Runners Who Read

Ian McEwan on End-Times thinking

2008-06-05T10:22:00.000-07:00

That's what I'm reading now. Anyone else catch it? It was posted on 31 May at the Guardian UK's website, in the culture/books section. A fair primer that tries to, briefly, collect up all the various end o' life on earth movements.

Bard bags big bucks

2006-07-13T11:43:00.000-07:00

It's not at all a rarity, is riddled with margin scribbling and more printing errors and typos than your average current trade paperback, and features a portrait of the author that is believed to be more than a little dodgy. Nonetheless, a first folio of Shakespeare's plays just sold in London for 2.8 million pounds.

Why? Good question.

A Rumor of War--"then and now"

2006-06-30T10:46:00.000-07:00

Just in time for 4th of July, I reread Philip Caputo's 1977 "A Rumor of War" about his experiences as one of the first US Marine combat troops sent to Vietnam in 1965. Caputo gives his opinions and observations about his experiences, and so many of them translate into today's headlines. With exception of the jungle, the discussions, views, arguments, and opinions that come through this book could have been written in 2006 instead of 30 years before.

Caputo enters the war as a gung ho lieutenant, ready to "win the war" with one USMC company. He quickly finds out that there are no battlefields and little strategy except "kill the enemy" and "help South Vietnam defend itself against communism." He learns that this is a war of terror, of daily mine explosions, roadside bombs, and snipers. He can't figure out what he's there for, or what he's supposed to do. His company is reduced, one at a time, until rage and frustration allow the elements of humanity we keep secret to surface and there is tragedy and violence beyond the "guidelines for war."

Even in 1966, Caputo recognized that lives were being thrown away for a cause that could have no successful resolution. Caputo suggested, while still in Vietnam, that the war was unwinnable and troops should be withdrawn before more men died. Others looked at him in disbelief--"if we pulled out now, all our efforts will have been in vein." Caputo replies: "In other words, because we've already wasted a thousand lives, we should waste a few thousand more. If you really believe that crap, you should go volunteer for a rifle company and get yourself killed, because you deserve it."

Caputo departs Vietnam and the Marines and becomes a reporter for the Chicago Tribune. In 1975, he asks to return to Vietnam to cover the final days of Saigon, and is one of the last Americans to leave in the evacuation.

He has a new novel out about the efforts (or lack of efforts) in Somalia called "Acts of Faith." I look forward to reading it.

--Clothes D

I'm a Library Thing

2006-06-25T17:28:00.000-07:00

Okay, so after Nels posted the bit on Library Thing just below, I created a free account there and quickly listed 200 of my books. You can view my virtual shelf here.

I'm trying to figure out how useful/entertaining this really is before plunking down $10, which will allow me to list more than 200 books.

Doin' that library thing?

2006-06-23T10:56:00.000-07:00

Library Thing.

Explained, briefly, here. Click!

Thoughts? I think it's a neat idea, but on the other hand (paranoia here), volunteering this information...who is to say how it will be used, and who will look it over?

For those who go in for it...

2006-06-14T11:54:00.000-07:00

Here's a link to a piece on attending a reading by poets Robert Bly and Li-Young Lee (a favorite).

Click.

Friday is Bloomsday!

2006-06-14T10:11:00.000-07:00

A piece on efforts to control the Joyce estate.

My Weekly (Sony) Reader

2006-06-06T10:08:00.000-07:00

Thoughts?

Pulping the Classics

2006-05-25T09:18:00.000-07:00

At Slate today, there is a fun gallery of pulp fiction covers for lit classics. Click!

"Prepping for Love"

2006-05-15T10:02:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine is profiled in Time Magazine this week, so I'm going to be geeky for a minute and include a link to her article. It's reading related. I know I'm biased, but if you haven't read Prep already, you should. And you should definitely get her new book, as well. It's quite good, too.

The Thin Place

2006-04-21T12:32:00.000-07:00

I just finished The Thin Place by Kathryn Davis. I've never read anything else by Davis; judging from a cursory skimming of old reviews, she seems to be somewhat of a critic's darling, a cult favorite of sorts.

The title of her latest novel is a term from Celtic Christianity, used to describe a place where the physical and spiritual worlds meet. It takes place in a fictitious New England town, present day, during the spring and summer.

It is an extraordinary book. I won't say it's a complete success, because it ultimately relies on some unconvincing plot details to give it a sense of forward motion, but it is one of the most wonderfully (in the sense of "full of wonder") written novels I have ever read. The author really does create a thin place of her own in this modern American town, and makes us see the awesome variety, beauty, and terror of creation in every small detail.

The book is really a series of marvelous details and highly original observations, an ambitious attempt to weave reality and dream, fact and myth, pagan and Christian into one fabric. Sometimes this works, and sometimes it doesn't. It overreaches in places and becomes merely confusing or oqaque. And the conclusion seems forced and unconvincing, dispelling some of the novel's intricate sense of wonder. But the overall effect is unlike any other book I have ever read. There is humor here as well, and an engaging cast of small-town eccentrics.

For those who need a tightly plotted story or prose with the clarity of Hemingway, forget it. For those who simply enjoy getting drunk on words, a feast.

Finding The Unbinding?

2006-04-18T11:36:00.000-07:00

Have any of you been reading the new novel, being published serially at Slate.com, by Walter Kirn, The Unbinding? I just started reading it today, and wonder what any of you might think of it. And, if you are familiar with Walter Kirn, how does this compare to anything else he has written? And, if you have an opinion on internet-based publishing like this, what do you think.

Kafka on the Shore

2006-04-13T20:32:00.000-07:00

Soooooo. Buddha told us one of his favorite books of the year was Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami. Well, as you might imagine, that served to pique my curiosity.

I'm about two-thirds through the novel and all I can say is that this is one acid-trippin' roller-coaster of an experience! It's a great book, a tour de force of human creativity, ingenuity, philosophy, dreams and passion. Talk about lyrical phrasing! My book is festooned with high-lighted passages and dog-eared pages galore.

I don't know if Murakami's other novels are as compelling and engrossing, but I intend to find out.

By the way - Ed. Can you give me the name again of the female poet you mentioned when we were discussing Mary Oliver?

Orhan Pamuk Interviewed

2006-04-04T09:13:00.000-07:00

Some while ago, we'd discussed the work and trials of Turkish writer, Orhan Pamuk. An interview with him is posted to the Guardian.

Click!

Kite Strings (No Spoilers)

2006-03-31T21:55:00.000-08:00

I finished reading Khaled Hosseini’s Kite Runner the other day. It was a good read. I’m not going to get into any storyline specifics, in deference to those still reading, but I will mention two strings of thought this book elicited from me: insights into the Muslim world…and the war refugee/immigrant experience.

This is a timely book. I’ll confess that I never really understood life in Afghanistan, nor what happened there. Hosseini paints quite a picture. I never understood the Taliban. Now I see them as power-hungry ideologues/criminals…eerily reminiscent of Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge. I didn’t understand the dynamics and animosities between the Pushtun/Master/Sunni’s and the Hazara/Servant/Shi’a minority. I’ll confess that I was clinging to a few wisps of hope that Iraq may…somehow…embrace democracy, and bypass Afghanistan's suffering. After reading this, I can’t see how. The Muslim world both fascinates and horrifies me. I find much in their culture to admire…but, Jeezapete, they scare me! The barbarity of war fuels the barbarity in people, and our troops are standing right in the middle of bitter hatreds that go back centuries. Damn.

Then there’s this war refugee/immigrant fixation of mine that’s been growing. By coincidence, I read Kite Runner right after Middlesex. Both books describe the war refugee/immigrant experience. To that, I’ll add my own. I am the child of war refugees and I am, myself, an immigrant. What I came to see were the similarities and commonalities of our individual experiences. It really doesn’t matter what your culture, religion or roots of origin are…refugees/immigrants have a tough life. To be sure, some immigrants flourish and prosper early (it’s the American Dream, after all). Still, most don’t. Most suffer the humiliations, torments and frustrations of every refugee in history. I grew up in that world. I saw that world again in Middlesex, and once again in Kite Runner. These books dredged up a lot of memories – good and bad. Refugees suffer in a thousand ways. Is it any wonder that practically all of my close friends are children of alcoholics (refugees/immigrants)? We’ve seen suffering. We’ve experienced some of it ourselves.

Simple Pleasures

2006-03-27T18:07:00.000-08:00

So...I wander into my local Books A Million word emporium, and find Kite Runner on sale - 30% off! Ah! And...oh...lookee here! Kafka on the Shore by Murakami! I pay for my little pleasures and walk away a happy man. It doesn't take much nowadays...

(by the way...I talk to cats, too)

New "Reader's Choice" Selection for Spring 2006

2006-03-14T13:38:00.000-08:00

It's The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

Edited from the publisher's website:

"Khaled Hosseini's stunning debut novel The Kite Runner follows a young boy, Amir, as he faces the challenges that confront him on the path to manhood—testing friendships, finding love, cheating death, accepting faults, and gaining understanding, while living in Afghanistan in the 1960's. ... Khaled Hosseini was born in Kabul, Afghanistan, in 1965. The son of a diplomat, his family received political asylum in the United States in 1980. He currently lives in California where he is a physician. The Kite Runner is his first novel."

As always, feel free to post discussion questions or comments whenever you're ready. If you're giving away secrets, don't forget to put SPOILERS in the subject line of your post.

I would have been happy with any of the nominations, and I'm looking forward to this one. Enjoy.

Oh, and if you can respond to the post just below, please help -- thanks.

I'm looking for a book blog

2006-03-13T13:43:00.000-08:00

It dawned on me today that I am kind of a book junkie, and kind of not a tv/movie junkie, but that I know more about celebrities and upcoming movies than I do about anything vaguely literary. It also dawned on me that I spend an inordinate amount of time on the internet and this could easily be remedied. Can anyone suggest a good book blog? A simple google search turned up a Guardian article featuring 10 good book blogs, but I'm betting that at least one of you reads something that would satisfy me. I need to read something slightly more edifying than Gawker everyday. Do you read a book blog? What is it?

Upcoming readings

2006-02-20T18:45:00.000-08:00

I turn into a massive groupie when it comes to authors -- probably more so with authors than with musicians or actors. So imagine my delight to discover that Franz and Kurt Wisner are doing a free reading/signing at the Philadelphia Free Library next month! And imagine my delight to discover that, two weeks after them, John Banville (the author of "The Sea," this year's Booker winner) is speaking! I was jumping up and down and squealing, unable to explain to anyone why I was so excited. I. can't. wait.

Okay, send me your book nomination

2006-02-14T06:16:00.000-08:00

Well, it appears Tracy, Jon, Nels, Rich, myself (and maybe Bernice?) still show up here occasionally. Let's do this Quaker-style: if you feel moved to nominate a book, send me your selection via eb_write@yahoo.com by March 1 or before (Rich, I take it the book you mentioned in your e-mail is your nomination), and I'll post the nominations when I hear from you guys. Then we can pick one.

