quite happy just to give a book away if I think a friend will enjoy it. And am I a good borrower? I try to be. To my knowledge, I have at this point returned all books I have ever borrowed. But one of my friends can tell you that it did take two years to get her book back...

2011-06-30T18:26:00.000-04:00

Question(s) Do you own multiple copies of any book? What are they? Why do you have multiple copies?

My Answer:

I do own multiple copies of multiple books. Most notably, I own two or three copies of every Jane Austen book. Why? Good question, bit of a long story. First, my parents own a copy of Pride and Prejudice, which is the copy I read when I read it for the first time. Then, I decided I wanted my own copy, so I bought one. Additionally, I more recently discovered a copy of Pride and Prejudice that I think came from my elementary school library. Oops. As for the other books, I bought my own copies of Sense and Sensibility, Emma, and Persuasion and stole my mother's copy of Mansfield Park. Then came college. I bought Northanger Abbey for an eighteenth-century lit class. The next summer, I took a Jane Austen course, and we were required to have a pack of the Norton editions of every book. In sum, I've ended up with 3-4 copies of P&P and two of all the rest.

LibraryThing

2011-06-27T20:50:00.001-04:00

I recently joined LibraryThing, and I'm still figuring it out, as there is quite a lot going on, and I'm not the most tech-savvy.

Still, I've added the Currently Reading widget to my sidebar and I've entered in a small percentage of my books, those that I feel are most representative of my taste and my collection at large. At some point, I will get a paid account and enter them all, but that's an endeavor for a long period of time.

Among my most interesting discoveries so far have been early reviewer books that I can request, lottery-style, from publishers. I've done so for June, so fingers crossed! I've also been checking out recommendations based on my books, and I just found my library statistics, which are surprisingly mesmerizing. I've discovered that 52.17% of my favorite books were written by women, 47.8% by men and only 38.1% of the authors are alive, as opposed to the collections of 91% of other LibraryThing users.

Things may be slower as I've started work, but I will try to keep a regular pace. Reviews of the books I'm currently reading will hopefully be here soon!

2011-06-23T22:06:00.000-04:00

Question: What fictional character are you (secretly) in love with?

My Answer: Well, it won't be a secret anymore, but my current fictional crush is Peeta Mellark, from The Hunger Games. In the eponymous Games, it's Peeta's public declaration of love for Katniss that makes her a hot contender, and I'd be lying if I said his love for her wasn't part of her attraction to the reader as well. While Katniss isn't sure she loves him back, I was rooting for Peeta all along. Peeta risks (and faces) injury, humiliation, and death to save Katniss, but it's not just this seemingly macho display that makes him such a winning guy. Peeta is genuinely sweet and thoughtful, he's artistic, he's a genius at frosting cakes! He's a charming speaker too, but has no stomach for fighting or betrayal. Even while he constantly tries to protect Katniss, Peeta is the one who truly needs to be protected-and whose goodness is deserving of protection.

Basically, Peeta is everything I want in a guy. Blind devotion to me, but also intelligence, passions of his own, friendly and well-liked. A good baker doesn't hurt either. The dialogue between Katniss and Peeta I found to be frequently touching, and the love (or whatever, on Katniss' side) felt so real to me that if I were her, I'd have been head over heels.

2011-06-21T17:24:00.001-04:00

34. The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffeneger

I actually resisted reading this book because it was such a bestseller and garnered the label "romance." I tend to eschew romance and romantic fiction, mostly because swooning ladies, knights in shining armor, and awkward sex scenes are not my idea of good literature. Everybody raving about it made me want to read it less. Well, finally, I caught it lying around my house. It turned out to belong to a friend of my sister's, and it just looked more interesting than anything on my shelf.

The Time Traveler's Wife indeed fits the romance genre better than the science fiction genre in which it is also sometimes placed, but with a caveat-this is GOOD romance. I know, I never thought I'd hear myself saying it either. The time-traveling gimmick makes for exquisite plotting and the back-and-forth through time makes for a compelling tension between Clare, the time traveler's chrono-linear wife, and Henry, her chrono-displaced husband. Niffenegger carefully orchestrates episodes of Clare's and Henry's lives in a fitting, although not always chronological order. Most of the book follows Clare's chronological life, with Henry popping in at odd moments, sometimes more than one of him from different time periods. Both Clare's and Henry's viewpoints are used.

Clare first meets Henry as a child, a strange naked man who keeps appearing in the Meadow near her house and then disappearing. He gives her a list of dates upon which he will appear and she meets him with clothes and food. As she grows older, she falls in love with him and continually attempts to seduce him, but he resists, not wanting to warp her childhood. When she is a teenager, he confesses that someday they will be married. The list of dates runs out, and Clare will not meet Henry again for two years. This time, they meet in real time, which, for Henry, is his first encounter with Clare. Fate runs its course and the two are married, nestled in a close-knit world of dysfunctional families and generous friends. The city of Chicago plays a notable role in the novel as well, and natives will probably enjoy references to local landmarks.

At times, the love between Clare and Henry seems too good to be true, but the outer tension of Henry's periodic disappearances keep it interesting. They struggle with conceiving a child, because they all seem to have inherited Henry's time-traveling gene and time-travel out of the womb and back, causing a series of miscarriages. While Niffenegger's time-traveling is an interesting concept, Henry's involuntary time travel tends to pull him back to events in his own and Clare's childhood, her greatest invention is the love story. She uses careful descriptions of physical touching, feelings, even sexual acts, but avoids the painful nitty-gritty that makes me recoil from most modern romance. Clare and Henry seem comfortable with each other and each other's bodies, they are convincingly attracted to one another, and convincingly wretched when apart.

I would recommend The Time Traveler's Wife as a good read to anyone, I think it has a wide appeal, and while the romance label may be appropriate, it could be hurting how more literary readers regard it.

2011-06-20T22:23:00.001-04:00

Question: What was your favorite book at the age of 9 1/2 or 13 3/4? Whichever you remember best.

My Answer:

I remember when I was around 9 1/2, my absolute favorite book was A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle. I borrowed it from the library and read it twice in a row. I talked about it for months. Still, I didn't realize, and I suppose no one knew to tell me, that it was part of the Time Quartet, which I didn't read till years later. And I didn't own a copy of A Wrinkle in Time until last summer when I helped teach it in a Modern Fantasy class for fourth and fifth graders. My favorite parts include the first encounter with Mrs. Whatsit "There is such a thing as a tesseract", Mrs. Who's explanation of a tesseract, like two points on a line being suddenly pulled next to each other, and especially the Happy Medium. I went to see the play last year and just as Meg figured out how to get into her father's cell, the fire alarm went off. It fit in so well, nobody moved until the actors walked offstage!

2011-06-19T15:37:00.000-04:00

33. The Facts Behind the Helsinki Roccamatios by Yann Martel

I polished this off in one day of riding around the Metro. The second story in the collection takes place in D.C. as a matter of fact.

The title story unfortunately did not live up to the curiosity its title induced. It felt very typical of the sort of story one might find in a literary magazine, a college boy's account of dealing with a friend dying of AIDS. The Helsinki Roccamatios are a fictional family the boys invent to pass the time and create a distraction. Family events are based on events from an encyclopedia of the twentieth century. Unfortunately, the readers don't get to hear the stories, only the facts, that is the encyclopedia entries, behind them. This was one of those incredibly frustrating stories when you don't want to be reading what you're reading, you want to read the stories the characters you're reading about are creating. They sound a lot more interesting and I wish writers would do that more often.

My favorite was probably the second story, The Time I Heard the Private Donald J. Rankin String Concerto with One Discordant Violin, by the American Composer John Morton. The descriptions of the music were intriguing, and the topic, an orchestra of former Vietnam vets discovered by a young Canadian, at least a little more unusual.

The other two stories are more experimental in terms of format, but not in any particularly transcendent way. The last story, about an old machine that makes mirrors written out of stories, caught my fancy just a bit.

Stories like these can show the author's potential and show where successful authors found their roots. Still, I think they belong in literary magazines and only this author's later success allowed him to publish this book.

Question and a New Book

2011-06-17T17:02:00.001-04:00

Today, The Facts Behind the Helsinki Roccamatios came in the mail from Bookmooch. I'm a fan of Life of Pi, so hopefully I'll enjoy Martel's earlier work.

On the other hand, I'm thinking of issuing myself a moratorium on new books. I have a few books on my shelves that I haven't read (though most don't really interest me either...) and there's always the library. I really can't afford new books in terms of space or money. Someday.

Now, to another book meme question: What is your earliest memory of reading or being read to?

To be honest, I'm not sure. My parents read to me all the time as a small child, so much so that I memorized books and thought that meant I knew how to read. I remember books like Nicholas the Bunny, Goodnight Moon, One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish, a book about little cats that ate cereal, and more. My mom read me the Laura Ingalls Wilder books. The first book I learned to read was about Bert and Ernie from Sesame Street, I remember struggling with it. Later, my dad and I read the Chronicles of Narnia aloud together (I had already read them), and I carried on the family tradition by reading Harry Potter aloud to my little brother.

Book Memes

2011-06-15T19:39:00.001-04:00

I obtained a list of book meme questions from http://book-memes.livejournal.com/ and on days when I don't have a book review or thoughts on a book to post, I will answer one of these questions. Please feel free to post your own answers to the question in the comments!

First Question: Which fictional character do you identify with and why?

My Answer:

The answer that always comes first in my mind is Jo March. I read Little Women when I was young and it was a very influential book for me. I remember feeling vividly whatever Jo was feeling, outrage at Amy, responsibility for her family, confusion about Laurie. Jo was exactly the kind of person I wanted to be and who I felt I resembled at heart. Like her, I fought with my sister, loved to act, loved to read and write, hated clothes, liked being outdoors, and was bad at pretending to be someone I wasn't. I've always thought that Jo and I would have gotten on very well.

2011-06-13T17:16:00.000-04:00

32. Songs for the Butcher's Daughter by Peter Manseau

I read about this book in Hadassah magazine because it was a National Jewish Book Award winner. I picked up a used copy at Harvard Book Store about a month ago, and a few days ago dug it out of one of my boxes of books. The book quickly fit into a comfortable tradition for me, a book like The History of Love, People of the Book, Everything is Illuminated and other modern Jewish fiction. One of the main characters or rather, "the translator," is, like the actual author, not Jewish, but a Catholic raised in Boston. The book takes place in Massachusetts and in Baltimore, Maryland, both places I know well. Even the saga of the book's fictional author, Itsik Malpesh, from Kishinev to Odessa to New York City, feels familiar from my reading,though I have never been to the first two and never lived in the last.

The unnamed translator begins the book with the story of how he came to learn Yiddish, pass for Jewish, and become the translator of Itsik Malpesh. Along the way, he comments on Malpesh's stories from the larger context of Yiddish literature and narrates the rise and fall of his relationship with a Jewish girl under his assumed faith. Malpesh records his memoirs along with several of his poems, and his story is both that of a typical immigrant to the New World and that of a typical character of Yiddish literature. While I am not overly familiar with the genre, I am familiar with the stories of Sholem Aleichem and with Jewish folk tales in general. This perspective allowed me to both expect and accept the pogrom, the necessity of fleeing (really a staple of any journey novel or mythological journey), and especially the repeated encounters with people of legend or people from his past, the constant telling and re-telling of stories, and in general remarkable tongue-in-cheek coincidences. Itsik continues to confront people from his past, and as I was reading, I thought this was meant to emphasize that he and they were all characters rooted in Yiddish stereotypes; the slick man, the lost love, the wise man, the boss. However, in the author interview in the back of the book, Manseau claims that coincidences like this occur and are accepted in real life, when they are rejected as contrived in literature. I was disappointed in this answer, I wanted the coincidences to be symbolic for Yiddish literature in some way. Perhaps they still are. This is why author interviews should not be included!

Overall, Songs for the Butcher's Daughter, was an entertaining and comfortable read. I felt like I learned a bit more about Yiddish literature as well. I wish that the translator had had more of a story, as I was interested in him, but the book focuses mainly on Malpesh. In contrast, it would have been interesting to have more detailed translator footnotes and then his story at the end. I was also interested in what the book would have to say about the concept of 'passing,' a trope in earlier American literature more in regard to race than faith, especially since the real author is a Catholic with an interest in Yiddish lit, but in the end, it peters out into a non-issue. I suppose the focus shifts more into passing in terms of language than in terms of faith, but even in that case, it's explained as a desire to be 'new,' rather than a desire to gain a societal advantage. Recommended to fans of Jewish fiction.

Bookmooch

2011-06-11T20:02:00.001-04:00

I'm in a transitional life phase, so to speak, and I just moved back to live with my parents for the summer. As both my home and dorm rooms were overflowing with books and the situation is getting untenable, I've managed to convince myself to let go of those books that I'm fairly sure I will never read again. I've been a member of Bookmooch since 2009, and I just listed 8 books in my inventory, probably more to come.

I've enjoyed being a member of Bookmooch, I've managed to get a few titles I was interested in and more that I found through browsing the Bookmooch inventory. While the selection is not always inspiring, it's a great tool and I would definitely encourage more people to join, so more books can be shared. It's exciting to be notified whenever a book on my wishlist is available, and I have to race to get to it first!

How does this help with overflow? In the long term, not much. However, this way I can build up points for books, sort of an investment for a future time when I have space for more. I also get to maximize space for books that I am interested in and likely to read again.

