Book Speed Dating #2 - The Pile

Back in April, I made a pile of most of the first page of my to-read list, and worked through until I had tasted each one. From there I decided whether or not to keep reading, to put on hold but to read later, or to discard. I was able to weed out a few, and ended up finishing three completely. The mightiest tome on the list, Infinite Jest, I am halfway through as of yesterday, so even that book got dipped into.

It is time to do it again, namely because I have run out of room on my bookshelves and something's gotta give!   I also can't stand to read Infinite Jest every day, and I've been pulling that back to once a week.  I had to wade through two pages of my to-read list to come up with a significant pile, but here it is. I'm going to have dated all of these books (read 50 pages minimum) by August 1. In the meantime, please tell me what you think! Have you read any of these titles?  Any you would steer me away from or encourage me toward?  I'll list the author, title, and brief thoughts on each below.

Fernando Baez - A Universal History of the Destruction of Books
I've read Double Fold by Nicholson Baker twice, where he focuses on libraries' recent roles in book destruction.  This seems like a much longer and international history, and will look great on the shelf in my office, even if I don't decide to read it all.  Ha!

Gabriel Garcia Marquez - Strange Pilgrims
Slim volume, short stories, I imagine it will go quickly.  But I thought that of the Borges stories that I keep starting and not finishing.

Doris Lessing - The Grass is Singing
This is a better known work of Lessing; I have read lesser known Lessings.  I predict I'll like it.

Gustave Flaubert - Madame Bovary
I've just never read this classic and I know it was very scandalous when it was published.  The challenge will be the prose of the translation.

Paul Theroux - Ghost Train to the Eastern Star
I have several Theroux on my shelves and wonder if this is really the best place to start.  It is a revisit by Theroux to a journey he took and chronicled in The Great Railway Bazaar.  I might swap them out since I own both.  Shhhhhh. (Or does it matter?)

Curtis Sittenfeld - American Wife
I've read other books by Sittenfeld, and intended to read this book for my DC pick this year.  Might as well get to it.

Eckhart Tolle - A New Earth
I had such intentions to read this that I ended up with two copies.  I liked The Power of Now, so maybe this will have some good stuff in it.

Carlos Ruiz Zafon - The Shadow of the Wind
I've been saving this because I so loved The Angel's Game.  But now that Zafon has other books coming out translated in English, I don't have to save this one any longer.  And why am I waiting? I expect to love it; the setting and the topic are both right up my narrow Spanish alley.  :)

Ellen Gilchrist - The Writing Life
I tend to enjoy books on writing, and have been intending to read this for a while.  It ended up on the leisure reading shelves at work, so no time like the present.

E. L. Doctorow - Ragtime
I have two Doctorow books at home that I've been intending to read... no three.  Ack!  I don't even know if I like him!  Nathaniel asked me if this is what the musical is based on, and I have no idea.  I guess I'll find out.

Review of Istanbul: Memories and the City by Orhan Pamuk

Istanbul: Memories and the City by Orhan Pamuk


Along with The World's Literature group, I have been reading a lot of books set in Turkey this year. Just check out what I've covered so far!  Most of the books have been fiction, two have included elements of fantasy (steampunk and nanotech!), and one is a cookbook with photography you would not believe.

One of the best known Turkish authors has to be Orhan Pamuk. I've only managed to read one book of his so far, but there are many more on my to-read list to get to. I actually think reading this autobiography/memoir first will add some understanding to any of his books that I read in the future. It covers his childhood in Istanbul, up through his college years and the moment he decides to become a writer.

While this book came out in print in 2003, this audio edition was newly released by Random House in April. I had downloaded it but was listening to another book.

Then this happened:



I was already deeply interested in Turkey, even to the point of learning some of the language and the cuisine, but following the protests and police action in Twitter made me more interested in Istanbul.

Of course, the Istanbul of this book is several decades ago, but you can see traces of a history that breeds an environment where clashes between groups are not exactly unexpected, where poverty and control have always been issues in the background. Pamuk suggests that the most beautiful view of the city is from afar. I'm not sure he really means it, because he continues to return to this concept of hüzün, or melancholy, that he claims is part of the daily lived aesthetic in the life of an Istanbullu. That those living in the city want to feel hüzün, and don't feel as alive without it.