So, there you (we) go.

Shifting Perspectives

2006-02-01T20:06:00.000-08:00

Forgive me, but this is rather long…

I’ve been reading quite a bit (thanks to this blog). After I finished The Second Coming, I read the following in quick succession:

Franz Wisner – Honeymoon With My Brother
Peter Kramer – Against Depression
Terence Real – I Don’t Want To Talk About It
Mary Oliver – New And Selected Poems – Volume One
Mary Oliver – A Poetry Handbook
Neil Peart – Ghost Rider
Susan Isaacs – Compromising Positions
Emily Bronte – Wuthering Heights
Nick Hornby – High Fidelity
George Orwell – Nineteen Eighty-Four
Lionel Shriver – We Need to Talk About Kevin
Carol Shields – The Stone Diaries
A.S. Byatt – Possession
Anne Lamott – Bird By Bird
Anne Lamott – Blue Shoe
Jane Austen – Pride and Prejudice
Andrew Greer – The Confessions of Max Tivoli

I’ve enjoyed getting back into the reading habit. It’s been decades since I’ve read anything but technical papers and reports (and poetry…always poetry). Again, I thank all of you for inspiring me

It is 1984 that I wish to speak to (although the reading list, as a whole, is pretty good). I’d read this book about a half-dozen times before. This last read affected me deeply.

I realized how much one’s perspective changes over time. I first read 1984 in high school. I was attending an all-boy’s Catholic school (in the “Honors” class). Anyway, we read this book and argued its meanings vigorously. Oh, how we debated Nazism, Stalinism, European Socialism, Marxism, Maoism, Capitalism, etc., etc.! We knew that 1984 could never happen here in America. We were full to bursting with book smarts and testosterone. We felt our opinions had gravitas. We considered ourselves to be thoughtful intellectuals. My God, we had even begun to shave!!! Turns out we were just downy-whiskered children. We understood nothing.

I picked up this book again in my late twenties. I had been to the Soviet Union. There I met my paternal grandfather for the one and only time. You see, he had been exiled to the Russian gulag slave-labor prison system for 20 years. He spent several years in Moscow’s infamous Lefortovo prison being tortured and beaten repeatedly (he became epileptic as a result). It was in Lithuania that I heard about aunts, uncles and cousins who had starved to death in the frozen Siberian wilderness. I had people hush me on the tram when I offered an opinion about what I saw all around me. I saw the “Dollar Stores” (stores that only accepted U.S. currency…i.e., money from tourists) with shelves creaking from the ponderous mass of merchandise…and the empty bakery and butcher shops that supposedly offered goods to the average citizen. I saw long lines in front of shops. I saw abandoned churches. I saw political posters and slogans everywhere. I slept in a room where the radio played constantly…eavesdropping on my every conversation (the hotel guests and staff had warned me the rooms were bugged). I saw frustration, hopelessness and fear. My perspective had changed. George Orwell was right. He had brilliantly foreseen the motives, means and methods that would be used by those in power to stay in power. I finally understood what that meant in human terms. I had witnessed the reality of what George Orwell had foreseen.

It wasn’t politics that drew me back to this book. No, I’d had my fill of doublethink and the realities of power. I was haunted by the final vision of Winston and Julia sitting in two iron chairs with nothing to say to each other…I wanted to revisit their love story.

I’ve come to understand that George Orwell (Eric Arthur Blair, actually) saw the world with an exceptionally keen eye. He was not writing about a particular regime. He understood universal truths. He wrote that there are three kinds of people in this world: the High, the Middle and the Low. I’ve come to understand the truth of that. I look at the world, and my own United States, and I see how the struggle manifests itself. We live in a time of doublethink and Newspeak here within our very shores. Orwell understood power and control even better than Karl Rove. But Orwell wasn’t just an observant critic. He understood that, while we will always be subjected to the whims and the grotesqueries of the High’s, our human relationships are our only salvation. Our only refuge against the horrors of the world is our basic humanity. Love is our only sanctuary. I’ve come to understand what I think Orwell was trying to communicate. Only love can protect and save us. That “what mattered were individual relationships, and a completely helpless gesture, an embrace, a tear, a word spoken to a dying man, could have value in itself.”

I see now that Orwell wrote a cautionary tale. The world is harsh. Power is cruel. All we have is love. Betray love, reject love and you are surely doomed.

Postscript: I asked Buddha when we’d have another round of book nominations and selections. He expressed his dismay that this blog seems moribund. The very idea saddens me. Granted, I’m being selfish here, but I’ve enjoyed reading the selected books and the resulting commentary. Maybe Ed’s right. Maybe there is no longer any interest among the reading runners to continue this blog. The only way we’ll find out is if people speak up. So, if you’d like to continue and contribute, let your feelings be known. Post a comment or send Ed an email expressing interest. I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

All right: is this one of you?

2006-01-19T12:50:00.000-08:00

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060119/ap_on_en_ot/poe_mystery_visitor

For Ed and Jon

2006-01-13T08:58:00.000-08:00

A book on Mary Oliver, for cheap.

My favorite books for 2005

2005-12-15T12:49:00.000-08:00

Kafka On The Shore, Haruki Murakami (Knopf): The only novel on my list and my introduction to the world of Murakami, where everything seems normal on the surface at first – then he slowly, teasingly starts pulling the rug out from under you. This one is a double odyssey of a 15 year-old runaway boy and an elderly eccentric who can talk to cats, following separate but mysteriously linked paths. A fascinating, patiently constructed mind-blower that took me on a real journey. And Murakami happens to be a very credible marathoner who was recently profiled in Runner’s World. I’ll be back for more next year.

The True Dharma Eye : Zen Master Dogen's Three Hundred Koans, John Daidlo Loori and Kazukai Tanahashi (Shambhala): I just picked this up last week and already can’t imagine life without it. Three hundred classic Zen koans (riddle-stories) by the ancient Chinese Zen master Dogen, accompanied by the first-ever attempt at commentaries written for a contemporary audience, courtesy of John Loori. Do I understand everything that’s going on here? I can’t honestly say I understand any of it, but it’s all enjoyable on the surface as a sort of ancient far eastern take on Samuel Beckett, the Ming Dynasty Monty Python, a sort of ancient Asian theater of the absurd. One story a day takes me out of my normal thinking patterns, at least for a few brief moments. And who knows, eventually I might learn something.

I, Wabenzi, Rafi Zabor (Farrar, Straus and Giroux): Funny, sad, completely unsentimental memoir of Zabor’s often chaotic life as a member of an immigrant Jewish family in Brooklyn, ultimately spanning the globe and decades of history in a dizzying, raucous narrative. First of four planned volumes. You’ll definitely laugh, but the passages about Zabor caring for his dying parents are so poignant and so real that they’re almost unbearable. Yep, it’s that good.

The Barn At The End of the World, Mary Rose O’Reilley (Milkweed): Really a collection of brief reflections by a Quaker and Mahayana Buddhist, concerning her experiences working on a sheep farm and at a Zen Buddhist retreat and what she has learned on her very unique spiritual journey. A clear-eyed, tough-minded spiritual work, elegantly understated and without an ounce of mushy religious sermonizing.

New and Selected Poems, Vols. 1 & 2, Mary Oliver (Beacon): On the surface it could be called nature poetry, but what Mary Oliver’s work is really about (to me) is the joy to be had , and the insight to be gained, in just being aware of the world around you. Well-crafted and often deceptively easy to follow meditations on the more intimate corners of our world. No other poet I’ve ever read better conveys the wonder of simple mindfulness better than her. An Oliver poem has often started my day this year, and I’m always glad for it.

Please share your favorites if you have the time.

Talking About Eva

2005-11-26T16:50:00.000-08:00

I finished reading We Need To Talk About Kevin several days ago. It truly was a compelling read, and I could probably riff on any number of aspects of this story for days on end…but I’ll spare everyone my prattle.

My views on this story were heavily influenced by an engrossing panel discussion I saw many months ago on the subject of sociopathy/psychopathy. According to the panel experts, approximately 3% of all human beings are born sociopathic - regardless of race, culture, gender or economic status. It’s a chilling thought. A sociopath/psychopath is defined as an individual inherently lacking empathy. A sociopath is concerned only with his/her well-being. Other people are, in essence, merely “things.” As the experts explained, we tend to focus on sexual sadists or serial killers. In truth, sociopathy may manifest itself in many ways, depending upon a multitude of factors such as intelligence, sexual proclivities, aspirations, what have you. Yes, sociopaths may become serial killers. They may also become grifters or thieves, preying on others with no regard for the consequences to the victims. They may become corporate executives who could care less if thousands lose their pensions or life savings. They may become mass murderers. Regardless of the ultimate manifestation, the common element is that the sociopath has no regard for anyone else’s feelings. They are truly self-centered and cold-hearted.

Did you know that the U.S. Army conducted studies of soldiers’ behavior and discovered that only 3% of troops actually aim to kill? Yep, it’s true. That’s why troops are issued automatic weapons…no aiming necessary.

I believe I’ve met several sociopaths. One was my cousin’s friend. I grew up with him and he was coldly malevolent. He didn’t rage. He simply didn’t care about anyone. He led the life of a petty criminal until a girlfriend left him. He showed his displeasure by torching the garage to her home. After he was released from prison he emphasized his opprobrium by killing her and her parents. I’ve met executives who were chillingly amoral/immoral.

I saw Kevin as a classic sociopath.

I was rather surprised by the commentary other RWR’s offered about the narrator. The comments gave me great pause. I hesitate to disagree with the likes of Michele, Paula or Bernice because I consider their judgments superior to mine, but I came away with a diametrically opposite view of Eva Khatchadourian. After first reading about the “loathsome narrator” her “relentless negativity and her obsessive fault-finding” that “she took the guilt and blame rather nonchalantly” and is someone “who acts in a selfish, self-aggrandizing and incredibly shallow way…” I expected to dislike Eva immensely. I hesitate to write this, but I really liked Eva. In fact, she is the type of person I am drawn towards as a lover or a friend.

I saw Eva as an intelligent, introspective, independent, curious, strong, entrepreneurial, inquisitive, loving, passionate and sensitive human being. I felt great empathy and sympathy for her. She lived an admirable life. She wanted to experience the richness that life offers. She was strong enough to travel the world on her own, create a successful business, live a culturally rich life, love passionately and steadfastly. She took her responsibilities as a parent seriously. She did what she could to connect with Kevin. She was a loving mother to Celia. She was a loving wife. She accepted the consequences and suffered with dignity.

Although I drive an “SRO” I found myself in substantial agreement with Eva’s observations about our culture. Sure, the narrative was unrelenting as Eva struggled to understand and cope with the realities of her existence. How could it be not, given all that she experienced?