See sidebar for books I've listed on Bookmooch. Some are books I've reviewed on this blog and I think will interest a wide range of readers.

Trilogy Goes Up in Flame

2011-06-07T17:13:00.000-04:00

30. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

31. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

I read The Hunger Games, the first book in the trilogy, a few months ago and have been eager ever since to read the remaining two books. This weekend, I went on a binge and read them both in a couple of days.

The best thing about this series, which did not disappoint in either of the sequels, is the protagonist's perspective. While I don't think a different perspective would have hurt and might have livened things up at points, Katniss Everdeen continues to be her cranky, fearful, dangerous, and unyielding self and I can imagine her having written every word. Collins has created a strong female character who is neither a bitch nor a Mary Sue, and that's an accomplishment in my book, besides damn entertaining. I'm not at all like her, but I can still relate to her.

I had a lot of guesses about how this series would go and I was right on most of them. There were a few twists I didn't see coming, one because it was awful and another because it was brilliant. Catching Fire was a disappointment in that its plot essentially repeats the same plot as the first book, which from my view was simply lazy plotting. I guess Collins decided not to mess with a good thing, but I think it dulled the impact and was unnecessary if not boring. Mockingjay is where the good stuff kicks in, and I saw the plot elements that I'd been dreaming of from the beginning. I couldn't wait for Katniss to find out that District Thirteen really exists and is mounting a rebellion against the Capitol. I saw that coming from a mile away, but that doesn't mean it isn't a good plot. It's exciting, a way to get Katniss out of her element, let us see her struggle with a new situation. And it's her reactions that the readers really care about.

The aforementioned brilliant twist occurs in Mockingjay, and it fit in so well, so amazingly with all the themes and messages of the book, it was the perfect trial for Katniss, that's all I'll say. But this is a book that is profoundly about manipulation and betrayal and its effects, and I love the celebration of rebellious nature that it encourages.

What you won't find in the Hunger Games series is a great deal of world-building. As an LOTR and Dune fan, this was disappointing. There are a few futuristic elements, like genetically mutated animals, and of course the political organization of Panem, and hints at the cultures of the different districts, but this is a plot-driven novel, missing the fine details that would make it a classic, for adults anyway. On the same note, while Collins does strive to color in some minor characters, we only really get to know and feel for the main characters, as opposed to other more detailed fantasy series. Overall, I would deem Collins' trilogy a fun, exciting read, but definitely YA.

The Case Against Indifference

2011-06-06T15:39:00.000-04:00

29. Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer

I read this book out of curiosity. Out of a desire to say "Look, I read this book, but it didn't change my life. I'm still not a vegetarian!" Now...I think I might become a vegetarian.

I expected this book to show me how the meat industry is horrible. I expected animal mistreatment, threats of infectious disease, threats to the environment. I never though the factory farming industry was a model to look up to. I didn't expect it to be pretty. But what I didn't bargain on were two things. First, the scale of the threat to human health and environment and yes, the scale of the animal cruelty, and Two, Foer's ability to tell a gosh-darn persuasive story and unabashed willingness to tell people exactly what they can do to help the situation. I admit, I should not have underestimated Foer, but I did, and now I'm stuck with the consequences.

What caught my eye as I flipped through was this passage:

"I, too, assumed that my book about eating animals would become a straightforward case for vegetarianism. It didn't. A straightforward case for vegetarianism is worth writing, but it's not what I've written here." (Foer, 13)

This is a deception! It's true that Foer doesn't conclude that everyone should stop eating meat. He concludes that everyone should stop eating factory-farmed meat and animal byproducts. However, this essentially means that everyone would need to become a vegetarian at least most of the time, because what he calls "ethical meat," raised on farms that meet certain qualifications for animal life quality and reduced threat to disease and environment, does not exist in nearly sufficient quantities for current or even reduced meat consumption. I have a problem with his ethics when it comes to lower economic levels. Meat is currently cheap and plentiful, in the grocery stores and fast food joints. People want to eat meat, people are socialized to eat meat. It's not fair to ask people to stop when they don't have access to alternative foods that are probably more expensive. I have to admit though that this doesn't apply to me. I may not have the money or access to buy ethical meat, but I could afford to be vegetarian.

Eating Animals is an entertaining if disturbing read. As opposed to the stats and journalistic interviews that characterized Fast Food Nation, Foer tells a series of stories, about his own experiences as a struggling vegetarian, the food-eating legacy of his Holocaust survivor grandmother, the story of his break-in to a chicken farm, and the stories of factory farmers and workers, ethical meat farmers, and animal rights activists, in their own words. I think Foer's strategic use of others' stories was a clever build to his case. He makes this story a very human one, a human struggle that is too easily relatable. He asks imaginative questions and makes definitive statements that force his reader to think and decide, to take a stand. For example, he looks into the American fondness for dogs and taboo against eating them. "What might be the reason to exclude canine from the menu?" (Foer, 25) he asks. Doesn't a pig have the intelligence of a dog? What about a dog that's not a pet? What about countries where dogs have never been kept as pets and are routinely eaten?

Foer asks questions I never thought to ask, like how much more a genetically altered, factory farmed animal suffers, as compared to animals of hereditary breeding stocks. These animals are born and raised weak, sick, unable to move or procreate. In Foer's words, "We have focused the awesome power of modern genetic knowledge to bring into being animals that suffer more" (Foer, 159).

Foer gets to the heart of why and how this has happened and relates it to the overall problems of our culture. I am sure bell hooks would have much to agree with here:

"We have let the factory farm replace farming for the same reason our cultures have relegated minorities to being second-class members of society and kept women under the power of men. We treat animals as we do because we want to and can." (Foer, 243)

Foer will not let us get away with pleading ignorance, he reminds us that every time we eat meat, we are making a choice.

"We can't plead ignorance, only indifference. Those alive today are the generations that came to know better. We have the burden and opportunity of living in the moment when the critique of factory farming broke into the popular consciousness. We are the ones of whom it will be fairly asked, 'What did you do when you learned the truth about eating animals?'" (Foer, 252)

He doesn't vilify us, he sympathizes with us, brings up Michael Pollan's "table fellowship," reminds us that he too is foregoing his grandmother's traditional dishes, like chicken and carrots. He doesn't say we won't miss out. But he is adamant that there is a right choice to be made.

"If anyone finds in this book encouragement to buy some meat from alternative sources while buying factory farm meat as well, they have found something that isn't here" (Foer, 257).

"When we lift our forks, we hang our hats somewhere. We set ourselves in one relationship or another to farmed animals, farmworkers, national economies, and global markets. Not making a decision-eating 'like everyone else' is to make the easiest decision, a decision that is increasingly problematic...Our straw may not be the backbreaker, but the act will be repeated-every day of our lives and perhaps every day of the lives of our children, and our children's children..." (Foer, 262).

These are the passages that stood out to me. I know my individual decision will not make a difference, but I cannot continue to be indifferent. At least not right now. There is much to be said for meat, I enjoy it, it is part of my family's tradition, it is good for me, it is natural. But none of these arguments overcome the dangers and horrors of factory-farmed meat, which is not natural and is dangerous to my health and future human health.

I dislike the idea of someone else telling me what to do. But Foer's case is not merely well-written, in my judgment, it is right. Not for everybody, but I think it must apply to me. This book is and will continue to be a strong case for vegetarianism and ethical meat for those who choose to listen.

Thoughts on Reformist vs. Revolutionary Feminism

2011-06-03T13:07:00.000-04:00

In Feminism is for Everybody, I was struck by hooks' sharp differentiation between reformist and revolutionary feminism. If you read the passages below, you can see that hooks identifies herself as one of the revolutionary feminists, whom she refers to as "we," while she refers to reformist feminists as "them." Certainly, hooks makes a salient point when she recognizes that achieving the goals of reformist feminists has not ended sexism. One of the complaints of anti-feminists is that women are trying to be like men, what hooks says of the reformist feminists. Revolutionary feminism, as I understand it at least, would change the system so that there is no longer this perception of women trying to be like men-women are trying to be women, are trying to be people. It is these artificial men/women roles that are the problem, in my mind. And these roles result from what hooks is fighting against, a patriarchal society, a hierarchy of domination. Let's take away the idea that power hierarchy is permissible. But what do we put in its place? This is what anarchists and communists have been struggling with for centuries now.

Reformist feminism is short-term, revolutionary feminism is long-term. What about those who think reformist feminism is enough? Don't criticize them, educate them. Accept them where they are. There is a long road ahead and change takes time. This is where I am more reformist than revolutionary, I wouldn't advocate militarism or overnight change. It's just not realistic, in my mind, for achieving the ultimate goal. Instead of setting up a dichotomy of reformist vs. revolutionary, of unilateral vs. multilateral feminism, consider this an ongoing forum, a discussion and negotiation between different views.

"Reformist thinkers chose to emphasize gender equality. Revolutionary thinkers did not want simply to alter the existing system so that women would have more rights. We wanted to transform that system, to bring an end to patriarchy and sexism...The vision of "women's liberation" which captured and still holds the public imagination was the one representing women as wanting what men had. And this was the vision that was easier to realize. Changes in our nation's economy, economic depression, the loss of jobs etc., made the climate ripe for our nation's citizens to accept the notion of gender equality in the workforce." (hooks, 5)

"Reformist feminism became their route to class mobility. They could break free of male domination in the workforce and be more self-determining in their lifestyles. While sexism did not end, they could maximize their freedom within the existing system...Lifestyle feminism ushered in the notion that there could be as many versions of feminism as there were women...Obviously this way of thinking has made feminism more acceptable because its underlying assumption is that women can be feminists without fundamentally challenging and changing themselves or the culture." (hooks, 6-7).

A Beginner's Guide to Feminism

2011-05-31T15:02:00.001-04:00

28. Feminism is for Everybody by bell hooks

As part of my attempt to fill in the gaps of my education and become a better and better-informed person, I asked a friend to recommend me some books on feminism. She kindly lent me this book and recommended it as the best introductory guide to feminism that she knew of. While I consider myself a feminist in that I support equal rights for women, I admit to knowing next to nothing about the historical and present feminist movement, and I want that to change. I found hooks' book to be a helpful starting point as well as a trigger for starting to change the ways that I think.

hooks defines feminism as "a movement to end sexism, sexist exploitation, and oppression." This is not a definition I had heard before, though it certainly makes sense to me. This definition forms the core of the book and what hooks believes feminism is and should be. She focuses on feminist movement to end sexism in education of males and females, in the workplace, in the home, in the world and especially within ourselves. I agree with her thesis that a paradigm of patriarchy, in her words "white supremacist capitalist patriarchy," persists in our society and I agree with her assertion that it is responsible for domestic violence, including that of women against children, eating disorders and female obsession with appearance, violence on our streets, and various other social ills. To be clear, I do not consider myself an enemy of capitalism, although I assume that hooks does and although she does not explicitly state it, from her views in the book, I gather that she is socialist.

I found this book helpful because it covers the most important issues of feminism (reproductive rights, education, class divisions, race divisions, parenting, women at work, violence) and provides a historical perspective and visionary ideal. While I enjoyed most of hooks' proposed ideal feminist solutions to problems (and she does not have solutions for every problem nor complete solutions for any, as is only reasonable), I was not sure whether to attribute these ideas to hooks or to a platform that the majority of feminists, or those whom hooks considers feminists, have agreed to. Since this is supposed to be an introductory guide, it might be safe to assume the latter, but I intend to do more research into the topic in any case. hooks by no means exhausts any of these topics nor does she cover them in extensive detail, but again this makes sense, as it is intended to be a beginner's guide.

hooks does repeatedly malign those whom she calls "reformist" feminists in favor of "revolutionary" feminists, among whom she counts herself, and she also criticizes women who are sexist and in particular class-privileged white women who call themselves feminists, but do not think or act in ways that hooks considers feminist. While I think that hooks makes an excellent case for "revolutionary" feminists being preferable, I tend to think that excluding or chastising women who do consider themselves feminists is counterproductive. However, this is because I myself am probably more "reformist" in nature, in that I tend to want to be inclusive and work within the system. I fear that hooks would not consider me a feminist, as I have never been active in the movement.

hooks posits feminism as the end to all world ills. I disagree that feminism is the end-all and be-all that hooks thinks, but certainly it could be. I just think that there could be many routes to the same ideal solution, a world where men, women, and children do not exist in a paradigm that is focused on power and domination, but instead one focused on mutual learning and benefits. Ending sexism will come when world hunger ends, when the economic and political systems are perfected, when people are willing and motivated to work together and help each other. hooks' feminism is one framework that works toward that goal.

Trip to the Library

2011-05-27T13:12:00.000-04:00

I took a trip to the library today and took out a few books. I was in a non-fiction, self-improvement mood, but I didn't want to be too ambitious either, so my selections may seem a little incongruous:

The Origin of Species is on my "Reading to Continue Learning" list, and I hope to continue through more recent research, but I wanted to start with the basics.

Jonathan Safran Foer is one of my favorite authors, so I was bitterly disappointed when I learned that his new book was non-fiction. I've already read Fast Food Nation, so I figured this would be redundant, but I was thumbing through in the library and it captured my interest.

Gay Gavriel Kay is another one of my favorite authors, and I thought I deserved a nice fictional break after the more didactic tomes above!

I restricted myself to just three, so hopefully I'll read these quickly and let you know what I think. Happy Memorial Day weekend!