I know Pamuk has been criticized both by the government for not being religious enough and by the public for not being critical of the government enough, but this book makes it clear that he isn't all that interested in making a statement with his writing; he wants to describe. It makes so much sense now, to see his journey from painter to writer, to understand how this plays out in his writing. His descriptions of the black and white landscape of winter is central to Snow, the one book I've read.

I've had dreams about the Bosphorus, a strait in Istanbul separating Asia from Europe. Even though I've never been there and don't have reason to dream of it, I can see why you would. His descriptions of living within view of the river, of the fires and the commerce, made me long for this place I've never experienced.

The reader for the audiobook is John Lee, whose voice is very familiar to me as the reader for Ulysses. He does a good job with the pronunciation of Turkish names, but I kept expecting him to jump into "Hoopsa, boyaboy, hoopsa!" You know you listen to a lot of audiobooks when....

Review of The Best of Connie Willis: Award-Winning Stories

The Best of Connie Willis: Award-Winning Stories by Connie Willis
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Connie Willis is a writer of ideas. In longer novel form, I think this is a good thing; I enjoyed Blackout/All Clear quite a bit. I still haven't made it to her earlier works like To Say Nothing of the Dog or The Doomsday Book - both books that others say are her best work. When this collection of stories was listed in NetGalley, I jumped at the chance, to try to get to know this Grand Master a little better.

Back to this ideas issue. Connie Willis often zooms in on a thought she has (What if we found a way to turn off the menstrual cycle? This becomes Even the Queen) or personal obsessions (A love affair with the London Underground becomes The Winds of Marble Arch, an interest in H.L. Mencken becomes Inside Job) and fleshes it out into a story. The problem for the reader occurs when he or she does not share this same obsession. Honestly, I don't understand the obsession with H.L. Mencken, so that was an automatic turn-off for me. I did enjoy Even the Queen though, with its continuation of concepts in the Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood (kind of the opposite scenario).

The other stories range from quantum physics to post-apocalyptic letters to aliens that respond to Christmas carols. All ideas that are explored in the length of a short story. Each story comes with an afterword written by the author, explaining where the idea comes from and why the story is significant in her eyes, great stuff for fans of her work.

So what is missing, and why am I only giving this three stars? (Three stars for me means decent but not really for me.) I suppose I expect more from a short story. I want beautiful, expressive language. I want depth of character and emotion. Ideas alone just don't cut it, and that's all I really find here. For a lot of readers, that will be more than enough.

Beach Reads (or Infinite Jest and a Bikini Body)

There is a meme going around today about Beach Reads.  I've skimmed a few of the posts, and as I suspected, most people are focusing on lighter reads - quick paced, shorter, engaging but easy to pop in and out of.

I guess I feel differently.  When I make it to the beach, I have more time to read than ever before.  Hours at a time, when I'm lucky.  The waves and the wind and a book.  Why wouldn't I use that opportunity to read something hefty; something that made me think?

A few years ago, I brought Gravity's Rainbow along with me on a cruise.  It is pictured here on a somewhat sandy towel and drying flippers from snorkeling.  I picked this book to read during swimming breaks, and because of that I'll always remember Pynchon being in that atmosphere (until I read it again.)

There have been a few bloggers talking about a "bikini body" lately, at least in the world of blogs I follow.  Their posts are along the lines of, "Want a bikini body? Put a bikini ON YOUR BODY."  The fearless blogger that drives the point home best (illustrated) is the Militant Baker in her post "How to Get a Sexy Swimsuit Body in Under 5 Minutes!"

This summer, my main read is Infinite Jest.  If I go to the beach, it will become my beach read.  It has also been my dentist read, my coffee shop read, my nail-drying read.  As I mentioned before, I am reading it inside of a vibrant community of readers all summer long. 

Okay, if it makes you feel better, I'll give it a bikini.

There you go!  Now David Foster Wallace's Infinite Jest is ready to be a beach read.  Pick up a copy for your vacation today!