It was Franklin who got under my skin. His myopia regarding Kevin’s true nature certainly had consequences. He was dismissive regarding Eva’s intuitions/beliefs. He deserved the sobriquet “Mr. Plastic.” He preferred that soul-less glass and teak house instead of Eva’s longed-for funky Victorian. He was detached from reality. I did not see him as a truly loving father. He did not know his own son, nor love his daughter as Eva did. He failed to respect Eva’s concerns. He failed Eva.

One last note. I was not surprised by the ending. I had guessed the outcome by the third letter, and was absolutely certain about what was coming halfway through the book. There was a bit of artifice in the narrative but it was minor. I could explain why I concluded what I did, but that would constitute a spoiler of sorts, so I’ll be mum.

Any thoughts?

Elephant

2005-10-19T16:37:00.000-07:00

I have not yet picked up Lionel Shriver's We Need to Talk About Kevin. I should get to it in a week or two. However, I just finished watching Gus Van Sant's film "Elephant." I urge everyone to see it. I'm still trying to process what I saw, what it meant, and how it made me feel. It's truly a unique film. I suspect it could serve as a companion piece to Shriver's book. It left me drained.

Book report: E. L. Doctorow's "The March"

2005-10-18T06:59:00.000-07:00

I just finished The March and found it to be one of the better novels about the American Civil War I've ever read. It's easy for writers to get caught up in melodrama and sentimentality when writing about the Civil War, but Doctorow manages to avoid a lot of the traps (although not all of them).

Basically the novel is about Sherman's march to the sea as seen through the eyes of various soldiers and citizens on both sides, and the devastation and havoc left in his army's wake. Since I have no authentic war experiences, I can't say first-hand whether the book is realistic or not. But a lot of it does sound like reports from the Iraq War -- what happens when conventional government collapses and its citizens are forced to rely on a conquering military for survival. Since the military's goals are often in direct conflict with the goals of the average civilian, the results are often tragic. But The March doesn't read like a tragedy -- it's more about the capacity of humans to cope with the end of life as they know it, and make their way in a dangerous new world. Ultimately, it's a hopeful book.

The lives of the various characters often intersect and intertwine, creating much of the novel's plot and momentum. Sherman himself is a major character, and an interesting one. The book only occasionally takes a wrong turn, and for me the ending is unfortunately one of those wrong turns -- it seems a bit too neat and bright, given all that preceded it. In fact, I'd say the ending keeps the book in the realm of the good and not the great. But the journey to the final page is very involving.

Reccomended, even to those who don't normally read historical fiction. Maybe this will eventually be considered a minor novel in Doctorow's canon, but it's an involving and quick read and parts of it will stay with you.

-- Ed

Looks like we need to talk about Kevin ...

2005-10-03T12:10:00.000-07:00

... because We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver was the winner for the 4th Quarter 2005 Reader's Choice by the hair of a wart on the end of a nose. We'll read it this quarter and e-discuss here; please post any impressions you have with the usual SPOILERS alert.

Thanks to all who nominated and voted!

Reader's Choice Nominations, 4th Quarter 2005

2005-09-28T07:16:00.000-07:00

Below are the Reader’s Choice Nominations for 4th quarter – thanks to all who submitted nominations. As you can see, a couple of the nominations are repeats from 3rd quarter. (Apparently you can’t keep a good book down!) It’s a small but nicely varied selection and it appears any of the nominations could generate some interesting e-discussion.

E-mail me with your two choices for 4th quarter reading (eb_write@yahoo.com) by Monday, October 3. I’ll post the top vote-getter soon after that.

-- Ed

Lunar Park, Brett Easton Ellis
Indecision, Benjamin Kunkel
We Need to Talk About Kevin, Lionel Shriver
The Kitchen Boy, Robert Alexander
The Quiet American, Graham Greene

Southern writers

2005-09-26T10:40:00.000-07:00

Going back to this post, here's an excerpt from an essay by Flannery O'Connor.

And here's a link from Slate.com regarding Faulkner via Oprah's book club.

Finally, it's Banned Books Week. Be rebellious - let your kids read something someone doesn't want them to read.

What Should I Read Next?

2005-09-22T05:44:00.000-07:00

Lifehacker.com had a link yesterday to a website called "What Should I Read Next?" (creatively found on the internets at www.whatshouldireadnext.com). You give it the author and the title of the book that you're reading, and it gives you recommendations which other readers have made. When I plugged in the book I'm currently reading, The Time Traveler's Wife, it gave me a list of 10. 7 of these I've already read, and a few of them seem like gimmes (the DaVinci Code? wonder how many lists that's on). When I asked it for more recommendations, it gave me a new list of 10 of which I've only read one -- although several of them have been on my someday-reading list. Allegedly if you register the suggestions are more accurate.

Annoying housekeeping post

2005-09-20T07:36:00.000-07:00

I've turned on the Verification function in "Comments" to filter out the spamola, per Nels' suggestion. Hope you don't mind too much.

As you were.

Advice for the current president from a famed New Orleanian

2005-09-20T07:08:00.000-07:00

For fans of John Kennedy Toole and his master creation.

Time for a new Reader's Choice!

2005-09-19T08:47:00.000-07:00

Well -- from what I gather here and off-piste, The Second Coming wasn't probably the most successful first choice for a readers' group. Thanks to those who tried and didn't care for it, as well as those who tried and did.

Anyway, it's time to pick our Reader's Choice for fourth quarter 2005 -- send your two nominations to eb_write@yahoo.com by 9/27. If the nominations were previously noiminated by you or someone else, that's okay. In fact, I'm thinking strongly about nominating one of the previous runners-up because it sounds really interesting.

Attention: Nerds

2005-09-15T08:33:00.000-07:00

Verbatim, a journal on words, has a new online home, and you can read articles from past issues.

Man Booker Prize

2005-09-15T07:43:00.000-07:00

The shortlist was announced for the Booker Prize...

For some reason, blogger isn't allowing me to hyperlink, so here's the url: http://www.themanbookerprize.com/pressoffice/release.php?r=13

I'm pretty geeky about the Booker Prize; I'm not sure why. I'll pay attention to the American awards but not with anything near to the zeal I have for the Booker. I try to read the whole shortlist every year.

It's weird to me how it can sometimes be pretty difficult to get the books here in the states. I had to buy Vernon God Little in Canada a few years ago because it was so hard to find in the states -- even after it had won. (Maybe because it was terrible and offensive to Americans.) (Satire, I know, I just didn't care for it at all.) Similarly last year's winner, The Line of Beauty, was out in paperback in Egypt as it was coming out in hardcover in the states. Weird!

Orhan Pamuk

2005-09-13T12:11:00.000-07:00

I don't know whether or not any of you read about this, but Orhan Pamuk, a Turkish novelist we discussed a bit some months ago, is facing trial in Turkey. The below material is taken from International PEN.

last updated
2 September 2005: Turkey: Author Orhan Pamuk to Face trial

Update to RAN 11/05

International PEN greets with shock the news that the world-famous Turkish writer, Orhan Pamuk, will be brought before an Istanbul court on 16 December and that he faces up to three years in prison for a comment published in a Swiss newspaper earlier this year.

The charges stem from an interview given by Orhan Pamuk to the Swiss newspaper Tages Anzeiger on 6 February 2005 in which he is quoted as saying that “thirty thousand Kurds and a million Armenians were killed in these lands and nobody but me dares to talk about it”. Pamuk was referring to the killings by Ottoman Empire forces of thousands of Armenians in 1915-1917.Turkey does not contest the deaths, but denies that it could be called a “genocide”. His reference to “30,000” Kurdish deaths refers to those killed since 1984 in the conflict between Turkish forces and Kurdish separatists. Debate on these issues have been stifled by stringent laws, some leading to lengthy lawsuits, fines and in some cases prison terms.

Article 301/1 of the Turkish Penal Code under which Orhan Pamuk will be tried is a case in point. PEN sees it extraordinary that a state that has ratified both the United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the European Convention on Human Rights, both of which see freedom of expression as central, should have a Penal Code that includes a clause that is so clearly contrary to these very same principles. To quote
Article 301/1: A person who explicitly insults being a Turk, the Republic or Turkish Grand National Assembly, shall be imposed to a penalty of imprisonment for a term of six months to three years. To compound matters, Article 301/3 states Where insulting being a Turk is committed by a Turkish citizen in a foreign country, the penalty to be imposed shall be increased by one third. So, if Pamuk is found guilty, he faces an additional penalty for having made the statement abroad.

Joanne Leedom Ackerman, International Secretary of International PEN states that “International PEN is deeply concerned by the efforts of the public prosecutor to punish and therefore curb the free expression of Orhan Pamuk, not only in Turkey, but abroad”. She adds that “It is a disturbing development when an official of the government brings criminal charges against a writer for a statement made in another country, a country where freedom of expression is allowed and protected by law”.

The trial against Orhan Pamuk is likely to follow the pattern of those against other writers, journalists and publishers similarly prosecuted. Karin Clark, Chair of PEN’s Writers in Prison Committee points out that “PEN has for years been campaigning for an end to Turkish courts trying and imprisoning writers, journalists and publishers under laws that clearly breach international standards to the Turkish government itself has pledged commitment.” Although the numbers of convictions and prison sentences under laws that penalise free speech has declined in the past decade, PEN currently has on its records over 50 writers, journalists and publishers before the courts. This is despite a series of amendments to the Penal Code in recent years which were aimed at meeting demands for human rights improvements as a condition for opening talks into Turkey’s application for membership of the European Union. The most recent changes were enacted in June this year. Journalists in Turkey have staged protests against the fact that there remain considerable problems in the revised Penal Code. In April International PEN joined its the International Publisher’s Association in a statement to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights which described the newly revised Penal Code as “deeply flawed”.

Orhan Pamuk is one of Turkey’s most well known authors, whose works have been published world wide in over 20 languages. In 2003 he won the International IMPAC award for My Name is Red. His 2004 novel Snow has met with similar acclaim. His most recent book, Istanbul, is a personal history of his native city.

In early 2005, news of the interview for which Pamuk will stand trial led to protests and reports that copies of his books were burned. He also suffered death threats from extremists. PEN members world-wide then called on the Turkish government to condemn these attacks.

Recommended Actions:
Please send appeals:

- Expressing concern that Orhan Pamuk is to tried for a statement made in an interview for an overseas publication;
- Pointing out that this is in direct contravention of the United Nations Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the European Convention on Human Rights, to which the Turkish government is a signatory;
- Therefore protesting the decision to bring Orhan Pamuk to trial.

Prime Minister Racep Tayyip Erdogan
TC Easbaskanlik
Ankara
Turkey
Fax: +90 312 417 0476

Cemil Cicek
Minister of Justice
TC Adalet Bakanligi
Ankara
Turkey
Fax: + 90 312 417 3954

Similar appeals should be sent to the Turkish Embassy in your own country.

I'm with Len...

2005-09-01T06:30:00.000-07:00

I've been try try trying to read this. I've made it chapter three and were it not for the peer pressure I would have quit reading on page 8. So far I find his writing style and turns of phrase both awkward and redundant. The narrative seems disjointed and I have little desire to know more about any of these characters. It seems that I find myself reading about the same things over and over. For the love! I've got it, something is up and his golf swing is symbolic of it, lets move on...