2011-05-26T18:54:00.000-04:00

27. The Believers by Zoe Heller

The Believers has been on my TBR list since I read this detailed review. To be honest, I'm not really sure how I feel about it, after looking forward to it for so long.

The novel tells the story of a Socialist family in New York after the famous lawyer father, Joel Litvinoff has a stroke. I especially enjoyed the mother Audrey, who is, as Myers says, "perhaps the most memorable and perfectly realized bitch in fiction." She's cruel, unyielding, tactless-and familiar. This particular breed of cruelty reminds me of matriarchal figures both from fiction and real life, women whose survival strategy is to insist on having everything on their own terms, screw everyone else, especially their children. We get glimpses into her humanity when her oldest daughter Karla remembers her mother once showing her a picture of herself as a fat child and confessing that Karla got her tendency toward obesity from her. Audrey continually harps on Karla's weight, but Karla realizes that only her mother notices, because only her mother cares. The novel follows Audrey, Karla, and the next daughter Rosa. There is also an adopted son, Lenny.

Rosa is in the midst of a religious experience, she walked into an Orthodox synagogue, and after years of religious Leftism, felt a spark. The story feels an oddly backwards one for this day and age, someone escaping the folds of organized religion might seem more timely. In any case, Rosa's transformation is distinctly not overnight. I found Heller's portrayal of her reactions to Orthodoxy, feelings of isolation in a new environment and feminist rage at the laws of the mikveh, realistic. As Rosa is urged by her new friends to accept and to act without understanding, I was brought back to lessons from my own (Jewish) religious education and began wondering again. Heller does not make her Believers simple or naive or unsympathetic. Audrey, for example, is a Socialist fanatic, but it's amazing to watch her confidence in her own opinion. As the novel attests, she is not incapable of change either.

One of my favorite characters was a non PoV character, Audrey's friend Jean. Jean is described as tall and mannish, she's wealthier than Audrey and of more moderate political opinions. While Audrey attempts to woo favors from her (employing her druggie son), blows up at her, accuses her of undermining her, Jean puts up with her friend's behavior calmly, gives her good advice, continues to invite her out. I found myself identifying with Jean, I have often been in her position, and I also have friends who have held Jean's position for me. I can see why Audrey is fun to have around, and while she may be too much for me in person, I enjoyed Jean's ability to handle her.

I didn't find The Believers particularly ironic or satirical nor a sharp social commentary. For me, it was an exploration of how families interact and the thought process of people who believe in causes and higher purposes. But reactions to a book can be very personal and I suspect mine only penetrated a part of this one, as I'm just not seeing here what others have.

2011-05-25T00:00:00.000-04:00

26. The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick

Philip K. Dick is another one of those SFF authors that I've been meaning to get to for a while. My boyfriend read this one first, and would not deviate from his one-word description of it as "weird." It was recommended to us by a man at the information desk at our local Barnes&Noble when we had a Groupon and asked him to suggest SFF classics. The Man in the High Castle is better classed as alternative history, but I don't doubt it's a classic and it is a winner of the Hugo award.

Germany and Japan won World War II. A terrifying prospect, as is a book written entirely without articles. I am not sure if this is completely true, but it is at least lacking articles most of the time. As a former (and possibly future) ESL tutor, primarily for Japanese and Korean clients, lack of articles is not as scary or baffling to me as it might be for some people. I think Dick makes an interesting statement by having English re-written essentially in terms of Japanese. When he writes from the viewpoint of the main Japanese character, Mr. Tagomi, also my favorite character in the book, he creates a whole new language through writing in English as I have heard educated Japanese speak it, showing off an extensive vocabulary, inverting and adapting word meanings, and creating new, oddly appropriate phrases. He illustrates how even language bows to the political, how who is in power shapes the fabric of the world.

The Germans and Japanese have divided the world between them; Europe, Russia, and the East Coast belonging to the Germans, Asia, the Pacific Islands, and the West Coast belonging to the Japanese. In between, the Rocky Mountain States hold on to a hazy American way of life, but also serve as a buffer zone between the Germans and Japanese. In German territory, Jews and other undesirables including blacks are gassed, and society is stratified according to ethnicity. Genocide is committed against virtually all of Africa. The Japanese society is also stratified according to ethnicity and class, but there are no concentration camps. Most of the book takes place in San Francisco, where the Japanese are the dominant ruling class. Naturally, Germany schemes to overthrow Japan and at last complete domination of the world, though they are thrown into chaos upon the death of their leader Herr Bormann, until Dr. Goebbels emerges on top. Our protagonists are Mr. Tagomi ("a high official on the Trade Commission of the Pacific Coast"), Frank Frink (a hidden Jew living in SF), Juliana Frink (Frank's estranged wife, living in the Rocky Mountain States), Mr. Baynes (the alias of a member of the German Resistance, the Abwehr), and Mr. Childan (owner of American Handcrafts Inc., dealer in historical Americana, a collectors' hobby among wealthy Japanese). The eponymous Man in the High Castle is Hawthorne Abendsen, author of The Grasshopper Lies Heavy, a novel about what would have happened if the Allies had won the war.

There are a number of clever elements to this book, I've already mentioned the language, but also clearly the device of creating a parallel for the author and the book, that interestingly enough, does not correspond to our history. There's a quote on the back from Ursula K. Le Guin that names Dick "our own homegrown Borges." Without going quite that far, I can see the connection. Like Borges, Dick comments on the nature of fiction and reality, all possibilities are simultaneous, all our selves and our histories could be written a million different ways. Dick also seems to suggest that certain occurrences are simply a result of human nature, as long as we continue, so will conflict and hope and change and deviation.

So, do I think this book was weird? Yes, if you're not used to reading this type of book. Do I think it's worth reading? Yes. Do I think it's an absolute, will-change-your-life must read? Maybe, maybe not. It wasn't for me, but I would definitely be willing to read more Philip K. Dick based on this book.

Historical or Fictional Protagonists

2011-05-24T15:01:00.003-04:00

Yesterday, I wrote in my review of Gloriana's Torch, "I think fictional protagonists are one of the more successful strategies for grounding a novel in a historical period."

I would like to expound on why I have found this to be so.

1) The reader has no expectations for the fictional character. Therefore, the author is free to characterize him or her as he or he chooses, without falling into the snare of contradicting the personalities of historical characters or running up against readers' preconceived notions of them.

2) The author can place a fictional character in any life situation or historical event that is convenient for the author's purposes and there is no historical contradiction.

3) A fictional character can have more in common and more appeal to the modern reader than a historical character might. For example, a fictional character could have anachronistic opinions about women's rights or minority rights without causing contradiction with a historical character (if the author is careful not to be TOO anachronistic)and therefore be more in tune with the average modern reader's sympathies.

What do you think? Do you prefer historical or fictional protagonists for historical fiction? A mix of both?

2011-05-23T18:32:00.006-04:00

25. Gloriana's Torch by Patricia Finney

If ever there were a title and cover calculated to catch my eye, this was it. A close-up variation on the Armada Portrait and the title in a large font jumped out at me from the shelves of the library in the small town where I'm staying. As it turns out, this is the third book of a series set in Elizabethan England, a series breaking the genre barrier between mainstream historical fiction and the alternative history that's generally classed with SFF.

Finney's protagonists, David Becket and Simon Ames/Anriques, spies for Walsingham, and Merula, an African woman who I believe appears first in this novel, are fictional. I think fictional protagonists are one of the more successful strategies for grounding a novel in a historical period, and Finney uses it to advantage. She also portrays historical figures like Walsingham, Burghley, Leicester, Raleigh, Robert Cecil, and Elizabeth I. However, it is the unique viewpoint of her fictional characters, from their varied positions in life, that make the historical characters come alive. Who was Elizabeth in relation to those who worked for her? How might a woman from a completely different culture perceive her? There are the angles Finney explores, avenues that we can't follow historically, that might not even have occurred in history, but shed light still on ideas we have about who these people were.

The arrival of the Spanish Armada in England is imminent, but no one knows exactly when or where it will arrive. Rumors have come in about a "Miracle of Beauty," a secret plan or weapon that will bring the English to their knees. Simon Anriques, also known as Ames, and his wife Rebecca embark on a slaving ship to Africa and then New Spain, to exchange slaves for a sweeter cargo, sugar. All this is a cover for Simon's attempt to get in touch with his brother, who poses as a Spanish clerk, and decipher the message that the royal court eagerly awaits. Instead, Simon is apprehended and subjected to the Inquisition, ultimately convicted as a Jew. Rebecca escapes, along with their new African slave Merula, who has a mission of her own, to find her son. Simon winds up a galley slave in the new Armada, along with Merula's son Snake. Meanwhile, David Becket, Simon's colleague and friend, is assigned a dangerous mission that will lead him to Spain to try to find out what Simon was captured doing and rescue Simon if he can. He is followed by Rebecca and Merula, both determined to find their men.

Becket also has dream sequences, some as himself and some as the Queen, where he envisions a post-Spanish invasion England, where London burns and Walter Raleigh marries his Warrior Queen. I found myself wishing there were more of these sequences, and while I admire Finney's embedding them into the story, I almost wished those were the story instead. But the duality of the historical events unfolding along with the alternative history allows the reader to experience viscerally how different history could have been and reflect that, in the fictional realm, both series of events are equally valid. This book is truly a feat of imagination, Finney admits in her Author's Note that she had to invent many of the details of the life of a galley slave, which by the way feel horrifyingly realistic. She imagines cross-cultural interactions that may or may not have occurred, with Merula who is immersed in a strange spirit-oriented African culture, and a one-time POV character, Suleiman, a captured Turk turned galley slavemaster, but bring weird and wonderful perspectives to Anglo-Saxon Elizabethan England.

Finney's message is overtly modern, though rooted in a historical period, it speaks of clashing cultures and religions, human curiosity about the other, and the strange permutations of human love. This book is written in a style more common to fantasy and science fiction, with multiple viewpoints and meta-commentary, but it's also somehow the most appropriate, wide-ranging, and original tableau of the sixteenth century that I've read in recent memory. Warmly recommended to fans of historical fiction, science fiction, and yes, literature.

2011-05-16T16:38:00.008-04:00

24. The Other Queen by Philippa Gregory

For a long while, I considered myself an avid Philippa Gregory fan. The Other Boleyn Girl is one of my favorite books and I also loved The Queen's Fool and The Virgin's Lover, both of which I analyzed for a thesis-type project my senior year in high school on portrayals of Elizabeth I in fiction. Then I read The Boleyn Inheritance. The concept was very interesting, a novel told from three points of view; those of Jane Boleyn or Lady Rochford, Anne of Cleves, and Katherine Howard. Somehow, this structure didn't do it for me, the characters seemed more stereotypical and less realistic, I didn't like the constant skipping between views, and I just didn't feel that it provided much insight into these three women, except for maybe Katherine Howard. That turned me off Gregory for a long time, until now.

I originally planned to read this book as part of my directed study on early modern women writers and the portrayal of early modern women in later fiction. I picked this book because it looks at two important early modern women; Mary Queen of Scots and Bess of Hardwick, during the early years of Mary's imprisonment in England, when Bess and her husband George Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury, served as her guardians. While Elizabeth I is not a point of view character, we hear the other characters' opinions of her and we do see conversations between her and the Earl of Shrewsbury. Since this book was organized like The Boleyn Inheritance, told from the points of view of Bess, George, and Mary,I was nervous how I would feel about that. Especially at the beginning, the brevity of each section and the repetition of characters' thoughts to establish their stereotypes grated on me.I did feel that this structure was more useful to this book, because each character was privy to different information and had different past and present experiences that came together to present a more nuanced portrait of what life was actually like during this time period in England and particularly in the Talbot household.

I do think Gregory did a good job of getting into the mindset of the period and particularly creating a sense of urgency around events that are already determined for the reader. Gregory reminds us that the Norfolk rebellion was by no means a small threat and could easily have changed the entire course of history. She also states in her Author's Note that the "principal difference between [Mary] and her successful cousin Elizabeth was good advisors and good luck, not-as the traditional history suggests-one woman who ruled with her head and the other who was dominated by her heart." In this, I think Gregory succeeds and her Mary is clever and calculating, far from a slave to her passions, she uses men's attraction to her to achieve her own ends, not that differently than Elizabeth, actually. This is a difference from other portrayals I have seen of Mary, Schilller's Mary, for example, is intellectual, but motivated by her desires and her faith. Gregory's Mary is motivated by a sense of entitlement, her proper place in the world, that the Catholic Church supports.

One of Gregory's sources is Alison Weir's Mary Queen of Scots and the Murder of Lord Darnley , which comes to some hard conclusions that do not go hand in hand with the romantic fictions around Mary. I am very intrigued by Gregory's choices in this regard, as she seems to reach a sort of middle ground between the romance and Weir's hard facts that, in my opinion, has some psychological truth to it. Weir concludes that Bothwell did kidnap and rape Mary against her will, and she agreed to cover it up in marriage due to pregnancy. Gregory extends that into a desire to maintain the mythos of the queen's sacred person, with which her fictional Mary is very concerned, and also creates a complicated reliance of Mary on Bothwell. She continually writes to him for help, though she implies to others that he raped her and their marriage is not valid. She seems to have developed a dependence on and respect for him, while recognizing that he is a criminal. Gregory also has Bothwell give Mary the bond where the lords signed the agreement to Darnley's murder, asserted by Weir as a historical probability. While Weir told us what happened, Gregory brings in the human element, and delightfully complicates it more than my imagination did.