Embarking on a Summer of Jest

The last time I read and blogged a mighty tome, it was the late summer of Ulysses in 2011. It was a satisfying experience, more so just to finally finish it, and this summer, starting today, I am finally going to read Infinite Jest

I am not going to go it alone.  Summer of Jest was started by one ambitious reader, a similar project to Infinite Summer of 2009, and it quickly spread.  Now it is a presence in a blog, in Twitter, in Facebook, and Goodreads.  I've talked a few people into joining me, so we'll see how long they stick around.  If you stumble across this blog post, you may join us too!

I thought I'd start out by discussing my previous experience with David Foster Wallace.  I had him on my to-read list before he died in September of 2008, prompted by a friend whose opinion on books I value very highly, but his passing prompted me to get started. 

My first book of his was Consider the Lobster and Other Essays, which I read in October of 2008. The most memorable essay from this volume is the title essay.  It exposes that lobsters actually do feel pain, and die excruciating deaths when they are going to be eaten.  I have spent the last twelve years fluctuating between veganism, vegetarianism, and eating fish, but I'm not sure I've actually consumed lobster since reading that essay.  He is a powerful non-fiction writer, who isn't afraid to include his own experience as part of the narrative.

A month later in November 2008, I read A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again, which I posted a review of in Goodreads.  The title essay was about cruises, and I'd had enough cruising experience to know exactly where he was coming from.  At the time, I felt it was strange to have a self-confessed agoraphobe writing about experiences that most people get enjoyment out of because of the people in the situation, and his discomfort allows for a severe critique of many of these circumstances.  At the same time, there is humor mixed in with the sardonic treatment of state fairs and media, which makes for an enjoyable experience.  The cover picture is also pretty memorable.

Another month later in December 2008, I read The Broom of the System.  This is David Foster Wallace's first novel, which he wrote while still in college.  After reading the darker, more serious essays, I was pleased to find myself laughing throughout this novel.  The G.O.D. (Great Ohio Desert) and the family relationships are just part of the highly enjoyable reading experience.  Even back then it had hints of the potential for highly complicated storytelling technique, but this novel only has embedded stories, no footnotes or endnotes.

I bought Infinite Jest for myself not too long after this point.  But I didn't read it.  My friend who had recommended him in the first place made it clear I was "not yet ready" to read Infinite Jest, and sent me off to read a bunch of other post-modern authors in the meantime.  I'm not sure I'm ready now, but more on that later.

The last book I've read by David Foster Wallace isn't really a book, but a commencement speech repurposed into a book, one I picked up and read in May 2012.  It is probably his best known piece of work to the majority of the population - This is Water.

You can actually listen to him giving the speech in its entirety here:

I can't read the book version, I can't listen to his speech, without tearing up.  It is all about how if you can think of life the right way, you can get through it and even grow.  But he took his own life, so it makes me sad that despite this being his message, he couldn't make it through himself.

My favorite little bit follows, and is a good example of how Wallace writes, and honestly this particular passage reminds me of my favorite bits of another book, Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon:

"But if you've really learned how to think, how to pay attention, then you will know you have other options. It will actually be within your power to experience a crowded, hot, slow, consumer-hell-type situation as not only meaningful, but sacred, on fire with the same force that lit the stars - compassion, love, the subsurface unity of all things." 

Perhaps there has been enough time for me to separate David Foster Wallace's greatest work from the way his life ending.  Perhaps I have done enough homework and other reading that this won't serve as an impossible challenge.  Or perhaps this, like other books I have abandoned, will prove to be just another supposedly fun thing I'll never do again.  Wallace would understand either way.  So here I go!

Five from NetGalley

I've been working through my list of approved titles in NetGalley by expiration date (reading the next to expire first).   If you are a book blogger or librarian and haven't signed up for an account, you should give it a try.  I only ask for books that I'm interested in, and if I'm not into what I try, I don't feel bad about setting it aside and letting the publisher know why.  I don't always get approved for everything I ask for, and that's okay too.  I only sign up for what I actually think I want to read, so I hope that helps.

Books from NetGalley are usually either review copies and so far unpublished, a pre-published draft, or a recently published title that they are trying to get extra press for.  Sometimes I'll read a book I really like months before it comes out.  This happened with The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes.  I read and reviewed it in February, but it won't come out until June 4th in the USA.

In the past month, I have tried five books, but only finished four.  I thought I'd run through the titles in case someone who reads this blog sees something they might want to try too. 