I'm going to keep reading, but only because everyone seems to have enjoyed it. I'm still waiting for that part.

Kim

More Thoughts and Spoilers

2005-08-27T12:07:00.000-07:00

This RWR blog is rapidly becoming a fascinating experience (you would not believe how many books I’ve been inspired to read lately). I had already posted a few thoughts on The Second Coming when Ed offered his insights, and then Bernice and Michele offered theirs. Several comments touched on religious symbolism. Your thoughtful commentary led me to ponder the novel anew, but from a theological perspective this time.

In perusing some of the study materials, I learned that Percy focuses on two primary themes: marriage and faith. He certainly does, but from an outside-in perspective. He is searching for essential truths.

Bernice is absolutely correct when she says: “Walker Percy is so good at having his characters describe a world they want no part of.” Percy offers a rather melancholy view of marriage, doesn’t he? Certainly the unions of the Vaughts and the Barretts seemed emotionally barren. Will didn’t even attend his own daughter’s wedding. But Percy is slowly digging deeper – far past the daily realities/trials of married life.

Percy offers a rather jaundiced view of religious expression as well. Jack Curl, Will’s daughter and his deceased wife are portrayed as ostensibly spiritual yet, somehow, spiritless. Will summarizes the state of affairs this way: “…there are only two classes of people, the believers and the unbelievers. The only difficulty is deciding which is the more feckless.” So…what does Will do? He descends into the cave (darkness) to find proof of God. What happens? He crashes into the greenhouse (Eden), and into the arms of Allie. Will finds love.

Percy ends his novel with this:

“Will Barrett thought about Allie…His heart leapt with a secret joy. What is it I want from her…not only want but must have? Is she a gift and therefore a sign of a giver? Could it be that the Lord is here, masquerading behind this simple silly holy face? Am I crazy to want both, her and Him? No, not want, must have. And will have.”

I think what Walker Percy is saying (and he may, in fact, be correct) is that love truly IS a gift from God. That it is only through love that we may come to experience and know sublime divinity. God may not necessarily be present in our institutions, credos, mores, ceremonies and rituals despite, even, our good intentions or noble efforts. God is experienced only through love…however one may find it.

Spiritual seeking and The Second Coming: some random first notes (SPOILERS)

2005-08-09T13:29:00.000-07:00

Walker Percy is a pretty darned good writer, isn’t he? Looking at The Second Coming strictly from the perspective of style and craftsmanship, I was struck again and again by his unique voice, that peculiar blend of sentimentality and cynicism – a man who is disgusted by much of what he sees in the world but ultimately can’t help but find meaning and hope in it. He has a poet’s sensibility, and it serves him well. I especially thought Allison’s dialogue was amusing, original, and fit the character perfectly. In fact, I think one of Percy’s strengths is revealing character through dialogue.

Some things I didn’t care for. I felt the novel’s structure was somewhat contrived and flawed … important events such as Will and Allison’s meeting (where he literally “falls at her feet”), and Allison turning out to be the daughter of Kitty Vaught, simply seemed too coincidental to take seriously. And Allison seemed to disappear from the narrative for too long a stretch of time. Plus, Will’s frequent “comic bafflement” when confronted by others got on my nerves a bit, and he seemed a little too passive for me -- although I suppose this was understandable given his mental problems. But I felt he was pushed, pulled, or (literally) fell into situations, rather than making the decisions himself – a bit of a puppet for the protagonist of a novel.

I’ll be interested in hearing what the humanists/atheists/agnostics among us made of this book. Percy is a strongly Christian writer of Roman Catholic faith, and yet he frequently satirizes what he seems to see as the materialism of organized Christianity. A case in point is Jack Curl, the Episcopal priest (the monk and writer Thomas Merton had it in for Episcopalians, too) who is one of the most irreligious characters in the entire novel. Also, it seems the “Church,” as symbolized by Jack Curl and others, is much more interested and more comfortable talking about money and what to build with it than they are about discussing Will’s admittedly difficult (if not downright strange at times!) questions about God. Or perhaps it’s the worst aspects of the mainstream Protestant church Percy is satirizing, a sort of lazy or easy Christianity that really doesn't require much of us except a little spare cash.

I picked up from somewhere the idea that Allison’s greenhouse is sort of a Garden of Eden in miniature, an earthly paradise safe from the lust and greed (the golf course and country club where Will plays golf with his cronies) that surrounds it. That might make Will the New Adam and Allison The New Eve, building a new and purer world in the midst of the old, flawed one. I think it’s an interesting idea, at least.

I thought it interesting that Allison’s frequent response “I can hoist,” which she uses to describe what she does, literally means lifting something up … in the spiritual sense, she certainly “lifts up” Will from the world he’s mired in.

Lastly, I think it’s worth mentioning that Percy’s father committed suicide and he mother died when he was very young.

A novel about spiritual seeking, masquerading as an eccentric romantic comedy – I enjoyed it with a few reservations, mostly concerning how events seemed forced along at times.

That’s enough rambling from me for now – please feel free to comment, agree, challenge, add, etc.

Where I'm Calling Linking From

2005-08-09T12:01:00.000-07:00

Apropos nothing, a fun piece for those who've been taken into the short stories of Raymond Carver.

Mary Oliver!!!

2005-08-02T12:59:00.000-07:00

Catholic nuns impressed upon me, at a very early age, that it was a desecration (bordering on mortal sin) to dog-ear the pages of a book. In my innocent youth I strove to respect every book I touched. Miscreant that I am, however, I eventually succumbed to dog-earing the pages of poetry books. I wanted to find my favorite poems as quickly as possible. Hence…despite chronic guilt…I filled my shelves with tomes of poems, ragged but glorious in their defilement.

And so it was when I picked up Mary Oliver’s New and Selected Poems – Volume One. Each page ended bent and frayed. Dog-eared page after dog-eared page, I found myself transported to a profoundly beautiful world of owls, hummingbirds, swamps, forests, daisies, sunflowers, ravens, deer and herons. Mary Oliver renders the ordinary extraordinary and finds deeper truths in the living world surrounding us. I found her poems so captivating that I realized, about halfway through this book, that I had dog-eared every page. There was simply no need to mark all the pages. Each poem was a joy, a gift, a revelation. Yes, she is THAT good. She truly deserves her Pulitzer Prize for Poetry and National Book Award. This book is, without a doubt, my favorite poetry collection of all time (sorry Pablo and May…).

For those of you who have yet to experience the wisdom and innate goodness of Mary Oliver, here are a few morsels:

“…and I think of each life as a flower, as common
as a field daisy, and as singular,
and each name a comfortable music in the mouth,
tending, as all music does, toward silence,
and each body a lion of courage, and something precious to the earth.

When it’s over, I want to say: all my life
I was a bride married to amazement.
I was the bridegroom, taking the world into my arms…”

“…for it’s true, isn’t it,
in our world,
that the petals pooled with nectar, and the polished thorns
are a single thing –
that even the purest light, lacking the robe of darkness,
would be without expression –
that love itself, without its pain, would be
no more than a shruggable comfort…”

“…where the hummingbird comes
like a small green angel, to soak
his dark tongue in happiness –“

“When I woke
the morning light was just slipping
in front of the stars,
and I was covered
with blossoms…”

“Look, I want to love this world
as though it’s the last chance I’m ever going to get
to be alive
and know it.”

“In every heart there is a coward and a procrastinator.
In every heart there is a god of flowers, just waiting
to come out of its cloud and lift its wings.”

“…you must be able
to do three things:
to love what is mortal:
to hold it
against your bones knowing
your own life depends on it;
and, when the time comes to let it go,
to let it go.”

“Like Magellan, let us find our islands
To die in, far from home, from anywhere
Familiar. Let us risk the wildest places,
Lest we go down in comfort, and despair.”

“Because we lived our several lives
Caught up within the spells of love,
Because we always had to run
Through the enormous yards of day
To do all that we hoped to do,
We did not hear, beneath our lives,
The old walls falling out of true,
Foundations shifting in the dark.”

“…and there was a new voice
which you slowly
recognized as your own,
that kept you company
as you strode deeper and deeper
into the world,
determined to do
the only thing that you could do –
determined to save
the only life you could save.”

Study guide for The Second Coming available

2005-07-28T13:25:00.000-07:00

A summary and study guide for The Second Coming is available here.

I've never used Bookrags, so I can't vouch for the quality of their materials -- but if you're really interested in getting another perspective on the book, it might be worth gambling $5.99 (good for access to The Second Coming summary/study guide only for one year, I think). I intend to give it a shot ...

I'm nearly through with the novel and have enjoyed it -- not without its wickedly satirical side, but also very warm and human. Eccentric and memorable characters, major and minor. Once I finish, I'll post more (with spoiler warnings!) -- and I hope you will, too.

A good Walker Percy research portal

2005-07-22T07:37:00.000-07:00

Jonas' thoughtful posts on his early impressions of Walker Percy and The Second Coming inspired me to find a decent Walker Percy resource on the Internet. This one seems a good place to start, although like many academic websites it's organized somewhat oddly. (Oh, those academics -- eh, Paula?) And a quick Google search on "Second Coming Percy" yields a lot of tidbits, some useful and others not.

If you find any other potentially useful links, please post them!

Philosophication

2005-07-21T21:06:00.000-07:00

Serendipitous convergences can charm, bemuse or astound. I was struck by the timeliness of having The Second Coming come to me at a time when I’ve been pondering Heidegger.

Trust me, I don’t ruminate about philosophies very often (why, oh why, must philosophers be so pedantically obtuse?). I read Heidegger’s Time and Being more than 30 years ago for a college class. God, what a dense, arduous read! I read the book, hated it, answered the essay questions on the final exam, passed, and immediately jettisoned Heidegger’s work from my consciousness. That is, until a month or two ago. I’ve been haunted by Heidegger ever since. Funny how lectures heard in youth are sometimes only understood in old age.

Frankly, I don’t remember all that much from Time and Being. I hesitate to summarize the teachings of the “father of existentialism.” I do remember this: Heidegger concluded that we must encounter the world/reality/life twice. The first time we confront reality we are made anxious (are filled with “angst”). We suffer and retreat. It then falls to us, if we are to be truly “authentic” beings, to confront life again. It falls to us to discern our heart’s desire and then strive to satisfy that desire with courage and determination…a “second coming” if you will. It is then, and only then, that we become whole, engaged and authentic. Come to think of it, wasn’t that the moral of the movie “City Slickers”…discover the “one true thing” and be happy?

Anyway, here I am, heart, mind and soul haunted by Heidegger, and along come Will and Allie: two beings, filled with angst, suffering death in life, trying to find what it is they wanted. Thanks, Nels, for recommending this book. Thanks to all of you who voted for it. It packed a huge emotional wallop for me…this serendipitous convergence.