The portrayal of George Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury, I also really appreciated. It would have been easy to present him as a fool, as indeed his wife Bess comes to think of him. But in including George's perspective, Gregory adds, besides various scenes at court and trial that the women could never have witnessed, a portrayal of a truly honorable man who is nevertheless not lacking in sense or feeling. While George behaves naively in the beginning, he makes realizations on his own and we come to see his perspective as an "old lord" as legitimate and we can sympathize with him as both Bess and Mary betray him to save themselves. I don't think the Earl of Shrewsbury has been shown in quite this light before, and I am very grateful for it, because the historical perspective of him as an old fool and yet valued advisor to Elizabeth I do not quite mesh.

I had issues with this novel in terms of language. Obviously, it is written in the modern vernacular and I don't have a problem with that per se, except when it comes to specific phrases or word usages that jump out at me as not being current to the time period, such as "stuff". Also, I felt that some character aspects, particularly in Bess, were glossed over. Gregory makes a big deal about Bess' emotional and psychological investment in her homes and properties, certainly realistic, but the last section is from Bess' PoV and includes only one sentence on the loss of the house she has cared so much for throughout the book. She does detail her new house in Hardwick though. It's just a big jump in time and I suppose it's hard to show how a character changes or stays the same over that period, but Bess' sudden forgiveness of George and Mary and lack of concern over that house didn't seem entirely consistent with her character.

I definitely plan on using and comparing analyses of The Other Queen for my ongoing academic interest in early modern women.

What Do You Do With a BA in English?

2011-05-16T16:30:00.003-04:00

I am a college graduate!

I felt proud to hold my degree in my hands and I barely want to let it out of my sight.

That said, I've been a college graduate for over a week now and am officially unemployed. In the meantime, I'm applying to jobs and studying for the GREs (in case I want to go to grad school, haven't decided yet but leaning in that direction) and contemplating some changes to the blog. I'll probably be changing things around soon, and hopefully things will get more interesting and generate more traffic.

Stay tuned!

Eddings Mania

2011-05-04T12:42:00.002-04:00

22. Guardians of the West by David Eddings
23. Polgara the Sorceress by David and Leigh Eddings

I decided to extend my Eddings kick and raided my university library accordingly. I graduate in a few days, so it feels like my last chance to get the most out of the library resources. In reality, I will still be able to check out books after graduation, though using a more cumbersome system, but my access to certain subscriptions (notably JSTOR) will cease, which will make me very sad.

In any case, Guardians of the West is the first book of the Malloreon, and I was at first pleasantly surprised to discover that it simply takes up where the Belgariad left off. In retrospect, this may not have been the best idea. The first three quarters of the book or so are basically recountings of events that happen over a number of years, so it misses the immediacy of the earlier books. It's great to see what happens to the characters, and the best part about it is the banter between characters that we already know and love, but the book begins to feel like an epilogue that's overstayed its welcome. Of course, these seemingly beside-the-point events do come together to form a plot in the last quarter of the book. We see the beginning of a new quest and our beloved characters get back into action once more. If I had been reading this together with subsequent books following after, I might not have noticed the length of the build-up as much. Since the rest of the series was unfortunately not in the library, I had to read this book on its own merits. I still look forward to the rest of the series, when I can get my hands on it, and I'm sure the payoff will be great.

I had different expectations for Polgara the Sorceress as it is literally the backstory of one character. I expected it to be a description of events over a number of years (Polgara the Sorceress lives for millenia), and in this case, Eddings actually had more plot and action than I anticipated. The series of events that occur the reader already knows as legends from earlier books, but here we see it fleshed out, from Polgara's point of view. Finally, the hinted-at stories of her time in Vo Wacune, Arendia, how she became the Duchess of Erat, and why she allowed herself to be sold as a Nadrak woman. We see how her prejudices, opinions, and habits are shaped over time, how she deals with the great secret that her mother is still alive and keeps it from her father for thousands of years, and her little jarring asides at the characters we know in "the present time," sometimes as she mocks their ancestors. Eddings made all these events and the woman who shaped and was shaped by them incredibly realistic, we feel her pains, her anger, and constant sense of duty as well as her capricious and flirtatious side. Since this is one of the last books Eddings, or, I should say, the Eddings, wrote, there were some spoilers for the books that I haven't read yet, but it's not like they weren't things I hadn't guessed, the true pleasure of these books is in the details.

2011-04-26T17:41:00.005-04:00

21. A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

I watched the first episode of the HBO mini-series and decided to finally read the borrowed book that had been sitting on my shelf for a month or so. What I can say is that this book is enthralling. I had a hard time putting it down. Martin, a well-known fantasy writer that I've been planning to read for years, creates a fantasy world of Seven Kingdoms where winter and summer each last for years. One of the longest summers in memory, nine years, is coming to an end, and winter is coming.

We meet the Stark family, a Great House from the North, who once were kings, but are now united under the ruler of the Seven Kingdoms. The father, Lord Eddard Stark, helped win the throne of the current king Robert Baratheon. The mother, Catelyn Stark, is of the Tully family of Riverrun, a Southron Great House. Their five children are Robb, Sansa, Arya, Bran, and Rickon. Eddard also has a bastard son, Jon Snow, who lives with the family, but whose mother's identity is unknown to everyone but Eddard. The king comes to visit the Starks, with his wife Cersei Lannister and her two brothers, the handsome Jaime, murderer of the last king, and the ugly dwarf Tyrion, also known as "the Imp." Eddard doesn't trust the Lannisters, but when his king asks him to serve as his Hand, his chief advisor and executor, he can hardly refuse.

What I like about this book are the characters. Each chapter is told from the viewpoint of a different character, each of whom has a unique voice and perspective. I even wished I could hear more perspectives at some points, which speaks to Martin's character-building skills. I think this is what gets people into the book. These characters are sympathetic, interesting, relatable. But this is what makes it worse when bad things start to happen. The book is so mesmerizing because a torrent of misfortune falls on the characters you're rooting for and you keep reading to see them finally succeed. They don't, not in this book at least. It's a soap opera tactic though, what more horrible things can I do? At some point, it's senseless. I've come to expect every minor character to die, so I know not to get attached.

While I understand that this is a series, I prefer it when books, especially first books, follow a sensible arc on their own and stop in a reasonable place. Eddings does not do this either, but, in my opinion, he's the better writer, so I'm more willing to forgive him. A Game of Thrones ends rather abruptly, so that there aren't even loose ends, it's as if it's simply unfinished. Of course, it is, and there is a second book, and a third book to come out soon that fans have been waiting on for years. While now I'm in the mood to read more, give me a few days, and I could easily move on. I probably won't read this again, because the shock value is over.

This probably isn't going on my list of SFF Literature, but then again, I wouldn't contest somebody's argument that this is a Good Book. Yet, my criteria are more about feelings than hard facts. I want to somehow acknowledge that this book has entertainment value and even some social value in its portrayal of characters' actions and reactions, but that its value is somehow not significant to forwarding human understanding through writing? Or not insignificant, but not hugely significant? I'm working on it.

*Edit* I incorrectly stated that there are only two books in the series so far, there are actually four books already out and three more forthcoming.

Thoughts on King Lear

2011-04-20T19:49:00.002-04:00

20. King Lear

"Oh reason not the need..." it's hard not to feel pity for an elderly man thrown out in a rainstorm. Yet what did he do to Goneril and Regan to make them behave like that? Lear is no wise old man for sure, and in his haste to censure, damn, and disinherit his own children, it's no wonder they've followed his example.

What happens when mistreated children are put in charge? Chaos, murder, and mayhem. Gloucester's eyes are plucked out, Lear abandoned, good men banished, and good women hanged. All for parents' failure to see the results of their own actions; Gloucester cannot see that his treatment of his bastard son Edmund fosters resentment, Lear cannot see the bruises from his favoritism for Cordelia and how his daughters actually feel about him.

Lear may be a story where we feel sorry for the old and disgusted with the young, save the faithful Edgar and Cordelia, but it's a tragedy not only of misjudging evil, but mistakenly fostering it. When Lear was thinking of his own emotional needs, he should have thought earlier of his daughters'.

A 19th Century Perspective on the Elizabethans

2011-04-10T18:07:00.004-04:00

19. Kenilworth by Sir Walter Scott

I've wanted to read Kenilworth for years, ever since I heard of its existence. The story of Leicester and Elizabeth by the author of Ivanhoe? I'm in.

Scott tells the story of the murder of Amy Dudley, Leicester's wife, whose death is still a mystery, though often imputed to her husband's ambition to be king. He converges Amy's story with Leicester's later secret marriage to Lettice Knollys, creating a plot that differs from history, but has its roots and intentions in a greater mythical rendering of an Elizabethan legend. In Scott's fiction, it is 1575, and an impetuous Leicester, ambitious favorite of the queen, marries an equally impetuous, obscure minor noblewoman, Amy Dudley. He elopes with her, but instructs her to keep the marriage secret and essentially keeps her under lock and key at a secluded manor, Cumnor Place, in Berkshire County. Her guardians are Anthony Forster, who was a man suspected of colluding in the death of the real Amy Dudley, and Varney, a man of ambition and no scruples, who serves as Leicester's master of the horse. Her only companion is Forster's daughter Janet. Meanwhile, her betrothed, a minor lord named Tressilian, comes looking for her, as he and her father both believe that Varney has seduced her and made her his mistress. It's a tale of trickery and deception, a historical romance, a tragedy, and culminates in the festivities at Kenilworth, where Leicester has prepared a celebration of several days in honor of his Queen, the formidable Elizabeth, who appears here as vain and power-hungry, a demanding and exacting mistress whom Leicester's failure to please will have disastrous consequences.

I'm not going to lie, this is a long slog and much of the prose can seem unnecessary, but Scott is creating a mythical history. The dialogue and descriptions are reminiscent of a play, but the narrator frequently interjects to remind us that all these events happened long ago and the historical sites are now in ruins or in repair, remnants of a long-ago society, which Scott feels should be celebrated, along with the social and intellectual progress that has since been made. There is a distinct rejection of Elizabethan ideas about astrology, alchemy, and fate, Scott seems to suggest that these beliefs are what made the Elizabethans behave so foolishly. He also shows the Elizabethans looking back to earlier ages, particularly Arthurian legend, and in some ways makes the Elizabethan mythos an extension of that, by introducing the character of Wayland Smith, whose origins are in Germanic pagan beliefs, but who was also said to have been the smith who created Excalibur. Scott's Wayland is situated in the Elizabethan era, very much a flesh-and-blood human being, but we see how he creates the myth of the demon smith who shods horses unseen for payment placed on a rock.

Overall, Kenilworth is well worth reading and enjoyable for narrative pleasure as well as historical perspective and literary analysis.

2011-04-06T12:59:00.003-04:00

18. The Belgariad Volume Two: Castle of Wizardry and Enchanter's End Game by David Eddings

These last two novels only heightened my admiration for Eddings' writing. In the first book, we see a resolution of what has come before, the Quest for the Orb, as Garion takes his place as the Rivan King and Ce'Nedra seethes at being a lower rank than her intended husband. It also sets us up for the Final Battle between Garion, the Child of Light, and Torak, the Maimed God or Child of Darkness. We get to know the entire cast of major and minor characters much better here, which helps explain how they act later. I also like how each character, down to the most minor, could clearly have another book or legend written about them, and I hope Eddings does. I especially want to know what happens to Relg, the zealot, and Taiba, former slave and Mother of the Lost Race, and their future child, for whom the Gods have a special fate in store.

The second book details the parallel journeys of Garion and Ce'Nedra to Cthol Mishrak, lair of the evil, asleep but waking, Torak. Garion and his many-great grandfather, the sorcerer Belgarath, and the subtle Drasnian spy Silk, or Prince Kheldar, sneak through marshes and wasteland into the evil lands of Mallorea. Ce'Nedra, accompanied by Polgara the Sorceress, Belgarath's daughter and Garion's aunt-mother, and several other friends and allies including numerous kings, raises an army from among the lands of the West, to encounter Torak's Angarak peoples in battle.

Again, the depth of the characters, inventive terrible creatures, and diverse, well-developed cultures, distinguish Eddings from many of his peers in fantasy fiction. I will not hesitate to call the Belgariad literature on par with Lord of the Rings. This series is not only written in clear, cohesive language, it is imaginative and reflective on human nature and society, and presents absolutely realistic characters, while appealing to the ancient mythic storylines that seem to be embedded in our biology.

I will seek out as much of Eddings' work as I can, The Malloreon is the sequel series to The Belgariad, and promote his work wherever and wenever possible.

Mini Reviews

2011-03-30T21:25:00.002-04:00

I'm not really up for long reviews right now, unfortunately, but I do want to record my recent reading.

16. All's Well that Ends Well by William Shakespeare

I'd never read this one before, and I think it's a new favorite. Helena is hopelessly in love with Bertram, the son of her mistress. When Bertram goes to serve the king, he laments the illness of his soon-to-be master. Helena, a physician's daughter, concocts a plan. She will cure the king and, in exchange, ask for Bertram's hand in marriage. Her plan is successful, but Bertram is not pleased. He marries her at the king's behest, but quickly escapes to be a soldier in Italy, refusing to consummate the marriage. He tells Helena he will love her when she wears his ring and bears his child. Well, no impossible task for plotting like the Bard's!

