false 38 284 282 true 5764301 read 0 true 264617 currently-reading 2 true 264616 to-read http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/78637711 to: Break It Down: Stories (Paperback) by Lydia Davis
Though I've read the more recent "Samuel Johnson" and "Varieties," I'd never read this one, her first collection. Obviously in a book with this many pieces (there are about 34) there are going to be some ups and downs, but the cumulative effect is quite pleasing and impressive. Yes, as in all her work, these are often stories about the way we think, but I think what what's great about Davis is how that self-consciousness manifests in different ways, from the playful ("Problems"), to the humorous ("A Few Things Wrong With Me") to the downright devastating ("Story"). , Favorite pieces: "Story," "Break it Down," "The Letter," "Cockroaches in Autumn," "A Few Things Wrong With Me," Sketches for a Life of Wassilly," and "The Sock." ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/78635477 to: In Cold Blood (Paperback) by Truman Capote
Somehow, for all my Kansophile proclivities, I'd never read this. Not sure why I ducked it for so long, but I finally got around to it this month. It's more of a 3.5 than a straight 3, so it was a solid read. I found it hard to read on its own terms, though. I feel like it's a book whose own mythology gets in its way--the well-known and interesting story of its creation trumps the 'I've created a new literary genre' pretensions and merits--so that I found myself so aware of Capote's hand in every scene despite his attempts to remove himself from the story. Still, there are some striking moments--Capote's description of the mother's depression is so unsentimentally moving and when we finally get Perry's description of the murders late in the third section it is as unsettling and surprising and sad as you'd hope for, though you've known since the start what happened. I'm glad I read it, even though my excitement wavered its course. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/74446519 to: Franny and Zooey (Paperback) by J.D. Salinger
My first Salinger in a long, long time. Somehow I never got around to this. Obviously I haven't spent much time with the Glass family, but I was struck by how ahead of the game Salinger was with his family of super-precocious-emotionally-troubled child geniuses. I always think of that as a more recent postmodern tope (De Lelillo, DFW, 'Royal Tennanbaums,' 'Magnolia') and he was doing it in the 50s, which is impressive. It's a very 'talky' book with little actual narrative movement, and I wasn't really into all the religious debate which got tiresome, but, man, those last ten pages of the Zooey section are terrific. Interesting, too (and, again, a bit ahead of the game), is all the vocal layers/voice-throwing the characters do throughout the 'Zooey' section. You slip so far into Zooey you almost forget who's actually doing the recounting. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/74445942 to: After Nature (Modern Library Paperbacks) by W.G. Sebald
I was curious to read this not only because I love Sebald but also to see how his poems differed from the prose. Truth is, from my perspective, not a whole lot (other than formally), which ain't a bad thing. 'After Nature' is made up of three long poems, each focusing on a different person (a 15th C painter, an 18th C botanist, and lastly a present day Sebaldian speaker) and his life and growing understanding of and relationship to the world and nature. Oh, yeah, and it's ruminative, sad, and beautiful. Surprise surprise. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/74445365 to: Talkin' Socialism: J. A. Wayland and the Radical Press (Paperback) by Elliott Shore
Fascinating study of the radical press in kansas, primarily The Appeal to Reason, the largest circulated socialist newspaper in the country. Points out the difficulties of running a radical paper in a capitalist country, the dilemmas, contradictions, and sacrifices that must be made to have a voice. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/71354380 to: A Common Humanity: Kansas Populism and the Battle for Justice and Equality, 1854-1903 (Paperback) by O. Gene Clanton
more radical agrarians! ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/70153982 to: Understanding Capitalism: Critical Analysis from Karl Marx to Amartya Sen (Paperback) by Douglas Down
This was a good read. It's a collection of essays that proceeds chronologically from Marx, focusing on a different thinker or group of like-minded critics, introducing key ideas and terms that have shaped the way we think and critique capitalism. Good essays on Gramsci and Veblen, in particular, as well as Amartya Sen. It suffers a little by the fact that different writers compose each essay, creating a lack of flow but gaining of perspective, I suppose. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/70153390 to: Joe Hill (Paperback) by Wallace Stegner
This book's rating might have suffered because i was interrupted so frequently that it dragged on a much longer than it should have. Anyway, this is the first Stegner i've read. I wanted to see how he treated politics, particularly the Wobblies. It was over-long, but the writing was pretty strong. Nothing that knocked me on my ass but solid. Really want to read "Angle of Repose." ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/62765401 to: The Populist Moment: A Short History of the Agrarian Revolt in America (Galaxy Books) by Lawrence Goodwyn
Ah Kansas. This is a really interesting book that traces the origins, development, and ultimate demise of the radical agrarian Populist movement on the 1890s. Goodwyn writes from both an activist and academic perspective, looking at how mass movements begin, how they become viable, how they survive or fail. He sees the Populists as the last true challenge to the two dominant political parties. They were not, as usually portrayed, unintelligent hayseeds hollering about free silver, but knew exactly what was happening with industrial capitalism and saw the coming dominance of the corporate state through the further concentration of wealth and power in big business. They sought not only reforms but an actual overhaul of the whole thing, like an alternate financial system (based on cooperatives and sub-treasuries). They party was strong in Texas and Kansas (we had a populist governor and legislature-represent!) and few other states but ultimately had trouble sustaining the necessary coalition between urban industrial workers and rural farmers, which forced them into a fusion with the democrats in 1896, who promptly ignored most of the Populist platform. Disenchanted, most of them became socialists after 1900. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/62764294 to: Lowboy (Hardcover) by John Wray
This is one I really wish they gave us the half-star option. This felt more like a 3.5 to me, but he gets the 4 here. I liked this book a good deal. The narrative has a nice claustrophobia to it (which works well with Lowboy's journey through NYC's subways), taking place over a single day and switching back and forth between the mother's and son's storylines. Wray creates real thriller as you push through the book, waiting to see if/how the two threads meet, and doesn't sacrifice character to do so, which is impressive. Particularly Lowboy's character, who outshines everyone else. You know what--I'm glad I gave this a 4. Screw the half-option. ]]>