I have now taken to pondering what happens if you find your heart’s desire and, despite all the courage and determination you can muster, you realize you will never be able to satisfy that desire? What then? What then, Martin Heidegger, what then? Sigh. If anyone can recommend a book or two addressing that theme, pass it along.

Incidentally, I just finished reading I Don’t Want To Talk About It by Terence Neal. The book deals with male depression. What I found most interesting were the author’s observations about the way we raise our children, the subtle gender differences we express and reinforce…and their consequences. Lots of food for thought.

Happy B-Day Ernie

2005-07-21T12:28:00.000-07:00

Ernest Hemingway's birthday is today. Frankly, although I think I at least generally understand the reasons for his importance, I personally haven't ever felt compelled to spend a lot of time with most of what he wrote -- although one of my favorite books is undoubtedly A Moveable Feast, his short, sweet memoir of life as a starving writer in Paris during the 1920s. There is a passage from that book where he describes being very hungry and eating a meal of beer and potatatoes in a Paris cafe, a passage so vivid and delicious in its simple description that reading it always makes me want to immediately drink a cold beer and eat a few potatoes myself.

"The way to start writing fiction is to sit down and write the truest sentence you know," someone (I forget who) advised Hemingway during his time in Paris, and at his very best he always did just that. At his very best, it was more than enough. Happy birthday, and pass the beer and potatoes.

Reading books that are... less than classics

2005-07-14T16:35:00.000-07:00

We've all admitted some pretty lofty reading habits, naming books that are well written and well regarded. I'm wondering, though, about the other side of reading. The side that comes out in mass-market paperback with no hardcover edition. The side that isn't reviewed by the New York Times.

Maybe I'm taking a mental break since I feel like I'm on summer vacation, but my reading choices lately have been of the less-than-lofty variety. Ranging from the slightly tawdry (Alexandra Robbins' Pledged, an expose about sororities), to the slightly tawdrier (Plum Sykes' Bergdorf Blondes), to the downright no-holds barred just plain tawdry (Jessica Cutler's The Washingtonienne*). Right now I'm beginning Nedjma's The Almond, which I really really hope is tawdry.

My reading habits are usually very snobby. I don't like mysteries and I avoid romance novels. That said, I have to confess that I enjoy some good chick lit from time to time. I resent the formulaic, no woman is complete unless she's engaged to be married to a perfect man plots. I can't relate to it at all. Yet I eat it up. I try to intersperse my heavy reading with some light reading, although it usually ends up being like 2 to 1 in favor of the light reading. I think it's something in my head about keeping my numbers up: I can feel like I've read a book a week or so if most of those books are remarkably quick.

What are your reading habits? Poetry for some, nonfiction for others. But what about the, um, lesser well-written tomes?

* The Washingtonienne did receive a favorable review from the New York Times.

The Dark Side of Poetry Addiction

2005-07-09T14:12:00.000-07:00

I used to be a fast reader. Ever since grammar school, I would read a book per day, sometimes two. And so it was for thirty years or so.

Approximately fifteen years ago I began to read poetry almost exclusively. Poetry ineluctably changed me. Instead of dashing through dramas and tales and biographies and comedies and histories…I would explore a poem or two. Time stands still when I do that. Each poem has its own rhythm, its singular magic. Sometimes a verse, sometimes just a deft or breathtaking combination of words, sometimes the work as a piece transports me to feelings, thoughts or experiences echoing deep inside. More often than not, I gain insight into the human condition. I may savor a poem for days on end…rolling it about inside my heart, experiencing it, and pondering the meaning of it all. There are sacred poems, and individual lines of poetry, that remain with me always, as if some potent Buddhist koans created to enlighten or inspire me. I have become a slow, slow, slow reader.

Anyway, this pace of mine manifested itself as I read The Second Coming. I give Walker Percy a lot of credit for making it a “poetic” experience. I have my thoughts (quite a few, actually) about the story as a whole, but for now I just wanted to share a few of the words that stopped me in my tracks for one reason or another, made me pause and think and feel. Now, I know poetry is very much a personal thing. We have our unique velocities and perspectives. These words may not resonate with you, but I found them intriguing, beautiful, insightful and meaningful:

“A fit by chance is romance…”
“After you make a living, then what do you do? How do you live?”
“My mother refused to let me fail. So I insisted.”
“Even sitting still she shimmered.”
“…was that her real sickness, that she was embarrassed for everybody?”
“I was somewhat suspended above me, but I am getting down to me.”
“Is it possible to stand next to a stranger at a bus stop and know that he is a friend?”
“Voices can be understood without words.”
“Is it possible for people to miss their lives in the same way one misses a plane?
“They looked at each other curiously and wondered how they could have missed each other, lived in the same house all those years and passed in the halls like ghosts.”
“What is the word for a state which is not life and not death, a death in life?”
“When you leave a house for the last time and take one last look around before closing the door, it is as if you were seeing the house again for the first time. What happened to the five thousand times in between?”
“There is a space in him where a space shouldn’t be, where parts were not glued together.”
“He married her because he pleased her so much. It is not a small thing to be able to make someone happy so easily.”
“Why was not goodness enough for marriage?”
“Haven’t you troubled yourself and fretted needlessly over the years? Did you ever really know your times and seasons? Were you ever really a splendid tiger burning in the forests of the night?”
“Some people use their looks to impale.”
“Are people necessary? Without people there are no tunneling looks. Brooks don’t look and dogs look away. But late afternoon needs another person.”
“A home is a place, any place, any building, where one sinks into one’s self and finds company waiting.”
“…the trick lay in leading the most ordinary life imagineable, in itself a joy in its very ordinariness, and then be as extraordinary or ordinary as one pleased. That was the secret.”
“…he didn’t bother to listen, or rather he listened not to your words but your music.”
“How good life must be once you got the hang of it…”
“Now she knew what she did not want: not being with him. I do not want him not being here.”
“Then why is it that I live this life as if it were a dream and as if any minute I might wake up and find myself in my real life?”
“Was he saying the words for the words themselves, for what they meant, or for what they could do to her? …Though he hardly touched her, his words seemed to flow across all parts of her body. Were they meant to? A pleasure she had never known before bloomed deep in her body. Was this a way of making love?”
“Facets of glass flashed blue and white. It was like living inside a diamond.”
“Death in this century is not the death people die but the death people live. Men love death because real death is better than the living death.”
“What happened to marriage and family that it should have become a travail and a sadness, marriage till death do us part yes but long dead before the parting…”
“She can only live if every day is Christmas morning. But she doesn’t know how to live from one Christmas to the next.”
“Again the past rose to haunt him and the future rose to beckon him. Things took on significance.”
“Do you feel a smiling ease with me as well as a sweetness for me in the deep regions?”
“Now I know what it is I wanted. Before I only wanted.”

Well, anyway…that Walker Percy is pretty damn good.

By the by…I get the feeling that Heidegger would have befriended Will Barrett.

Clearing the Decks ...

2005-07-06T07:19:00.000-07:00

… so I can read the RWR Reader’s Choice(s). I recently finished Marguerite Yourcenar’s Memoirs of Hadrian, an elegantly poetic and richly detailed fictional memoir of the Roman emperor, one of the best and most unusual historical novels I’ve ever read. Stacey Schiff’s A Great Improvisation is a fascinating look at Benjamin Franklin and his efforts in France to secure and keep a French alliance with America during the Revolution, with lots of political intrigue, espionage, secret missions, infighting and character assassination among the American commissioners and Franklin, and a dash of sex to spice things up. I learned a lot from this one and enjoyed it thoroughly. The Raft Is Not the Shore is a record of an actual series of engaging, thoughtful conversations between a Jesuit priest (Daniel Berrigan) and a Buddhist monk (Thich Nhat Hanh) in the 1960s. It’s centered on the tragedy of the Vietnam War that both were living through at the time but filled with timeless wisdom and understanding, both spiritual and secular. Mary Oliver’s New and Selected Poems, Volume One is a rich collection by one of our best contemporary American poets, focused largely on the natural world – expertly crafted, burning with quiet intensity and subtle depth. Her work stays with you long after you’ve finished reading. I have fallen in love with this woman and can hardly wait for Volume Two to be published this fall. Last but not least, Volume 3 (1955-1956) of The Complete Peanuts. It’s amazing how quickly Charles Schulz “found” the personalities of Charlie Brown, Linus, Lucy, et. al., and also revealing to realize how the best of his work often dealt with the darker side of suffering and pathos. Yet he was also one of the best pure sight gag/slapstick cartoonists in history. Hats off to Fantagraphics for their commitment to this ambitious and long-awaited project.

Now, on to The Second Coming -- just in time for our annual trip to Boulder. It’s turning into a good reading summer …

RWR Reader's Choice Selection(s!), July-September 2005

2005-06-29T07:18:00.000-07:00

Wow! While Honeymoon With My Brother shot out of the gate and looked to be the easy eventual winner, it faded a bit in the stretch … battling with the steadily gaining The Second Coming, which started slowly but pipped Honeymoon at the post in the final flurry of votes. Close on their heels were Mrs. Caliban and We Need to Talk about Kevin, with Angels and Demons and Lamb: The Story of Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal trailing just behind. Most of the other nominated books received at least one vote.

Thanks for all of your nominations; I know I’m personally interested in taking a look at The Namesake, Mrs. Caliban, and Lamb, even though they didn’t “win.” And thanks for voting – more than 80% of our mailing list was represented.

The Second Coming and Honeymoon With My Brother finished very close to each other, and both appear to be very different books – one a breezier, enjoyable summer read (Honeymoon); the other just as enjoyable, but perhaps deeper and more reflective. So, here’s the deal: give our official Reader’s Choice, The Second Coming, a try … and if you either find you don’t like it at all or enjoy it and finish it fairly quickly, go for Honeymoon With My Brother as a double dip. We’ll discuss both right here. Honeymoon does not appear to be available in paperback yet, but perhaps your local library has scored a copy -- or Amazon currently has the hardback for a pretty good discount.

Discussion Guidelines

1. You can post your comments, observations, ruminations, philosophications, or questions whenever you’re ready. Links to good online sources of related discussion material are highly encouraged.

2. If your post or post comment includes plot spoilers, please please oh please indicate it by typing (Spoilers) in the subject line or at the beginning of your comment.

We’ll nominate our selection for October-December 05 sometime in late September, soon after Dances With Dirt.

Ready, set – read!

RWR Reader's Choice: We Have a Winner(s)!

2005-06-24T15:58:00.000-07:00

Whoa! If voting for a book selection could ever be said to be exciting, this one definitely qualified. What looked like a sure thing just bolted out of the starting gate, but then started to fade a bit in the stretch ... and a real dark horse that didn't figure at all in the early voting slowly gained momentum until, in the final flurry of votes, it just beat the early leader by a nose. Nearly every book received at least one vote, and over 80% of you voted. Thank you!

Since the winner is so different from the runner-up, and since both books did so well in the voting, one will serve at the official RWR Reader's Choice -- and the other as a bonus/alternate selection should you have time and inclination, or should you find the Reader's Choice completely not your thing at all.