What I loved about this play was an even more sophisticated than usual use of language in discussing and contemplating themes of the true virtues of virginity, the inconstancy of men, nature vs. nurture, the true value of blood and the truth about fate.

17. Mary, Queen of Scots by Friedrich Schiller

I see why this play is so emblematic. Schiller presents both queens, Mary and Elizabeth, strongly and so, amazingly (in my opinion) accurately and realistically. His monologues are a little grandiose and perhaps contrived, but their eloquence is powerful. I could see this play having a strong effect on an audience.

And he just has all these little touches, every character reacts and speaks the way I would imagine, and while I don't think Leicester really had such tender feelings for Mary, Schiller makes it realistic.

I don't see this as a martyr piece altogether, or at least not all on Mary's side. This is a play about how to solve an impossible question: when two queens have a mandate to rule, how can they both exist at the same time?

March Madness?

2011-03-24T18:28:00.003-04:00

16. Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare

So March has been crazy busy for me, as evidenced by the lack of posts. Also, for the first half of March, I literally didn't manage to finish reading anything in full. Now I'm back on track, and I can now say I've read Twelfth Night, which the movie Shakespeare in Love had me geared up for.

So, we've got some familiar plot points, a girl dressed as a boy, twins lost at sea and separated, unrequited love, and ridiculous servants. This is the first Clown in Shakespeare, I think, so Feste is a forerunner of Touchstone. We've got Sir Toby Belch, the uncouth uncle, who actually isn't quite like anyone I've seen before, he's a touch of villain and fool both. Our prof showed us the most recent film version, a modernized take, and the scene with Sir Toby, Sir Andrew, and Feste jamming out is fantastic and fits so well with the music in the play.

This play seems to me to be more lighthearted than most of them, but again there's hints of tragedy in Viola's love for Orsino and Olivia's for Cesario and I think you can play it as either ridiculous or serious. That's the thing with plays. I enjoyed the clever female servant Maria. Notice how the women in Shakespeare's comedies always come off looking best? Except, perhaps, Titania. But when it comes to love, the lady gets her choice , whether the man likes it or no. What does this mean? That women make better choices or are simply better at getting their way?

In any case, an enjoyable jaunt that blends in with the other comedies.

On a sidenote, I saw my school's production of Richard III last night, and it reminded me that nearly all the quotes on my Shakespearean Insults mug are from that play, including, "thou lump of foul deformity," and "thou elvish-mark'd abortive rooting hog." I was really impressed with the set, a grand staircase with a throne above, columns, and fake stained glass and it was used well, with a lot of very interesting and significnat staging and costuming. Unfortunately, the actors (and incidentally men played women and women played men, which I didn't think either added or took away much), were mostly not up to the task. They demonstrated understanding of the language, but didn't use it with a wide or sensible range of emotional dexterity and in more than one case lacked emotions appropriate to the scene. Especially Richard, as played, was not sympathetic enough. He's a difficult character to make sympathetic obviously, but there are lines and subtext in the play that explain him and it wasn't played up enough. Now I want to see it with real professional actors.

2011-02-28T21:19:00.003-05:00

15. The Belgariad Volume One: Pawn of Prophecy, Queen of Sorcery, and Magician's Gambit by David Eddings

I've been reading this for a while, interspersed with all my school books. It's actually three books in one, but each book is only a couple hundred pages, so I'll count this as one book. I plan on returning this to the library and immediately checking out Volume Two!

I've been raving about The Belgariad to anyone I know who likes or might like fantasy. This is classic high fantasy with some of the best writing I've seen in the genre. Eddings himself in his introduction admits that this is a straightforward quest for a sacred object with all the stock characters; our underdog hero, our wizard-guardian, a female protector-sorceress (anima), several animuses, and a love interest.

Eddings excels in crisp, evocative language and an intricate blend of legends and cultures. He creates seven different Gods with seven different peoples, but some of the peoples have split into more groups over the centuries, and a mysterious eighth God and his people are added in in the third book. The cultures bear interesting resemblances to historical and contemporary Terran cultures, like a warrior clan reminiscent of Beowulf-style Germanic tribes, another group that acts and speaks like the knights of King Arthur, and another that shows influences of ancient Egypt and hippie drug culture, just to name a few. One of my favorite aspects is the sign language that is used by a nation of spies. And I cannot fail to mention Eddings' inspired invention of several dread beasts, like the troll-like Algroths and snakes that form mud-men.

His characters are sympathetic and interesting, there's our boy Garion and our wizard Belgarath, but also Belgarath's daughter Polgara, Garion's fierce and smothering mother-figure, Durnik the good smith, and Ce'Nedra, our part-Dryad princess. All in all, I'm excited to read more, even though I know "our guys will win in the end." This fantasy epic isn't about where it's going, but how it gets there, and that makes this most generic plot into a genuine work of literature.

The Moor, the Villain, and Chastity Slandered

2011-02-19T16:49:00.003-05:00

14. Othello by William Shakespeare

As I mentioned in my review of Titus Andronicus, reading that play has deepened my understanding of this one. Aaron the Moor is split in two here, into the noble Christian Moor Othello and the manipulative, evil atheist Iago. As I mentioned, Aaron's race provides him with a motive for his evildoing, either the racist implication that the 'Other' operates outside of the moral realm, or his own resentful, psychological response to this racial construction. Neither of these reasons can justify Iago's villainy, but they can play a role in Othello's self-image and willingness to believe that Desdemona is unfaithful to such as him.

I found Iago's various motivations to add to the psychological complexity of the character; my professor seems to suggest that his actions stem from a spurned homosocial affinity for Othello, while I see where that's coming from in the text, I still have a more traditional idea of Iago as someone who manipulates for manipulation's sake, a psychopath if you will. He messes with every single other character in the play, whether or not it is relevant to his revenge on Othello. Although he professes feelings for Desdemona, he's willing to sacrifice her life for the sake of his machinations, and a closer bond with Othello, but I think Iago could have foreseen Othello's regret and suicide. We know that even before the play begins, Iago has been playing matchmaker for both Roderigo and Othello, and probably planning to reveal Desdemona's elopement with Othello to her father the whole time. He shows how a single malicious person can ruin many lives, a horrifying thought if there ever was one.

Desdemona in the play is the Lucrece-esque victim, the representative of Chastity, whose honor is not physically assaulted, but violated through slander. This seems to be a theme to a greater or lesser degree in every early modern work I've been reading, and an idea I've been struggling with. The threat against Chastity seemed to invade from every angle and in order to be a heroine, a woman had to embody Chastity. Yet why are women's relationships with their would-be rapists, in this case literal murderer, painted as romantic love stories?

This is an age-old theme, battered women who stay with their tormentors are unfortunately still too common today, my friend was explaining that women think these men will "change" for them, they want to be the special one he changes for. I have never subscribed to this fairy tale and besides finding it appalling, don't fully comprehend the motivations behind it. A self-esteem boost, a challenge, a feeling of moral superiority...I used to love Beauty and the Beast, but I'm the last woman who would ever try to tame him. I'm sure that was part of Desdemona's attraction to Othello though.

Back to Othello, it turns out that Chastity is a matter of appearance just as much as black skin, and slanders against either are equally fatal to individuals and society. In the meantime, don't fall in love with the Beast, because his perception of his own inferiority will be taken out on you.

The Fantastic Margaret Cavendish

2011-02-16T00:29:00.002-05:00

13. Assaulted and Pursued Chastity by Margaret Cavendish, Duchess of Newcastle

I just finished reading this and I don't think I can convey how enthusiastic I am on so many levels. This is another one of my early modern women's books and I'm more and more stumped why we aren't reading these women along with Spenser, Shakespeare, Marlowe and the like. They're just as witty, clever, and thoughtful with characters as psychologically complex. While they may be new "discoveries" of the past couple decades, I think that's more than enough time to move them into the classroom.

In any case, the work of the "thrice Noble, Illustrious and Excellent Princess" Margaret Duchess of Newcastle is well deserving of its unconventional self-promotion. This work is also unconventional as it is admittedly a "feigned" story rather than a history, as many contemporary fictions were designated. And boy is this fiction. I see origins of fantasy novels here, a seafaring journey from island to island reminiscent of the Odyssey and More's Utopia, a Spenserian quality with symbolic names of countries like the Queen of Amity and King of Amour, even previews of Gulliver's Travels.

The hardest comparison to admit and to ignore are the similarities to Richardson's Pamela, but Cavendish's Miseria or Travelia, the primary monikers of the female protagonist, is way more awesome. she does wed her would-be ravisher in the end, but she still gets to shoot him, command an army, and continue ruling a country as the Queen of Amity's viceroy. We've got amazing descriptions of a fantastical land with purple commoners, orange royals, and bald priests. It reminds me of the Kress book I was just reading, as well as numerous Star Trek episodes, and there's even cannibalism and group marriage worthy of Heinlein. Cavendish was well ahead of her time, and I love that I can see both her influences and the many types of novels that she anticipates and yet I was still into her story, I still cared about the characters, I laughed aloud.

Cavendish includes a note to the reader at the end of the work, accusing the printer of misspelling and misrepresenting her work, asking others not to misquote her, and ending with a verse wishing that an age would come when her book would be admired. Her blaming the printer is a real break with the tradition of the humble author, especially humble female author, it's still a problem today with authors being misquoted and misrepresented, and I identify with wanting your book to outlive you and find an age where it would be relevant, if not your own. I think, with updated language, Cavendish's work might have been popular today. Of course, I love it as is.

Early Modern Hits and Misses

2011-02-13T17:38:00.004-05:00

11. Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare

I read Julius Caesar for the first time years ago, but my professor provided background information that was new to me and brought new perspectives to the text.

Shakespeare's source-text for his Roman plays, Plutarch's Lives, includes the rumor that Julius Caesar had an affair with Marcus Brutus' mother and Brutus may have been his illegitimate son. What I also found interesting is that the famous line "Et tu Brute?" is not what Caesar is reported to have said, rather some accounts (not Plutarch's), say he spoke to Brutus in Greek; "You too, my son?" Shakespeare's decision to put the quote in another language indicates that he was aware of this rumor, but decided not to focus on the "son" part, changing it to Brutus.

Previously, my interests in the play have been in Portia's role and the classic speech of Antony, but this time I looked at the characters psychologically, as I feel we're being encouraged to do for all the Shakespeare we're reading. The argument scene between Cassius and Brutus, I think, demonstrates the psychological reality best, these conspirators begin to turn against each other, doubting their cause in the face of battle and blaming each other. Their theatrical threats of murder and suicide are made more poignant when each dies by his own hand later in the play. Suicide is, of course, the final honorable refuge, but is also a comment on the paranoia and self-doubt that destroyed the Roman Republic.

This isn't my favorite Shakespeare play, but it does combine most of the elements of what makes Shakespeare so great-realistic inner turmoil, high external stakes, and language both amusing and precise.

12. If You Know Not Me, You Know Nobodie, or The Troubles of Queen Elizabeth by Thomas Heywood

This play, published in 1605, was of academic interest to me as, being written so soon after her death, it would help to form the legacy of Good Queen Bess. Issues of interest involved the surprisingly kind characterization of Philip II, the adaptation of earlier apocryphal and factual stories about the Princess Elizabeth's imprisonment under her sister, and the hagiographic implications that the Protestant Bible was Elizabeth's progeny and legacy to her nation. The English Prayer Book, developed under Elizabeth's brother Edward VI, would soon be supplanted by the King James Bible, an attempt at undermining or establishing himself as the heir to Elizabeth's legacy?

As a play, I found the dialogue weak, the plot bereft, and the characters, especially Elizabeth, symbols. Yet it is still interesting for a degree of historical accuracy and indication of the opinions of the time. The Queen is plainly regarded here as a heroine, even a saint, which coincides with the rise in her popularity postmortem.

The First Slasher Parody?

2011-02-08T17:20:00.003-05:00

10. Titus Andronicus by William Shakespeare

I cannot believe that this play exists. It is one of the few Shakespeare plays I had not yet read (including Cymbeline and Coriolanus, both of which will be remedied shortly), and although I had some idea of it from The Complete Works of Shakespeare (Abridged), I HAD NO IDEA.

I'm just going to make a list of some wtf moments (I'm paraphrasing):

FIRST SCENE "Let's hew off all his limbs! Yeah, sounds like fun!"

"Here Lavinia, hold my hand in thy mouth"

"Don't kill that fly! Wait, it looks like Aaron the Moor? Die, die already dead fly!"

"I'm going to make a powder out of your bones and then make a paste of it with your blood!"

"Now I'm going to kill my daughter, who already was raped and had her hands cut off and her tongue cut out"

Yeah. It's just Too Much. I was fascinated with Aaron the Moor, the arch-villain(they're all kind of villains except poor Lavinia),the treatment of race in his speech and the dialogue about him is really interesting, especially in comparison with what Shakespeare did later with Othello. I'm not the type of person who reads or watches horror, so this definitely still had the power to shock me, which I guess is kind of cool. Maybe Aaron/Othello will become a paper, we'll see.

To those of you who haven't read this...don't unless you really love gore or would find it interesting from a scholarly perspective on Shakespeare.

Feminist Early Modern Verse

2011-02-02T17:57:00.002-05:00

9. The Poems of Aemilia Lanyer: Salve Deus Ex Judaeorum Ed. Susanne Woods

My directed study professor introduced me to this book that I'm now very excited about. It may have been the first book of poetry ever published by an Englishwoman. It was printed in 1611. There were other famous women writers of the time, Queen Elizabeth I for one and Mary Sidney, Countess of Pembroke, sister to Sir Philip. However, their work was privately circulated in manuscript.