The Yonahlosee Riding Camp for Girls by Anton DiSclafani
Publication Date: June 4, 2013 (USA)
Brief Description: A lush, sexy, evocative debut novel of family secrets and girls’-school rituals, set in the 1930s South.
My rating: 3/5 stars
What I liked: The setting (1930s Appalachia, girls camp), honest discussion of teenage sexuality, how the author keeps important details from the reader for most of the book.
Who I'd recommend it to: People who liked St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves by Karen Russell (although it has less magic and more reality).

The First Rule of Swimming by Courtney Angela Brkic
Publication Date: May 28, 2013 (USA)
Brief Description: A woman must leave her island home to search for her missing sister-and confront the haunted history of her family.
My rating: 4/5 stars
What I liked: I'm interested in stories set in the Balkans, especially those that deal with the rebuilding or immigration of families. The story revolves around a mystery that travels between a tiny island in Croatia and New York City.
Who I'd recommend it to: People who have read The Tiger's Wife by Tea Obreht, or anyone wanting to read more books set in the Balkans!

A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki
Publication Date: March 12, 2013 (USA)
Brief Description: In Tokyo, sixteen-year-old Nao has decided there’s only one escape from her aching loneliness and her classmates’ bullying. But before she ends it all, Nao first plans to document the life of her great grandmother. Across the Pacific, we meet Ruth, a novelist living on a remote island who discovers a collection of artifacts washed ashore in a Hello Kitty lunchbox.
My rating: 3/5 stars
What I liked: Another cold weather island, the recent connection to the tsunami, the intertwining stories.
Who I'd recommend it to: Someone who likes the slightly bizarre attempts of a lot of Japanese authors to infiltrate reality with touches of magic (or in this case, quantum reality).

Sea Change by S.M. Wheeler
Publication Date: June 18, 2013
Brief Description: The unhappy child of two powerful parents who despise each other, young Lilly turns to the ocean to find solace, which she finds in the form of the eloquent and intelligent sea monster Octavius, a kraken.
My rating: N/A, I stopped halfway through
Who I'd recommend it to: Anyone obsessed with the kraken, and I know you're out there.  People who enjoy fantasy novels and are looking for a different take or setting, especially those who don't mind quests and magic and spells.

Glass House 51 by John Hampell
Publication Date: March 23, 2013
Brief Description: Information on an individual can be so comprehensive, so insidiously granular and minute, that folks can become information “specimens” kept by perverse “collectors” . . . like butterflies in a virtual bottle.
My rating: 3/5 stars
What I liked: Short chapters make for a quick read, and the beginning with the introduction of the world (programmers, virtual spaces, etc) had me hooked that I read the first 300 pages keeping me up until 3 am.  Ultimately I'm not sure it paid off, but it had a strong start.
Who I'd recommend it to: People who have enjoyed Cory Doctorow's almost-fiction like Little Brother or Pirate Cinema (but I'm not going to make the comparison of 1984 that the author is hoping for).

Bookstore Review: Parnassus Books

When I was in Nashville for a conference, I made time to visit Parnassus Books, owned by author Ann Patchett.  Ann is the author of State of Wonder and Bel Canto, among others.

The store is beautiful, and I was there shortly after opening on a Thursday and it was pretty busy!  There is a small room with cookbooks and travel writing, and a carved out space for children and YA.  In front of that is a beautiful art book section, more in-depth than most bookstores.  While science fiction and fantasy are relegated to the back of the store (why do stores do this?), there is also a substantial section of music books.  When in Nashville....

The author has handwritten recommendation cards throughout the store, which was a nice touch.  A few of the cards are also written by her staff, but the majority seemed to be Patchett.  I bet this sells quite a few volumes!  There was a nice section of local authors, but my favorite feature was probably the shelves of local book club picks.  What a great idea, and a service to the community (also probably selling quite a few books.)

As someone living in the southeast, I know how few authors bother to come down to visit the readers down here.  It is really unfortunate, but clearly having a known author as a bookstore owner has made a difference at Parnassus Books, just check out this line-up:

 

Maria Semple! Isabel Allende!? Augusten Burroughs! Jess Walter! I wish I lived closer. I didn't buy a book.  I didn't buy a $15 poster of the store either.  I was in the mood to produce, not consume, so I bought an empty journal to fill up with my own words.