I shall reveal all when I return next Wednesday ... a tease, that's what I am. Happy weekend to everyone.

Writers read, too.

2005-06-21T14:43:00.000-07:00

Famous authors discuss what they're currently reading right here.

From Sligo to Dublin

2005-06-16T07:28:00.000-07:00

Happy Bloomsday, running readers.

Slouching towards Bethlehem

2005-06-13T09:59:00.000-07:00

W. B. Yeats' birthday today. His early work is some of the most effortless-sounding lyric poetry ever produced; it's like he just pulled it out of the air, as natural as the weather. And the remarkable thing was that he could have kept spinning out that wonderful Irish folk stuff for the rest of his life and his place in history would have been assured, but his later work simply left earth's orbit and was absolutely fearless. I don't know of many poems the equal of "Sailing to Byzantium," "The Second Coming," "Easter 1916," or "The Tower." He lived it all, a full life with no stone left unturned, and wrote it down better than any before or since, as far as I'm concerned.

Happy birthday, and many thanks.

Saul Bellow's birthday today

2005-06-10T08:39:00.000-07:00

He died just a little over two months ago, and I think Nels may have mentioned his passing.

I haven't read much of Saul Bellow in a long time, but Henderson The Rain King was one of the first "adult" books I ever read that wasn't an assigned reading. Although I'm sure I didn't understand it all at the time, I do remember that it thoroughly entertained me and launched me into the world of the good stuff, and I'm very thankful for that.

So, thank you, Saul.

RWR Reader's Choice Ballot: Third Quarter 2005

2005-06-09T07:31:00.000-07:00

Without further messing about, here are the nominations for our first RWR Reader’s Choice, listed in no particular order (I think it’s more or less the order in which I received them). Thanks very much for sending me your nominations; it’s an impressive and eclectic list. We’re a pretty darn well-read bunch of people, if I say so myself! And you can still send your nomination, if you haven't already done so -- please send it by Monday, June 13 and I'll add it to the list. Like a kid at Christmas, I just couldn't wait any longer to post them.

I embedded links to each book’s page on Amazon – not that I’m necessarily enamored with Amazon, but it does seem the most convenient way to get a lot of information about a book quickly. I’m always open to alternate sources. And sorry, but I didn't include the short blurb a couple of you wrote to introduce the book -- most people didn't write one, so I decided to dispense with the intros.

So anyway:

1. Vote for your two favorites and send your votes to me via eb_write@yahoo.com. Both votes are weighted equally.
2. Vote by Friday, June 24.
3. On June 28, I’ll post the first RWR Reader’s Choice; we’ll read and discuss it together during July-September.
4. If you just plain can’t stand any of the nominated selections, wait three months – we’ll do this again.
5. It should go without saying given this very civil bunch of folks, but please refrain from commenting negatively on any of the nominations, at least in this blog.

And thanks so much again – I wasn’t familiar with several of the authors and they sound very worthwhile. This should be fun!

Choke (Chuck Palahniuk)
We Need To Talk About Kevin (Lionel Shriver)
The Quiet American (Graham Greene)
Honeymoon With My Brother (Franz Wisner)
Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal (Chris Moore)
The Autograph Man (Zadie Smith)
Mrs. Caliban (Rachel Ingalls)
The Namesake (Jumpa Lahiri)
Angels and Demons (Dan Brown)
The Second Coming (Walker Percy)

Send me a book

2005-06-06T07:04:00.000-07:00

Well, not an actual book … but your nomination for our first RWR Reader’s Choice selection, the book we’ll read together and discuss here during July-September of this year. So far we have seven stellar nominations, but I’d like to see a few more. If you haven’t sent your nomination to me at eb_write@yahoo.com, please do so this week. It’s a very eclectic selection so far, so don’t be concerned your book won’t “fit in” – it will be in some very diverse company. And when we vote for our first selection, I won’t include your name with your nomination – your choice is completely anonymous.

Send me your nomination this week!

Vacationing with Oprah this summer?

2005-06-03T11:33:00.000-07:00

Her summer book club selection may weigh down your beach bag a bit!

RWR Reader's Choice: Third Call for Nominations

2005-06-01T13:21:00.000-07:00

Just another reminder that June 3 is the deadline to submit a favorite book for our third quarter RWR Reader's Choice selection. After the initial flurry of nominations, things have quieted down a bit ... don't be shy about sending me your nomination at eb_write@yahoo.com.

The variety in the nominations I've received so far is terrific. Accessible yet intelligent and entertaining reading seems to be the order of the day -- perfect!

I'll post all of the nominations (without the nominators' names) during the week of June 6, and we'll vote on the one we'll read together and discuss during July-September 2005.

A Do Not Read Warning (If I May Offer Advice)

2005-05-28T21:31:00.000-07:00

I just finished reading a book entitled The Third Translation. It's sort of about an Egyptologist, so book stores over here in Cairo are pushing it. I'm not sure how large its debut will be in the states. It looked intriguing, and it was about Egyptology, so I picked it up. The author is a professor who worked at the British Museum and has won awards for his writing.

I was willing to look past some conventions that I think are intended to come off as modern liberties that I didn't care for, like the fact that he never uses quotation marks to set off dialogue (you just have to pick up contextually what is dialogue), or the lengthy, trance-like and often drug-addled dream scenes that serve no artistic purpose as far as I could tell and take away from the plot. I couldn't look past the myriad mistakes the book makes. I know I'm an oversensitive reader, since the book is ostensibly written from the perspective of an Egyptian philologist. But not only did he make Egyptological mistakes (he certainly didn't consult any Egyptologists, which was obvious, but I also don't think he did any research, since everything he says about Egypt is completely unreliable), but the book was poorly edited on top of that. There were spelling mistakes. The internal chronology was completely inconsistent: on one page he'd mention that his daughter was a junior in college in 1991; a few pages later she was 21 in 1994; a few pages after that she was 16 in 1989. Etc.

Oh, and the book barely had a plot, on top of it. But mostly I'm just fuming about the ridiculous Egyptological mistakes. I'd be curious to hear the opinion of anyone who reads this and disagrees with me and enjoyed this book.

PS -- if you're interested in reading a well-written and historically sound book about Egyptology, try Arthur Phillips' "The Egyptologist." Very very good.

Memorial Day (U.S.): Books of War -- and Peace

2005-05-26T11:36:00.000-07:00

In the United States, Memorial Day will be observed this Monday, May 30. I'm reminded of some of my favorite books dealing with some aspect of the military or of war: Robert Fagles' brutally magnificent translation of Homer's Iliad, delivering the bone-crushing horror and tragedy of war on a vivid, epic scale ... Michael Shaara's novel of the American Civil War battle of Gettysburg, The Killer Angels, focusing on the human dimension of war and the heavy responsiblities of command ... and a deeply personal story of how those who go through the hell of war can experience personal healing and even spiritual enlightenment, as compellingly related by Claude Anshin Thomas -- a soldier who fought in the Vietnam War and later became a Buddhist monk -- in his recent memoir At Hell's Gate: A Soldier's Journey From War to Peace. (Thomas recently was a guest speaker at the Maria Kannon Zen Center in Dallas; his story is well worth reading.)

Anyone else have favorites with a war/peace theme?

Is pop culture making us smarter?

2005-05-24T07:46:00.000-07:00

A new book is taking a different point of view on television and video games: they're actually making us smarter. Well, there are different kinds of smart, as the review points out ...

For the librarians in our midst

2005-05-23T09:06:00.000-07:00

Here's a piece on a Seattle librarian, Nancy Pearl. Maybe you've heard her being interviewed now and again on NPR's "Morning Edition."

RWR Reader's Choice: second call for nominations

2005-05-23T05:52:00.000-07:00

Just a reminder that June 3 is the deadline to submit your selection for our third quarter RWR Reader’s Choice book for July-September 2005 … I’ll post your nominations anonymously the week of June 6, and we’ll vote on which one we’ll read and discuss together online.

Some very interesting selections so far – please introduce us to your current favorite! Send me your nomination at eb_write@yahoo.com; thanks.

Yoda-lay-he-hoo

2005-05-20T14:21:00.000-07:00

My favorite line from a movie review this week, from the always quotable Anthony Lane – describing Yoda in his review of Revenge of the Sith for the New Yorker:

Deepest mind in the galaxy, apparently, and you still express yourself like a day-tripper with a dog-eared phrase book. “I hope right you are.” Break me a fucking give.

Enjoy your weekend, everybody.

Don't you hate it when ...

2005-05-20T07:23:00.000-07:00

... you're all ready to read a certain book, and only the movie tie-in version is available?

Now that I've nearly finished Margeurite Yourcenar's amazing fictional autobiography Memoirs of Hadrian, I'm jonesing for some more ancient history and figured Robin Lane Fox's acclaimed biography of Alexander The Great was just the ticket.

Then I remembered Oliver Stone's Alexander movie had come out recently. Crap! Sure enough, instead of a dignified ancient mosaic or Greek statue tastefully gracing the cover, it's Colin Farrell looking like -- well, a movie star dressed in fake armor, grimacing in garish Technicolor. And it's the only version of Fox's book currently in print. The local library has an older copy, but it's currently checked out ... and I need an ancient history fix real bad.

I really want to read the book, and I know the cover is only the wrapping for the real meat of the matter ... but it just seems so gauche, somehow. I can't believe I'm really wrestling with this, but I am. I'll probably break down at lunch and go buy it, then always make sure I lay the book cover side down ... ugh.

If iceberg lettuce is the polyester of greens, to quote John Waters, then movie tie-ins are the polyester of books.

Nominations and "Bed Table" Books

2005-05-17T12:49:00.000-07:00

Thanks to everyone for the nominations I've already received for our first group reading selection (see the post just below this one for more on how to nominate) -- so far, offbeat humor seems to be something of a theme. Hardly a surprise there, I guess ... and at least a couple of suggestions I know I'm going to check out whether we vote to read them together or not. Plus, a couple of more seriously-themed thought provokers, with great potential for group discussion. Writers I've never heard of -- books I'm interested in exploring. That's what it's all about. Good stuff so far, my friends!

"Bed Table" Books

Without really meaning to, I seem to always accumulate a few books on my bed table – not chapter books, but the kinds of books which allow me to flip to any page and score a few last minutes of reading time before going to sleep. The books change, but they seem to always have one thing in common: it doesn’t really matter what page I turn to. Usually there’s a poetry anthology or two; currently it’s Kenneth Rexroth’s quietly poignant translations of One Hundred Poems From The Chinese.

Also, Zen Master Raven: Sayings and Doings of A Wise Bird by Robert Aitken. Whether you know or care about Zen Buddhism doesn’t really matter: these delightful stories are usually one page or less in length and are written with a kind of rustic charm, deeply wise and often humorous. Uniquely told from the viewpoint of a group of forest animals, it’s a sort of American spin on some classic Zen stories and koans. And the brush-style pen and ink illustrations accompanying some of the stories are a perfect complement. If you like Aesop’s Fables and other such stories in the wisdom tradition, Zen Master Raven could definitely appeal.