Lanyer is one of the "new discoveries" of Renaissance women in the last couple decades. Her verse is in iambic pentameter, lyric poetry of the type Shakespeare was writing in Lucrece. She re-envisions the passion of the Christ, but with many reminders that men are to be condemned for this deed, not women, who committed a far less grave sin in eating from the tree of knowledge. She also extols the virtues of her patroness Margaret, Countess of Cumberland and suggests that she was born to chronicle the Passion of Christ in her honor. What is most interesting about her work, I thought, are its various dedications, which take up the same length as the work itself.

The dedications are different types of verse, and one, to the Countess of Cumberland, is prose. Every single dedication is to a woman, one is to "vertuous ladies in generall." There are several implications of this choice. The most obvious and mercenary is a bid for patronage, she writes to powerful, influential women, including Queen Anne and her daughter Elizabeth, known for supporting the literary arts. However, she also situates and establishes herself as a writer for women and at the beginning of a tradition of women writing for women. Furthermore, she emphasizes the power that women have gained in patronage, through omitting male patrons, she deems them unnecessary. Finally, she writes to them because these are the people who can see what she is doing and appreciate her religious and moral argument for women to be considered at least equal to men.

Aemilia Lanyer is the kind of woman I want to know more about, why she was so unique and so willing to argue women's case when women's place in society as chaste, silent, and obedient was generally accepted. Or was she really so unusual? The way Shakespeare's women talk, one might not think so. Perhaps our impressions of how Englishwomen in the Renaissance acted are incorrect, perhaps Elizabeth I herself was not as unique as we think. I would urge more people to read this, though fascinating as they are for me, perhaps they would not hold such appeal for the modern reader. Fortunately, we have plenty of women authors and poets to choose from.

Early Modern Verse

2011-01-31T22:39:00.003-05:00

8. The Rape of Lucrece by William Shakespeare

This is not a book nor is it a play, it approaches the length of the latter and I feel like I deserve the credit of the former for reading it. This is a lyric poem, one of two attributed to Shakespeare including Venus and Adonis in my ginormous edition of The Collected Works of Shakespeare (the second Riverside edition, if you want to know). I'd read Venus and Adonis before, and found it amusing, this was my first read of Lucrece, which was predictably not amusing.

I did learn that the Rape of Lucrece is the founding myth of the Roman Republic, after the chaste Lucrece was raped by Tarquin, last king of Rome (that is, before the Caesars), and then killed herself, the people of Rome overthrew and banished him. Pretty cool that a woman had that power. Of course, not cool how she gets it.

This is in some ways a very standard lyric poem, it's got the iambic pentameter and the tiring repetition and descriptions of things that would appear to be meaningless in a modern novel (my professor would abhor it) but provide lots of fancy foreshadowing, metaphors, and allusions, which is the point. Shakespeare's poem is more dramatically-driven than most, I think, though I'm no expert. We get into Tarquin's head as he contemplates the deed, back and forth, then he sees Lucrece and goes completely evil on us. The innocent lamb of a Lucrece afterward becomes more interesting. We watch her go through realistic stages of feeling filthy, thinking everyone can see her shame, and then distracting herself with a painting of Troy. I really liked this ekphrastic device, especially about Troy, so reminiscent of Achilles' shield, and relevant to Roman history. She understands the traitor Sinon now and Helen and hates them, crying for Priam's wife Hecuba. Finally, her husband and father arrive, she reveals what occurred and stabs herself.

Lucrece may be a technically better work than its predecessor, but it's not my cup of tea. I still prefer the comedies over the tragedies in Shakespeare every time, though it's more to do with my preference to laugh than cry more than anything else, I suppose.

What Makes a Good Book

2011-01-26T14:56:00.002-05:00

7. Steal Across the Sky by Nancy Kress

I have raved about Kress' Beggars in Spain and been underwhelmed by her more recent Dogs.

I picked this one up at the library, and I'm glad I did. I was not impressed and did not find it a satisfying read by any means. The concept is certainly intriguing; an alien race calling themselves the Atoners land on the moon and ask for Twenty-One Witnesses to be transported to other planets to observe in order to discover the crime that the Atoners committed against humanity ten thousand years ago. The book takes place in the very near future and contains the experiences of some of the Witnesses and the aftermath when the Witnesses return to Earth and divulge the nature of the crime. The Atoners deleted human genes for the sixth sense; the ability to see the dead.

Here is where my analysis of the book will hopefully become interesting. While I felt the novel to be lacking in several senses (har har), it is consistent with what I believe my fiction workshop professor would deem a good book, that is to say, a marketable book.

My professor believes that in order to be marketable in the twenty-first century,a book must have one or more specific subjective perspectives. Steal Across the Sky has five primary narrators, four in each section of the book (one narrator from the first section dies and is replaced with a new narrator). I will give Kress some credit for creating distinctive voices, each shows the reader a different viewpoint on the events of the novel.

My professor believes that action and conflict should come early and often. The novel begins in the middle of the momentous occasion of Witnesses descending to their assigned planets, I agree that in-medias-res is always a good way to begin. However, I barely felt set up on the planets when the secret was uncovered and the Witnesses went home. There is conflict upon conflict in every chapter and every chapter ends with a hook to keep the reader engaged. My professor encourages this. I want to stress that I am not against this style, but I do not think that that alone can constitute a good book.

Several conflicts were left unresolved at the end of the book. Two of the Witnesses, Lucca and Cam, have slept with each other early on, which Lucca deeply regrets, but though mentioned often, this one never emerges as a confrontation. One of the Twenty-One Witnesses died mysteriously, despite the Atoners' guarantee of protection, and this is never resolved either, though referred to more than once. Finally, while the central question is somewhat answered, that dead souls do wander around "for real" and people used to have the ability to see them, the main characters never come to any definite conclusion and their environment seems just as polluted as ever from the revelation (an uptick in teen suicides, religious fanatics organizing against the witnesses). It's a problem of too many conflicts, resulting in an ending that feels lazy and unsatisfying.

My biggest problem with the book is the lack of character depth. I have a surface sketch of each character; moody hermitlike Lucca, lonely rational Soledad, childlike Cam, Everyman Frank, and Aveo, the old scholar from Kular A (the planet where Cam Witnesses); but no character besides Soledad who falls in love ever breaks form, we don't get a sense of who they were before they Witnessed, especially in the cases of Lucca and Cam, except that Lucca's beloved wife died, boo hoo. I just wasn't buying it, wasn't invested in them enough, didn't care enough. I found none of the characters likable except Soledad and even her I found flat. The real interesting part in the book is Aveo's brutal complicated society, and that we only get a couple chapters' portrait of. Their society is based on a game, kulith, and the Worship of the Goddess of All Green along with a sort of colored caste system, but I wanted to know much more about it and have kulith developed better. Throughout the book, Cam has nightmares about Aveo telling her to play kulith better, but she never does. Cam never changes, never becomes more than a "scared, scarred child" as Frank thinks of her.

The greater questions that I have about writing are the following:

Is capturing and keeping your reader's attention the only requirement for a good book? If so, Steal Across the Sky would be a good book. Or does that only make it a marketable book and is there or should there be a difference?

Is capturing and keeping your reader's attention necessary for a good book? Should this always be true? Is there anything to be said for challenging the readers to find their own meanings and interpretations? A lot of action can glue a reader to a page, but what does it help the reader gain? Is it possible for plot, not character, to supply meaning?

I'll stop there, suffice it to say this book will not be on my end-of-the-year list of SFF Literature.

2011-01-23T13:00:00.004-05:00

6. The Tragedy of Mariam, The Fair Queene of Jewry by Elizabeth Cary

I was fascinated to read this sixteenth century woman's reinterpretation of the story of Miriam, the Maccabean princess who was married to Herod, the Greek-Macedonian King of the Jews in the first century CE. Her story is related in Josephus, a Jew who chronicled several events of the era. Her husband had her killed after she allegedly spoke to him with too much anger and pride. He put aside his first wife to marry her because she was of the bloodline of King David, seen as the rightful rulers of the Jews, and then had her grandfather and brother,who had stronger claims to the throne than him, killed.

Cary makes of this story a female-centered tragedy that I saw as equal to Greek and Shakespearean tragedy. The plot, language, and characters are internally cohesive and consistent. Mariam is proud of her heritage, and both in love with Herod and resentful of him for the murders of her family. Her mother Alexandra hates him and believes her grandsons should be on the throne. Salome, Herod's man-eating sister, plays the real villain in the play, she cannot stand Mariam's contempt of her and plots to see her killed. Herod is presented as a paranoid weathervane, blown either way depending on which woman uses her guile to deceive him, which is Salome. Mariam's tragic flaw is that she will not deign to cater to her husband, she will not flatter or praise him, and openly declares her anger. Thus, Salome, the deceiver, wins.

The message is a bitter one, that only deceitful women can triumph through manipulating the power of men. One could see that it would be easy for Elizabeth Cary to espouse; she had a troubled marriage rocked by religious and financial turmoil, and undoubtedly suffered from her refusal to submit to her husband's will. Interestingly, the play was written in the early years of her marriage, before she and her husband separated, and is dedicated to her sister-in-law, also Elizabeth Cary. The dedication itself, a poem about how her husband's sister is the moon to her husband's sun appears good natured on the surface, but one would think she tread a careful road in dedicating to her sister-in-law a play where the protagonist's sister-in-law is the principal villain. I wonder if there is any information or scholarly work on that "coincidence."

I read this for my directed study on early modern women in contemporary and modern fiction. I'll probably be digesting it for a while and hopefully develop some brilliant paper, as I feel it is more than worthy.

Studies in Comedy and Tragedy

2011-01-22T14:45:00.003-05:00

5. The Two Gentlemen of Verona by William Shakespeare

My second read, first for a class, not one of the plays I've seen performed except for the snippet of it in Shakespeare in Love. Although it's one of the lesser known and least performed of Shakespeare's plays, I didn't find any lack of amusement while reading. Sure, it's inferior to As You Like It or Much Ado about Nothing, but we've still got witty women, clueless, boorish male love interests, and perhaps the most successful and sympathetic of absurd servants in Launce.

What I remembered most about reading this play were Launce's speeches about his dog Crab. While he condemns Crab as a villain, he's willing to sit in the stocks and be whipped lest his dog hang for the various crimes of stealing puddings and pissing indoors. That, my friends, is true love. The contrast with Launce's devotion to his dog is sharp in comparison to his master Proteus' swift abandon of his paramour Julia for his friend Valentine's lady Silvia. Throughout the play, the women and the servants remain faithful, while Proteus "the shapeshifter" indeed, switches his love, Valentine changes his mind about love when he meets Silvia, and both Proteus and Valentine ultimately forswear Silvia for each other. It's a complex story of relations between men and between men and women, and which wins out in the end is difficult to tell.

It is a comedy and must needs end in marriage, and the end's explicit deus ex machina rubs many Shakespeareans the wrong way. My professor defended the ending in terms of its being a deliberate satire, or cartoon of human behavior. It comes down to everyone in the woods, Proteus almost about to force Silvia to yield to his desire, Valentine coming in to protect her and declaring he can never trust any friend again, Proteus apologizing...and Valentine accepting. Then, Silvia's dad comes in, allows her to marry Valentine, and Proteus realizes he is still in love with Julia, as she conveniently appears dressed as a boy, having changed her shape but not her mind, as she chides him before falling into his arms. Instead, perhaps, Shakespeare didn't care that the ending was contrived, the actors' skill might have made it seem less (or more) ridiculous and here he's made his points and gratified the audience with a happy ending.

It seems like there was a lot of pressure on playwrights of the time for either complete redemption or utter, bloody ruination. Thus the endings of many of Shakespeare's comedies and tragedies until either he or his audience developed more nuanced sensibilities, and then the problem plays.

Book Quiz Results

2011-01-16T20:45:00.003-05:00

I saw this quiz on The Boston Bibliophile and decided to have a gander. The results surprised me a little, but are also surprisingly accurate in some ways!

You're Fahrenheit 451!

by Ray Bradbury

Having wanted to be a firefighter much of your life, you've recently
discovered the job wasn't exactly what you were looking for. While ignorance seems like
the result of oppression, it all began with people just wanting to be ignorant. As you
realize more about the sordid world around you, you decide to watch less TV and work on
your memorization skills. Though your memory will save you in the end, don't forget to
practice running from dogs as well.

Take the Book Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid.

Treasure from a Kid's PoV

2011-01-16T20:15:00.002-05:00

4. Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

Somewhere in my childhood, I missed reading this classic, despite having two copies of A Child's Garden of Verses. My boyfriend recently reread this and suggested I do so, so I borrowed his copy and spent a night immersed in the ultimate pirate fantasy for a boy of a certain age.

I can't say much for plot, language, or character, but as I am currently in a fiction workshop, I was looking for what made the story tick, and it clearly has a sense of urgency and adventure and makes use of a cliffhanger at the end of nearly every chapter. I did notice that Long John Silver's speech in particular kept nicely in character, "and I'll lay to that." He is clearly the most psychologically complex of the characters, the rest of the adults seem either dull or blindingly stupid. So the hero is our adolescent boy narrator Jim Hawkins, and from the praise of the adults around him, including the malicious Long John, and the feats he accomplishes, it is clear that Jim not only moves the plot, but is the smartest and bravest of the bunch. What boy doesn't want to believe he would have what it takes to practically single-handedly outsmart a group of bloodthirsty pirates?