As another example of a potential bed table book, I would imagine the brilliant dark humor of Saki’s (H. H. Munro) fictional miniatures would also serve the purpose nicely. For the most part, they’re nasty little satires about the Edwardian English upper classes -- sometimes politically incorrect , often comically macabre, and typically only 1-3 pages in length. (I haven’t read any of those stories in years; I should order a copy!)

Do any of you keep a “bed table” collection?

RWR Reader's Choice: Nominations, Third Quarter 2005

2005-05-16T07:14:00.000-07:00

It seems as if everyone is pretty well agreed on our “rules" at this point. So, no more waiting around. It’s time for you to nominate our first RWR group reading selection! This selection will be for third quarter, 2005 (July-September). We'll discuss the book right here sometime during the last two weeks in September. (For those headed to Dances with Dirt in September, we could actually have an opportunity to discuss the club selection in person. Preferably after showering.)

Here’s all you do:

1. Send one nomination to me via eb_write@yahoo.com no later than 12 midnight Friday, June 3. You’ll have the chance to nominate another book each quarter.

2. Nominated books must be fairly easy to find either in person or online (preferably in print), and should ideally be available in softcover. Subject matter: Whatever! Fiction, non-fiction, poetry, essay/letters collections, etc. etc. etc.

3. Given the fact some members lead very busy lives, the suggested length limit is no more than 300 pages, but if you have a 329-page book that’s a real corker and you don’t want people to miss it, nominate away – no problem. (I may go over that 300-page length myself on occasion, I’m red-faced to say.)

4. Include, if possible, a description/appreciation of your book (100-word limit, about an average-sized paragraph) and a page count. Yes, you can copy from the book jacket blurb. I’ll also try to include a link to the book’s page on amazon.com for those seeking more information.

5. I will compile the nominations/descriptions and post an anonymous ballot sometime during the week of June 6, and then post the first RWR Reader's Choice Selection, based on the voting results, by June 20.

I’m really looking forward to your nominations!

New Guy Rambling

2005-05-14T08:50:00.000-07:00

Greetings to all...Such a highbrow group! I am amazed, impressed, intimidated...don't really want to admit my favorite books are old, common titles like "Dune" by Frank Herbert or "The Godfather" and "Fool's Die" by Mario Puzo! Tom Wolfe's latest effort "I Am Charolette Simmons" was quite enjoyable, but I also enjoyed "A Man In Full" which, apparantly from the discount racks, nobody else did. I did just finish reading a series of historical novels on the Civil War by Shaara-- "Gods and Generals" and "The Killer Angels." Not usually a fan of the historical novel, these works really helped retell the history and put things into a different perspective that I didn't have before. The group should open a world of options, and I appreciate Ed's efforts!

I'm rambling. I'll quit. I'm happy to be aboard!

--Dwyer

Re-reading books

2005-05-13T10:30:00.000-07:00

Sorry if I am late to the party. Just finished the semester and am only now catching up on life and reading (as if there is a difference?)

Just wanted to reply to Kim's question about re-reading books. I re-read books all the time - often as a result of recommending them to someone else. Inevitably the process of re-reading brings some unexpected insights that I didn't have the first time around. I actually just pulled "And the Band Played On" from my shelves last night because I realized I wanted to read it again with my nascent epidemiologist eyes......

The same goes for reading an author's collected works. I think there is something particularly wonderful about getting a view of an author's world from several books. Sometimes, I appreciate the author even more (like my recent experience in re-reading Andre Dubus collected stories and memoir.) Other times, I discover that re-reading a collection I had remembered it more fondly than it deserved. That recently happened when I re-read several of Hellenga's books. I really disliked his protagonist (and found the writing facile) the second (maybe third) time around. Maybe I was just in a bad mood, but the experience was really sour the second time around.

I am really looking forward to getting some great recommendations from this group......and am already on the waiting list at local library for McEwan's book on 9/11 based on your recommendation, Paul.....

Paula.

TBR

2005-05-13T08:16:00.000-07:00

Not for nothing, here's some of the stuff that's on my running to be read list:

Jim Crace, Quarantine and Being Dead
John Nichols, Sterile Cuckoo
Volume Two of the Hunter Thompson letters
W. Corbett, ed., Just the Thing: Selected Letters of James Schuyler
Stephen Amidon, Human Capital
Peter Turchi, Maps of the Imagination
Jean Phillipe Toussaint, Television
Francine Prose, A Changed Man

Another great reader's resource

2005-05-13T07:30:00.000-07:00

When I was posting my favorite online reader's resources the other day, I forgot about one that may be one of the most comprehensive out there. It's here. The links on the left-hand side of their home page are exhaustive, or exhausting, depending on your point of view. Note that registration may be required for some of the links, particularly some of the newspapers.

Indulge!

What I've been reading...

2005-05-13T06:34:00.000-07:00

I'm so impressed and feeling a little unworthy, the only thing I've read lately are essays by 17 year olds. The essays aren't intended to be fiction, but certainly some of these have taken great license with history. Perhaps it is historical fiction, I mean did you know that North Korea is in Western Europe? Neither did I.

I'm wondering how people feel about revisiting books they have already read and enjoyed. I'm sure some of us have read some of the same works and I personally have a few that I wouldn't mind reading again and discussing our memories of the book and how our perceptions have changed. For example, Confederacy of Dunces. There was a time when I judged people based on their thoughts on this book. I haven't read it in at least 10 years.

Kim

Testing... being able to post as yourself rather than the administrator

2005-05-12T13:47:00.000-07:00

Okay, I'm not sure if this will work or not, but for those of you who already have a blogger account (or who would like one), I think blogger offers a feature to allow you to post as yourself rather than having to log in and post as Ed.

I logged in with the prearranged password via blogger as though I were going to post as RWR. I next selected the "Settings" tab, from there I selected the sub-tab of "members", and then I entered my email address to invite myself. It emailed me an invitation, which I accepted, and now theoretically I'm posting as me.

Is it working? If I've screwed anything up, let me know. I'm just too lazy to remember two sets of log in information.

Housekeeping: viewing a post and comments as a single thread

2005-05-12T12:15:00.000-07:00

If you want to view a post and subsequent comments as a single thread (like on the Higdon V-Boards), just click on the individual post you want to read in the menu on the left-hand side of this page. When you do, the post and comments will all appear together in the same RWR blog format.

Read on the run,

Ed

Currently reading...

2005-05-12T09:12:00.000-07:00

Have you ever binged on one author? I’m sure you have.

For the past few months I’ve been reading books by Ian McEwan – Amsterdam, The Comfort of Strangers, Saturday (just released), and now I’m deep into The Child in Time. McEwan faces fairly average middle-class people with an extreme, yet realistic, usually violent, event (but without any graphic depiction of violence which, I think, makes it more troubling).

The Child in Time deals with the aftermath of a parent’s worst fear – the inexplicable abduction of a young child. McEwan likes to “weave” (during a recent interview about Saturday, he used the word “weave” and its variants about ten times!) subplots through his books and in this book he deals with the loss of childhood in several dimensions of the characters’ lives. So far, I’m finding it to be a disturbing and beautiful novel.

Paul Gottschalk

Currently reading ...

2005-05-12T08:10:00.000-07:00

More historical fiction for me after Patrick O'Brian's Post Captain -- this time, a trip to ancient Rome: Memoirs of Hadrian by Marguerite Yourcenar, translated from the French by Grace Frick. This was just recently reprinted for the first time in many years by FSG -- I had read a profile on Yourcenar in the New Yorker earlier this spring and became interested in the book from what was said there.

I'm only about 100 pages into this 400+ page book, but this is some of the most elegant, perceptive writing I've encountered since reading the Lydia Davis translation of Proust's Swann's Way. It's a work of fiction in the form of a long letter from the dying emperor Hadrian to his grandson, remembering his life and the events that took place. Like Patrick O'Brian, Yourcenar has the genius to immerse you fully in the period she's writing about -- I would swear it's a real classical Roman memoir!

I'll save the rest for a full book report, but if you're just in the mood to admire what has to be some of the finest pure writing currently available (and in a translation, no less), check it out.

-- Ed Brickell

Newcomers Welcome!

2005-05-11T19:04:00.000-07:00

For those just joining us, welcome!

-- Ed Brickell

Housekeeping: Editing/Deleting Posts

2005-05-11T18:48:00.000-07:00

Paul G. posted a perfectly sensible argument today for allowing books of over 300 pages to be nominated for the quarterly "Reader's Choice," the first of which we'll nominate next week. Personally I hope we can keep as close to 300 pages as we can, but if you have a truly great 340-page book that you feel just can't be missed, I don't see why it couldn't be at least nominated, with the page count included as part of the nomination info. So, good for Paul for opening my eyes a bit. (Of course, if you're just posting book suggestions/reviews outside of the quarterly nomination, as I did below, the length of the book matters not a whit.)

Paul also informed me he deleted his post with the good intention of trying to keep the blog a bit cleaner. Of course, I'm not helping his cause with more housekeeping posts like this, but there will be less of these as time goes on.

I just wanted to point out something regarding editing/deleting posts: I will never, ever edit or delete another person's post, unless the post is obviously a hostile hijacking or a troll. I can't imagine we'll have any such problems with this group. If you want to edit or delete your own posts, that's entirely up to you.

Carry on, fleet readers!

-- Ed Brickell

Housekeeping: Commenting on posts

2005-05-11T13:44:00.000-07:00

If you want to comment on a post, you may have missed a way to comment that will help cut down on blog home page clutter. (Not that any of your comments or posts are "clutter," but you know what I mean.) If you want to comment on a specific post:

1. Under each post is a line reading "(#) Comments." Click on it.

2. This takes you to a Comments page. Type your comment in the box provided on the right-hand side of the page and sign your name, if you want us to know who you are. Note that the Comments box allows you to use certain HTML codes.

3. Don't worry about doing anything else -- just click the "log in and publish" key.

4. Your comment will appear under the correct post on the blog home page, but you'll have to click the "(#) Comments" line to read it -- or click on the individual post in the listing on the left-hand sidebar of the home page, which brings up the comments under the original post in a thread format.

Hope that helps!

-- Ed Brickell

RWR Book Review: Post Captain (Patrick O'Brian)

2005-05-11T12:03:00.000-07:00

How many fans of historical fiction do we have? This is the second in Patrick O’Brian’s “Aubrey/Maturin” series of novels – actually more like one long novel in 21 parts -- set in the naval world of the Napoleonic Wars. It’s my fourth time through this series; I enjoy periodically sailing again with perhaps historical fiction’s most famous odd couple: “Lucky” Jack Aubrey, a lusty, rough-and-tumble British naval officer, and his eccentric sidekick, ship’s surgeon, pioneer biologist and sometimes secret agent, Stephen Maturin. (I thought the recent movie based on two of the novels was surprisingly good.)

The Aubrey-Maturin Series

Many historical novels read more like costume parties than true historical fiction, but O’Brian is the real deal. What his work may be lacking in tight plotting is more than made up for by his great attention to historical detail and his talent for writing action. His dialogue sounds authentic to its time but immediate, never forced or stilted, and his books are bristling with real historical flavor – I feel I'm being wholly transported to the early 19th century, rather than reading a modern novel in 19th century dress.

O’Brian makes no allowances for those of us ignorant of staysails, jibs, spinnakers and the like: he knows his sailing as thoroughly as he knows his history, and he doesn’t pause for explanations. Fortunately, you don’t necessarily need to know anything about sailing yourself to enjoy the books; much can be picked up through context, and if you’re really interested the rest is available in several books like the one listed at the end of this post, A Sea of Words.

I have always admired O’Brian as a writer. His action scenes are absolutely thrilling page-turners, among the best of any novelist I’ve ever read; yet there is also plenty of psychological depth to the characters and their interactions. Even the most minor characters are fully drawn in a few choice phrases. And, simply put, Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin are two of the most three-dimensional people ever to be made up entirely out of someone’s head.

The Book: Post Captain

Post Captain is for the most part a leisurely-paced, loosely-plotted look at Aubrey and Maturin between voyages, walking unsteadily on land and dealing uncomfortably with frustrating romantic entanglements, naval career politics, and sudden changes in Jack’s financial fortunes. At times it reads more like a Jane Austen novel than an Aubrey/Maturin adventure, and events can seem to move at a snail’s pace. Yet the characters and the world they live in are so carefully and fully drawn that you can get comfortably lost in it. Two naval action set pieces – an attack on a French harbor and a chase after a Spanish treasure fleet – are as action-packed and thrilling as any O’Brian ever wrote. Surrounding those two scenes is a great deal of domestic drama, unusual for the series, that -- while engaging and revealing for those who are already familiar with the characters -- might seem tedious to those reading the series for the first time.

I’d recommend Post Captain to any committed Aubrey/Maturin fan, and the series as a whole to anyone who seeks out the best in historical fiction – perhaps the best place to start is the first book in the series, Master and Commander.

I don’t know if we’ll ever get another historical novelist with O’Brian's special blend: a passionate devotion to careful detail and equally strong flair for action. His love and deep knowledge of the vibrant and violent world of early 19th century Europe is clear in every page he ever wrote.

Master and Commander: Book 1 in the Aubrey-Maturin Series by Patrick O’Brian

A Sea of Words: A Companion and Lexicon to the Complete Seafaring Tales of Patrick O’Brian by Dean King

Looking forward to book reports (long or short) by others!

-- Ed Brickell

Oops!

2005-05-11T09:09:00.000-07:00

Sorry, I was the (inadvertantly) anonymous Pamuk fan.

Bernice Torregrossa

Housekeeping: be sure to "sign" your post

2005-05-11T07:24:00.000-07:00

Remember to put your name at the end of your post if you want us to know who you are. Thanks!

-- Ed Brickell

Another Pamuk fan

2005-05-11T07:04:00.000-07:00

I read Snow recently but still prefer one of Pamuk's earlier novels, The Black Book. It's mysterious (but not a mystery in the genre sense) , funny and spellbinding. It's available in paperback, one of the RWR criteria.

AH HA!

2005-05-11T04:21:00.000-07:00

I finally figured this thing out! Perhaps if I read my email more carefully...

Some Internet reader's resources

2005-05-10T10:02:00.000-07:00

Thanks, Nels and Tracy -- I had never even heard of Pamuk, and today I find out he’s considered one of Europe’s most prominent novelists. That’s exactly why I wanted to start this site: I’ve got some catching up to do!

Many of you may already know about these, but I thought I’d post a few of my favorite Internet reading resources, especially helpful for those of you hunting for your next book:

The Guardian Books page: Lively, intelligent reviews and features from the UK. The “top ten” book lists by current authors can make for some good reading suggestions.

Exquisite Corpse: Avant-garde literary journal edited by Andrei Codrescu of National Public Radio fame. Literary grenades and stink bombs of all sorts; a very fun site. I had a few scattered poems published in the paper version in the early 90’s, which seems like a lifetime ago now. Unusual reading and author suggestions galore, but it's not a consumer-friendly site. And thank God for that.

Granta: The online site for the famous literary review, again with a UK slant. Many reading suggestions here.

New York Review Books: The publishing arm of the New York Review of Books; responsible for unearthing many forgotten literary classics and bringing them back into print. Also responsible for publishing one of my favorite books of all time, The Adventures and Misadventures of Maqroll by Alfredo Mutis.

Booksense: A family of independent bookseller websites, with lots of reviews and reading suggestions.

Paris Review "Writers at Work" interviews: If you ever wanted to know more about your favorite author's views on their work and other subjects, this site catalogs a gold mine of in-depth interviews from the Paris Review's ongoing "Writers At Work" series.

Enjoy your reading (and your running)!

-- Ed Brickell

R.I.F.

2005-05-10T07:12:00.000-07:00

Groovy, Ed.

Tracy, I read Snow - good stuff. Here's an interesting review on a litblog I read frequently, moorishgirl.com. Scroll down to 17 November. And here's a bit of news from late winter about some hot water he's in.

Pamuk in Trouble?
Turkish novelist Orhan Pamuk faces criminal charges in Turkey over statements he made about the Armenian genocide to a Swiss newspaper. Pamuk's statements (that "30,000 Kurds and over 1 million Armenians had been killed in Turkey") are considered controversial in Turkey, the only country that continues to deny the genocide and in fact alleges that it was the Armenians who exterminated the Turks.

It's particularly ironic that Pamuk should be molested about this, since his latest novel, Snow, features several references to the genocide. Given Pamuk's worldwide reputation, and Turkey's desire to join the EU, it's unlikely that the charges will actually be followed up, but we'll keep an eye on this story.

Currently, I'm in Reynolds Price's Kate Vaiden. Price has been on my TBR list since hearing him on NPR's All Things Considered. A first person narrative of a woman in North Carolina, orphaned as a girl after her father shoots her mother then himself, Kate wanders in search of stability and runs whenever it's at hand.

Cheers,
Nels

Yea!

2005-05-09T22:29:00.000-07:00

Works for me. Your proposed guidelines sound quite good. Thank you for setting this up! I'm ready to read, too.

Personally, I'm right now reading a book entitled Snow, by Orhan Pamuk. It's much more interesting than I expected when I picked it up, being about a Turkish poet (expat living in Germany for the past few years) who returns to a small town in Turkey where the tension between the conservative religious movement and the push towards westernization is growing and causing veiled women to kill themselves as the town's political tension builds. It reads quite well, considering it's translated from Turkish. Very enjoyable.

That's my two cents until we choose a book for the club.
Tracy Musacchio

Looks good

2005-05-09T18:15:00.000-07:00

Should be cool.....I'm ready to read!

Len Stewart

2005-05-09T15:04:00.000-07:00

Worked for me!

Nice and thorough job on the proposed procedures, Ed!

David Kleeman

Welcome to Runners Who Read!

2005-05-09T09:00:00.000-07:00

Hi there! Thanks for offering to take part in our little experiment. At the beginning of each calendar quarter, we’ll gather here to vote on a RWR Club Selection that we'll read together for the coming quarter; at the end of the quarter, we’ll gather here once again to discuss it. We can also use the blog to keep each other up-to-date on all of our latest reading favorites and other book world news.

Everyone will be given access to this blog for posting purposes -- I recently sent everyone an e-mail with the user name and password. (If you still need the user name and password, e-mail me at eb_write@yahoo.com.) To sign in, just click on the "blogger" logo in the top left-hand corner of this page.

At the end of any post you create, sign your name so we know who you are! Feel free to post club- or reading-related posts at any time, including other reading suggestions, etc. If you're posting on the current club selection and are including book details, please put "(Spoilers)" in the title of your post.

Nominating club selections

Far be it from me to tell you what to nominate as our quarterly selection. However, experience dictates that some limits have to be set, or we’ll all end up reading 900-page biographies of Millard Fillmore. Not that there would be anything necessarily wrong with a 900-page biography of Millard Fillmore, but for purposes of a book club some things can just get a bit unwieldy and cause people to lose interest.

The two hard and fast rules for nomination are:

1. Limit your selection to a book 300 pages or less.
2. Limit your selection to a book that is currently available in softcover and relatively easy to find/order.

Beyond that, anything goes – fiction, non-fiction, biography, essays, short story collections, poetry anthologies, etc. I will only make one suggestion that might result in a happier, healthier book club: aim neither too high nor too low. For example, it’s highly unlikely many members are going to wade through James Joyce’s Finnegan’s Wake, however wonderful it might be. Likewise, the latest John Grisham or Danielle Steele novel doesn’t often leave a whole lot of room for engaging discussion – what’s on the page is pretty much what you get. For purposes of a book club, a literary middle ground often seems to work best. And there are a lot of wonderful books in that middle ground. That said, it's only a suggestion and feel free to nominate whatever you want within the two parameters listed above.

Each member can nominate one favorite book per quarter as the next club selection. Please send your nomination to me at eb_write@yahoo.com. I’ll post a deadline for nominations. If you wish (and I strongly encourage it), you can also send a brief description of the book in question, including page count. (Limit your description to 100 words or less.) For further information, I will also try to post a listing of the book on amazon.com as well.

Voting for the club quarterly selection

Once the nominations deadline has passed, I will post an anonymous “ballot” with all of the nominated books. Take a look at the ballot, choose the two books that interest you the most, and send me your vote at eb_write@yahoo.com. If you don’t vote by the posted quarterly deadline, you'll miss voting for the current quarter’s selection. The book receiving the most votes will be the next club selection. (In the event of a tie, I will randomly select the club selection from the books that are tied.) I’ll announce the selection here once the votes are tallied. Individual votes will not be posted.

Each quarter we start over with a clean slate and new nominations are taken from everyone.

Reading something you just plain can’t stand

It happens: although book clubs are, in part, about getting out of your mental and cultural comfort zones a bit, the current club selection may be something you simply can’t muster up the energy to read at all. All I ask is: at least give it a try! If you really don’t like it at all, come back the next quarter and try us again.

"What I'm Reading": books outside the quarterly selection

Always feel free to submit your own informal book reports on books that aren't the club selection but are still books you're excited about, or reports on books that fall outside the club limits but are still wonderful. This club isn't simply about reading and discussing the club selection every quarter, but also keeping each other up-to-date on the latest and greatest.

That’s all for now – if you have a comment on anything in this post, please post it in “Comments” at the end of this post; thanks. If you prefer to keep your comments private, send them to me at eb_write@yahoo.com. I’m certainly open to other suggestions on the “rules.”

The deadline for rules/guidelines comments is May 30, after which we’ll begin nominations (a bit early) for the third quarter 2005 club selection.

Happy running/reading!

-- Ed Brickell