The pirate themselves, save Long John, turn out to be hardly formidable enemies, though admittedly ruthless in who they are willing to kill, they are not only illiterate and superstitious, but stupid enough to camp in marshland where they all contract malaria, and wasteful enough to burn their own food supply. With these self-handicapping pirates and a bit of luck, Jim manages to save himself and a few of his companions (though some die bloody deaths). Long John Silver, the pirates' charismatic ringleader, nevertheless weasels his way into the return voyage and escapes with a share of the booty. That was the only plot point I didn't know beforehand, what from cultural references over the years.

I can see why Treasure Island is exciting for a child. As an adult, I'm wondering more about Long John, but we've only got Jim's point of view to go on. I think Pirates of the Caribbean taps more into this curiosity about a psychologically complex pirate with Jack Sparrow. This is a bare bones adventure story, quick reading but topical. I believe the author of The Strange Case of Dr.Jekyll and Mr.Hyde was capable of more, but perhaps he achieved what he intended; a story for children.

In the Western Tradition...

2011-01-13T17:47:00.006-05:00

2. The Romance of Tristan & Iseult As Retold by Joseph Bedier Translated by Hilaire Belloc and Completed by Paul Rosenfeld

As the list of authors/translators etc. implies, this work can only be described as a mishmash and not a consistent narrative in any respect. That is, it is told as a consistent narrative, but it is not. Bits and pieces are taken from French and English poets that are themselves transcribing older legends and the more modern author put in some of his words in keeping with the older dialect, and THEN it was translated by more than one person!

However, I think the point of Arthurian legends and the associated stories (and Arthur comes into this surprisingly little, considering how often Tristan shows up in Le Morte D'Arthur), is that they're not "accurate" in language, the themes of romance and death and fate and Christianity are what is important and the characters are the vessels of these lessons. It is amazing how God is always on the side of the adulterous lovers in Tristan and Iseult, at least it's not always so clear cut with Lancelot and Guenivere. One story I hadn't heard before was that of the fairy dog Pticru, which Tristan gives to Iseult. Everyone accepts the existence of this fairy thing and doesn't view it as evil, though earlier Tristan was accused of being a warlock. As my professor said, older stories got pushed together with Christianity so that neither fully makes sense.

I wonder why people of this time period were so fascinated with illegitimate love and eager to legitimize it from a Higher Power. I suppose this is due to the oft-cited fact that women were basically bargaining chips to be married for political gain. In modern eyes, that would make adultery much more understandable. What is less understandable from a modern viewpoint is how Tristan gives Iseult up to Mark even after they have drunk the philtre that will cause them to love each other to death. This must have to do with the honour or code of chivalry between men that is evoked to explain all sorts of behavior in the Arthurian legends. If neither love nor honour can be scorned, then death does seem fated indeed. We've let whatever this notion of honour was (and I haven't entirely pinpointed it) become eclipsed by love in our culture, and therefore romance no longer always carries the death sentence it once did.

3. Comedy of Errors by William Shakespeare

I've already reviewed this, but I read it again for my Shakespeare class, so there will be plenty more of the Bard to come. Adriana and Luciana remain some of my favorite of Shakespeare's women (though truth be told, I think I like them all, except Juliet and Desdemona and even they have their moments), the Antipholi remain blindingly obtuse, and the Dromios as droll as ever. I mostly just wanted to say Antipholi, as this is apparently the correct way to refer to them!

The Hunger Games

2011-01-10T14:02:00.002-05:00

1. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

My first read of 2011 started the year off on the YA fantasy angle I wanted. Collins' book kept me enthralled through plane, Metro, and bus rides and I finished it in one epic day of travel. Her dystopian world is convincing in its own context and her protagonist Katniss manages to be a strong, likable heroine without compromising one jot of authenticity.I felt throughout that there was more to the world than seen in the book, and I imagine more of it will be divulged in the next two books of the trilogy.

Collins takes a very old idea, of pitting children against each other in a battle to the death, and infuses it with cultural and historical significance and a deep message about government control. The plot has its twists and turns, but the protagonist's reactions remain the most interesting thing about the book. Of course, this is also what the in-text audience is interested in, which sets up a creepy parallel between the reader and the sadistic (or coerced) watchers of the Hunger Games. We watch Katniss struggle to survive both physically and mentally and Collins creates a cast of worthy allies and opponents, all of whose motives must be suspect. The dangers Katniss faces seem real, as do the consequences, and, as in all good series, at the end of the book we're still questioning everyone's motives and what little nugget will blossom into the plot of the next book. We leave Katniss in a complex relationship and to the disturbing fate of having to coach "tribute" for the next year's Hunger Games. I have several guesses as to what will transpire next, but I'll keep that to myself.

Overall, compelling, original and containing a grittiness worthy of Orson Scott Card and a world worthy of J.K. Rowling. I strongly recommend this to readers of all ages and will be seeking out the rest of the trilogy.

Book Goals for 2011

2011-01-02T00:37:00.003-05:00

57 can be my official number for books read in 2010, it's a tad embarrassing that the last book I read last year was Sister of the Dead.

However, I started the New Year off right with a trip to Barnes&Noble (as my patient, loving boyfriend stood by) and bought The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins and The Collected Works of T.S. Spivet by Reif Larsen. The former was a bit of an impulse buy, influenced by my late trashy/fantasy kick and a zeitgeist around the book blogs that YA is where it's at. The latter has been on my list since I attended a panel with Reif Larsen at the first annual Boston Book Festival and when I saw it in the bookstore, I knew I had waited long enough. Apparently, the hardcover is no longer available new and I decided not to wait and buy used, so mine is paperback. However, seeing as the hardcover has some extra features and I expect to enjoy the book a lot, I might see if I could arrange some trade at a later date.

Like last year, I've decided not to set a number quota of books to read for this year, although for different reasons. Since I will be graduating in May, I expect to have more free time on my hands and I intend to use it to tackle bigger and denser works of both fiction and nonfiction. I recently starting compiling, in addition to a list of books I've been recommended or liked the sound of from reviews, a list of seminal works that I don't want to die without reading. This includes de Tocqueville's Democracy in America, The Communist Manifesto, and The Origin of Species, as well as several foundational religious works. I don't think that I'll get through all of this in a year, but after I graduate will be the time to start working down that list.

Before I graduate, however, I don't expect to have a lot of free time, so if I do any reading outside of school, I would like to dedicate most of it to fantasy and science fiction. I feel that I haven't been reading enough of the two genres that have often brought me the most pleasure and I am also on a mission to discover more high quality writing in the genres. To accomplish this goal, I'll have to spend more time on related blogs and review sites and of course browsing in bookstores and libraries! By the end of this year, I hope to be able to pinpoint 10-20 science fiction/fantasy books that I would also consider literature.

In summary, my goals for reading in 2011 are:

1. Find 10-20 good quality science fiction/fantasy novels

2. Make a dent in my list of seminal works to read

Finally, updates may be sporadic, but I plan to list, number and at least minimally review all the books I read, including those for school, and also report on any book-related events or news. I am also not above a travel post, if my year includes any.

Happy New Year!

Trashy Books

2010-12-28T22:35:00.002-05:00

I've been on a trashy book kick since I've been home from school, probably because I just got back from one of the most intense semesters of my life, reading and otherwise. After sifting through a lot of dense philosophy and High Literature (what I'm calling Joyce and Faulkner, probably my two least favorite authors not counting the likes of Dan Brown), I was craving a re-read of The Devil Wears Prada and finally read Sister of the Dead, a macabre fantasy novel a friend bought me several years ago that never looked appealing at any given moment. Well, it was honestly pretty horrible, although the author did incorporate some Elvish, which has to score some points. What I don't get is why science fiction and fantasy almost always have the best ideas, but more often than not sub-par writing. Why don't great ideas and great skill naturally go together? I've been privileged to read mostly the best; Tolkien, L'Engle, and books I've read more recently like Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell and The Last Light of the Sun.However, whenever I've delved into what's considered teenage boy fare, I haven't been impressed. Readers of fantasy deserve better and we will find it.

But I've digressed. The point is, trashy books can be comforting. They take the pressure off and you can forget about yourself and immerse yourself in the characters' lives. "Mind candy," I've heard them referred to. I really don't consider myself the type who goes in for this sort of reading, but as my academic reading gets tougher, trash begins to look more and more attractive. Something to consider when looking to spend my B&N giftcards.

Book Round-Up for 2010

2010-12-24T18:18:00.007-05:00

So I left off in July with No. 32, but my summer reading didn't end there. Unfortunately, I've lost the list, but I know I read Woodsburner by John Pipkin (33), Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel (34), and Mary, Queen of Scots and the Murder of Lord Darnley (35) by Alison Weir.

That brings the total to 35 for the summer. In September, before classes had gotten too intense, I managed to read some books I'd gotten earlier from Bookmooch, Alice Sebold's memoir Lucky (36) about her rape and the trial that followed, which I was primarily interested in for background on The Lovely Bones, and Company of Liars (37) by Karen Maitland to see how she re-imagined The Canterbury Tales. I would call it more closely a riff on some of the ideas of The Canterbury Tales and The Decameron, a group of people on the road with a common goal from the former, and people hiding from the plague from the latter. However, the format was very much that of modern fiction rather than poetry or a group of stories, and the stories are primarily told from one point of view. There is also a much more malicious element alive in this book than its forebears, which explains the title.

Then school reading caught up with me, and I've decided to include essays and novellas, though not poetry, as I can't remember how much or all of the specific poems we read for my Survey of American Lit 2 class. Poetry included Whitman, Dickinson, Paul Laurence Dunbar, Claude McKay, William Carlos Williams, Robert Frost, T.S. Eliot , and more.

38. The Awakening by Kate Chopin

Not my first time reading it, but first time for a class. I had much more sympathy for Edna this time around. However, I don't know if she would do much better in today's society, her young self was so impressionable, it seems inevitable she would be trapped, especially as a woman who decided to have babies she didn't really want. Today we still think motherhood comes first, is that an opinion we should re-examine?

39. The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins-Gilman

I had never been assigned or heard of this story before, though it's apparently taught in some high schools. I don't think the woman goes mad, she just takes a metaphor too far and projects her self-image and self-understanding into the wall-paper, understandable under the circumstances. Eff the hysteria cure.

40. Spring Storm by Tennessee Williams

The only Williams play I'd read before was The Glass Menagerie, this is apparently more like A Streetcar Named Desire. It boils nicely down to class and gender issues, and how none of the protagonists quite fit their role in life.

41. Lectures on Kant's Political Philosophy by Hannah Arendt

The spectator is more important than the actor, judgment can coincide with obedience, and the law should correct for unscrupulous actors. That's what I learned. Also, don't read this unless you have to or have an academic interest in the subject.

42. Observations on the Beautiful and Sublime by Immanuel Kant

The first section is food for thought, but Kant's extrapolations in later sections simply confirm sexual, national, and racial prejudices of the day and really lowered Kant in my esteem.

43. Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce

I've been frightened of Joyce for quite a while now, but I buckled down and read this for my Lit theory class. It wasn't as scary as I feared, but I don't think Joyce will end up being a favorite for me. I can see how his writing is beautiful and skillful, and re-reading passages helped me discover the meaning in them. The book as a whole though was difficult to get through and while I'd say I could pick out some general themes (bildungsroman, the development of personal autonomy and the role of the aesthetic, the pernicious influence of religion), I wouldn't say I understood a lot of it. A book to try again another day.

44. "On the uses and disadvantages of history for life" by Friedrich Nietzsche

An odd and thought-provoking essay on the interpretations of history and how they (mostly negatively) affect the present and ideas for coping with history while living in the present. Sadly prescient on how the Germans believed their history and culture proved them somehow superior.

45. "The Soul of Man under Socialism" by Oscar Wilde

Pithy and conversational, it doesn't hold together well, but is vastly amusing and reflective of Wilde's state of mind. He suggests that in the future machines will be used for all manual labor and men will be free to pursue art.

46. Rings of Saturn by W.G. Sebald

This book took me most by surprise. Ostensibly a memoir of one man's walking tour of England, it's actually a journey into Sebald's mind as reflected by the outside world, and he jumps from memory to imagination to re-imagined history with circular references to silkworms, Rembrandt, and Thomas Browne. It seems to explore the importance of history and imagined history on life and living memory, and will assuredly be a book to re-read in my future.

47. Trickster Makes This World by Lewis Hyde

A perfect prelude to our semester discovering tricksterism in American literature, Hyde introduces us to the trickster in many guises and tricksterlike traits and elements from mythologies, literatures, and folk tales worldwide. An enjoyable book to read (albeit a tad repetitive), for class or no.

48. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

Enough said. My favorite work of American literature, the book and its author are tricksters supreme.

49. Tracks by Louise Erdrich

This was my first book by Erdrich, and I was suitably intrigued. The plot was enjoyable, and the characters forced me to do a lot of thinking, from a trickster point of view and otherwise. I would read her other novels that deal with the same family.

50. Tripmaster Monkey by Maxine Hong Kingston

What luck that this should be No. 50! Monkey is a complex but not unintelligible work, and while others found the protagonist Wittman a controversial figure, I sympathized with and found him quite likable. He's certainly arrogant, but no less smart and creative for that. I was so glad to have the opportunity to read this, i would never have heard of it if not for my trickster class.

51. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz

This had been on my list for a while, but I finally read it for my trickster class. This is probably my favorite new read of the year. Diaz combines Spanglish, references to all my favorite fantasy and sci fi books plus comic books and other geeky/nerdy references like Star Trek and weaves it into a cohesive, enthralling narrative about Oscar and his family. At first, I wished Oscar were the book's narrator rather than the family friend Yunior, but having Yunior as narrator adds another layer of mystery and a point of reference for typical Dominican-American culture against Oscar's fantasy world. I learned a lot about the mindset of the Dominican Republic in the Trujillo regime and I think Diaz is truly doing something new through transforming magical realism into a new American genre-focused literary art. This is the work that will help turn science fiction into literature besides adding to the cultural diversity of today's American literature. Plus, it is a GOOD BOOK. If there is one book I will recommend to all my friends this year, this is it.

52. Revenge of the Mooncake Vixen by Marilyn Chin

This is a very new book, that I probably wouldn't have read if not for, again, trickster class. It helps to read this book as a series of Chinese myths and parables about some of the same characters that are reinvented for an American world and audience. It's a new way of looking at the world (in American literature at least), fun and quick to read, but a little more there if you choose to go back and read it again.

53. The History of Love by Nicole Kraus

This had been on my to-read list for years and I finally got it from Bookmooch. I don't know if it quite lived up to my expectations, but it was worth the wait. This was a book that really experimented with what it means to read between the lines, in terms of punctuation and creative formatting, and like Jonathan Safran Foer's work, was an apt choice for the subject and characters. The stories are neatly woven together and interesting in themselves, but what really got me about this book was how it was written and why and several times I had to stop and think. This could be termed a Holocaust book, but one that kind of skirts around the main event, focusing more on human effects, but not the atrocities themselves. It's a way of looking at the Holocaust that I feel is becoming more common and has its merits, like how scenes surrounding sex are so much more evocative than describing the act itself. Still, is it avoiding the horrors through not describing them directly? Or is a deeper truth still being conveyed?

54. The Whiskey Rebels by David Liss

I had strong expectations for this book, which were not quite fulfilled. I remembered Liss as a great writer of characters as well as mystery, but these characters were not as compelling or believable as some of his earlier works. Liss does a good job of inserting his fiction into historical fact, and his mystery is such that the reader always feels like he's a step ahead. In truth, Liss knows just what he wants the reader to know when, and for the most part, he succeeds. I figured out most of the plot points about halfway through, but I usually peg mysteries in the first chapter, so I'll give him points. His choice of main villain is poor and stereotypical, but his cast of "heroes," one of whom, I could argue, is the true villain, is more complex. I was disappointed that this wasn't about the real Whiskey Rebellion and also that his two main characters just didn't seem to act like real people. Perhaps I've outgrown Liss or maybe he just lost his touch on this one.

55. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling

My third re-read, I had to identify what wasn't right vis-a-vis the movie, although truth be told, it was my favorite of all the films so far and the most accurate since the first movie. It's interesting how in this book Harry finally figures some things out without Hermione or before she does, the only times before or since, I'm sure!

And that's it for 2010, maybe I'll have a couple more up my sleeve before New Year's, we'll see.

Second Annual Boston Book Festival

2010-10-17T11:40:00.003-04:00

I attended the Second Annual Boston Book Festival yesterday and enjoyed it as much as the first year, if not more.

The sessions I attended were: Israel/Palestine: Novel Approaches; Crimes & Misdemeanors; My Mother she Killed Me, My Father He Ate Me; It Books: YA Fiction; and the Keynote with Joyce Carol Oates.

The first session I attended, Israel/Palestine was EXTREMELY intense, it featured Alan Dershowitz and Susan Abulhawa, ostensibly talking about their novels. I arrived more than halfway through Dershowitz's talk, when he was explaining the historical screw-ups of peace negotiations with Arab nations, resulting in Palestine only being able to offer Israel "peace in the east" and not on any other border, especially not the peace with Iran that is desperately needed. He then finished with a reference to his book, Trials of Zion.

Abulhawa began with explaining the plot and characters of her book, Mornings in Jenin. She then want on to discuss her strong feelings that novels are in many ways autobiographical, and that hers certainly are, although all of her characters become their own people as well. She says that one of her main characters spent three years in an East Jerusalem orphanage, as she herself did growing up. She then continued to discuss her aim of representing the true Palestinian people, with their own culture, flaws, and luminaries. She started saying some pretty shocking and controversial things, in a calm, matter-of-fact voice, she stated that "the Palestinian people are slowly being wiped out of existence," that they are suffering from "the cruelest military occupation in the world," and that "every human rights group that has ever witnessed the situation there has said the same."

Dershowitz actually remained quiet for this, but when it was his turn, insisted on providing a "counter-narrative," and asserted that the masssacre in Jenin, which Abulhawa's book is about, was fictional. Abulhawa asserted that it was based on truth, and she herself had been there to see it. The debate devolved into name-calling and interruptions, primarily on Dershowitz's part, with Abulhawa calmly taunting him, reading from a list of quotes, which he claimed to be false, and garnering audience applause.

I think Dershowitz came off looking far the worst, as he tried to use rhetoric, as well as simply defaming Abulhawa, to turn the situation around. I was embarrassed to have him representing a side I mostly agree with, and Abulhawa and her appalling accusations came off rather well.

I don't know what the truth is, I don't know if there was a massacre in Jenin or not. I believe that Abulhawa believes it happened. The truth is probably somewhere in the middle. It depends what you call a massacre. The Boston Massacre killed five people. I left with the intention of reading Abulhawa's book sometime, if only to get the view from the other side. She claims her book is not one-sided, but she admitted her only Jewish characters are "haunted by the atrocities" of what they have done. She also called Dershowitz's Arabs "stick-figures" and "cartoonish," which may well be true. I wonder if it is possible for people so far on either side of the debate to really represent the other side in a realistic way.

Moving on, I did make some nice purchases, I got the anthology of modern fairy tales, My Mother She Killed Me, My Father He Ate Me, and got it signed by the editor and two of the featured authors. I also got an English translation of the work of Liliana Ursu, a Romanian poet, from Zephyr Press, based in Brookline, MA that publishes poetry in translation.

Official Hiatus

2010-09-08T13:53:00.002-04:00

I have not written here since July, although my reading life has actually been quite active, I was also very busy in other parts of my life, first with work, then vacationing, then cleaning my room, and finally moving back to Boston, where I have a new lovely apartment with a spectacular view of the Boston skyline. Once I stopped writing, it was hard to start again and the list of reviews to do became too intimidating. I have read a couple of books that have been on my must-read list for a while, including Woodsburner by John Pipkin and Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel, both of which I thoroughly enjoyed.I had actually heard John Pipkin speak about his book at the First Annual Boston Book Festival last year.

This year, however, I have taken on a lot of responsibilities, including Editor-in-Chief of my school's literary arts magazine and a class where I will be reading Joyce, Kant, and Nietzsche. Therefore, I will put the blog on hiatus until such time as I really feel an interest (and have the time) to revive it. I intend to continue reading others' blogs, and perhaps concentrating more on commenting, since I will not be doing writing of my own, at least for a while.

Cheers!

Book Avalanche!

2010-07-12T20:18:00.003-04:00

29. Redwall by Brian Jacques

This is the first book in a series that was around when I was a kid, but as it was popular with those I considered less sophisticated readers than myself, I scorned to read it, and in hindsight missed out on a carefully crafted, archetypal "animal fantasy" that would probably have been helpful to my development as a reader and writer of fantasy. Fortunately, it's not too late, and I recently read this mouse-centric tome with the excuse that we are teaching it to the kids in our summer program Modern Fantasy class.

Redwall is primarily the story of the small novice mouse Matthias, of Redwall Abbey, and his triumph against the war-mongering rat Cluny the Scourge. Classic references abound, as the old sage gatekeeper mouse is called Brother Methuselah and the pink fingers of dawn rise more than once (oh Homer, could not your Muse have left us to ponder that in peace, just once or twice?). Matthias itself brings to my mind a reference to the original Maccabee (father of Judah, hero of Hanukkah), but that might be a stretch too far. Or perhaps not. In any case, Matthias is the spiritual successor to Martin the warrior, whose legendary sword he goes on a series of quests to find. Meanwhile, Jacques develops a charming cast of woodland heroes and villains, with comic foibles, roving allegiances, and above all, revealing names ranging from rats Redtooth and Cheesethief to Constance the Badger and Basil Stag Hare (a rabbit, in case any one is in doubt). Jacques' writing is clean and complete, and with such a large amount of characters, his transitions between them and the "keeping track" factor is minimized with careful chapters and textual signals.

It's no wonder our kids loved it and got into the characters in an almost Harry Potter-esque fashion. I also like that Jacques does not shy away from death, though his systematic destruction of all the villains is a little too indulgent. Continuing the series may not be worth it for me (though I'm sure i would enjoy it), but for kids in the 8-12 range, this is top-quality, maybe even worth devoting a summer to.

30. Elfsong by Elaine Cunningham

This is a Forgotten Realms book, from my boyfriend's childhood stash, as I was in the mood for some comfort fantasy. It's got little depth in plot or character, but the world is sufficiently surprising to make it entertaining and the characters are mostly likable and understandable. The writing isn't too bad, it has a bold descriptive quality. I wouldn't really recommend it, but not the worst thing to pick up on a lazy day either.

31. The Black Cauldron by Lloyd Alexander

I'd read this when I was younger, and all but forgotten everything about it. This is another book we're doing with the kids so I read it for a refresher. I also hadn't realized before that it was part of a series, the second book at that.

The books are apparently based on Welsh mythology, which I know nothing about, but the characters all seem to possess vast quantities of red hair. The protagonist is Taran the assistant Pig-Keeper, who along with his sidekicks the tomboy Princess Eilonwy and subservient, oddly-syntaxed twig and leaf man Gurgi, sets out to recover the Black Cauldron of the evil Lord Arwan. I have left out that this is at the behest of Taran's apparent former liege lord Prince Gwydion as well as the Wizard Dallben, who is raising him, and in the company of a couple others including the dwarf Doli of invisible powers and proud, irascible Prince Ellidyr.

Their journey leads them to Orwen, Orgoch, and Orddu, three enchantresses probably not gratuitously reminiscent of the Three Fates, where Taran pays a price for the evil Cauldron, which creates mindless undead soldiers, so that he can destroy it. The fellowship is betrayed, but one of the traitors redeems himself in ultimate sacrifice. Does this remind you of any other modern epic?

While Alexander's creation does, despite my allusion, have a plot and characters all its own, it does lack the depth of Middle Earth and certainly the strength of writing that Tolkien displayed. A nice book for children, but nothing for an adult to take seriously.

32. The Human Stain by Philip Roth

This is my first Philip Roth book, finally. I have to say, I both see and don't see what all the fuss is about. The book, which, from what I hear, shares this quality with his other books, is simultaneously a sweeping and focused canvas of typically American issues. The Human Stain is about uniquely American puritanism, in matters of morality and of race.

It is a book of ideas, but it is also a book about people. Roth does not let his characters lose their individuality, even as they represent issues of foreignness, multiculturalism, feminism, racial passing, veteran issues, and battered women. They come to represent these issues, but because they are so complete, they never fully can. They are always stained, tinted, with something else, other ideas and influences, and their own ideas about themselves and their identities. Using the Bill Clinton/Monica Lewinsky scandal as a backdrop to the affair of a retired college professor of seventy-one and an allegedly illiterate cleaning woman of thirty-four is a clever idea, and it works. Purity is all about perception, for no one is totally pure, though in Roth's world, no one is totally corrupt either. Even his villains are sympathetic characters whose struggles with their own purity of identity lead them to lash out at others.

The more I think about The Human Stain, the more I appreciate it. I do have to note though that with all his diversity of character, Roth's writing is not for the uneducated. It is erudite and complex, written in the language of academia it writes about. As for Roth's legendary alter-ego narrator Nathan Zuckerman, I'm reserving judgment on him. I have a feeling I don't know the half of it.

Toledo

2010-07-08T18:27:00.008-04:00

During our time in Madrid, we took a day trip to Toledo, the ancient capital of Castilla and Leon. Toledo is breathtaking and steeped in history, I wish we had spent more time there. The medieval walls of the city and many of the medieval structures are still present and catching a sight of Toledo seemed like stepping into thirteenth-century Castilla. We saw the cathedral, as well as the two remaining synagogues from the fourteenth century. We went inside Sinagoga del Transito, whose size and opulence astounded me, since I had come to expect an ultra-low-key Jewish presence in Spain, where there is one at all. Case in point, the synagogue I attended during my semester abroad was the first floor of an apartment building, with no markings on the outside door. Anyway, Sinagoga del Transito, was built in the beautiful style of Moorish architecture though decorated with Hebrew lettering as opposed to Arabic. It is now the Museo Sefardi, a museum of artifacts from Sephardi communities not just in Spain, but all over the world. Jewish graves from all over Spain have also been brought there to rest. It is sad that this is the largest body of evidence in all of Spain to suggest the rich Jewish history and culture that once existed there. However, it was very exciting to be able to see it. I could have spent much more time digesting the information available there.

First pictured is the cathedral of Toledo. Next, a house in the Moorish style, then a view of Toledo and surrounding countryside. Finally, the Sinagoga de Santa Maria la Blanca, which was converted into a church.