I don't know why I didn't write about this before--this is a wonderful, hard, interesting, intelligent book. Everyone should read this book. Lowell,I don't know why I didn't write about this before--this is a wonderful, hard, interesting, intelligent book. Everyone should read this book. Lowell, maybe you would especially like it, I don't know. I admire Eula's Biss's calm, measured style and her keen eye....more
I remember when this came out a couple of years ago, and reviewers and some writers were like "My God, it's like he pulls back the curtain and you canI remember when this came out a couple of years ago, and reviewers and some writers were like "My God, it's like he pulls back the curtain and you can see the wizard," and stuff, and I was like, well I don't want to read that, then, because I like being fooled into thinking things are magic. Who wants to see the wizard, you know? It's going to be a disappointment. BUT I WAS WRONG. The wizard basically said: "Look, here's how lots of things in fiction work, and you're smart enough to understand what I mean, but in case you have trouble, let me tell you in beautiful, clear prose and give you LOTS of example from lots of different books to illustrate my points. Oh, and also, get off your ass and read Henry James and the Russians already, and also Flaubert is The Man." And I believed almost all of it. Will this make me a better teacher of creative writing this semester? TBD. Has it increased my Reading List of Classics by a factor of 10? Sadly, yes. But I really did love reading this....more
I don't know what to think about starting the new year with a book about reading books, but I enjoyed this. HIll has had a very long and interestingI don't know what to think about starting the new year with a book about reading books, but I enjoyed this. HIll has had a very long and interesting career, both as a novelist and an interviewer, so although she mentions meetings with famous writers frequently, it's almost always in the service of telling you why their work is particularly interesting to her, rather than name dropping. I find her list of 40 books at the end of the book both inspiring and intimidating, but I suppose just a little intimidation can be good for you sometimes. Maybe/ If I tackle any Trollope or The Journals of Sir Walter Scott in the future, I'll let you know....more
This was awesome. Reads like a thriller, but real. I'm just learning the details of WWII, since we never did anything beyond the American RevolutionThis was awesome. Reads like a thriller, but real. I'm just learning the details of WWII, since we never did anything beyond the American Revolution in school, and it is intense. This is a slim book, but a super interesting one....more
ACK! This is such a great book. Angola! Civil war! Independence! And a crazy journalist bent on seeing it all. Seriously, I adore Kapuscinski'sACK! This is such a great book. Angola! Civil war! Independence! And a crazy journalist bent on seeing it all. Seriously, I adore Kapuscinski's style--so matter of fact, and so incredible at the same time. He keeps saying he was afraid, but secretly, you don't know whether to believe him or not. I believe he SHOULD have been afraid, and that I would have been petrified. Africa seems very hot....more
You who keep such close track of my "currently reading" list may have noticed (I know I have) that when I put something on it, I promptly stop readingYou who keep such close track of my "currently reading" list may have noticed (I know I have) that when I put something on it, I promptly stop reading it. It's where books in my life go to stagnate. This holiday season, with my glut of unclaimed time, I aim to change this trend. To that end, I have just finished The Gift, which I see I started reading two years ago. This is an AMAZING book. I sort of want to start reading it all over again from the beginning, since what I read two years ago is a little fuzzy now, but the main premise remains: it is so smart, and so important for any artist to read. I had put it down because the last long chapter is all about Ezra Pound and his economic theories and their effect on his poetry. And I haven't read the Cantos, mostly, and I've already felt bad about that hole in my poetic education, so I thought I would read them before reading Hyde's amazing chapter on Pound, and then I'd understand it better. But I should have done it the other way around (and maybe now I will--no, probably I won't). This is a book about how we value everything, tangible and intangible, and how to keep art from being beholden to the marketplace, and how art is not really ours until we give it away. I will try to read more things Lewis Hyde has written in the new year, and to take less time to read them. What a book!...more
Amazing and hilarious. Julia Child is a riot, and reading about her cooking discoveries in 1950s Paris is incredible. She was always ambitious--theAmazing and hilarious. Julia Child is a riot, and reading about her cooking discoveries in 1950s Paris is incredible. She was always ambitious--the first meal she tried to prepare for her new husband Paul was brains sauteed in red wine, but she really didn't know how to cook much of anything until she moved to France. The descriptions of some of their meals are over the top--the pressed duck, for example. And the sauces to which, at the last moment, you simply whisk in 3/4 lb. of butter. But I got a little teary at the end! Overall a highly entertaining read for anyone who likes food....more
There is really no way to describe this book. If I ever visit LA, I will definitely make the Museum of Jurassic Technology a stop. It's a little datedThere is really no way to describe this book. If I ever visit LA, I will definitely make the Museum of Jurassic Technology a stop. It's a little dated because of Planet Earth. Planet Earth is awesome....more
I think I'll only read 5 star books. Why settle for anything less. This was beautiful. And magical. The way memoirs should be written, away from allI think I'll only read 5 star books. Why settle for anything less. This was beautiful. And magical. The way memoirs should be written, away from all this true/no true baloney. I wish I could go to Jamaica. Today....more
I think I liked this even more than the Omnivore's Dilemma, even though I can already tell it's going to make me crazy about looking at every labelI think I liked this even more than the Omnivore's Dilemma, even though I can already tell it's going to make me crazy about looking at every label for corn syrup and other gross ingredients. It was shorter and more concise, and sometimes even more frightening in its descriptions of the ridiculous way most Americans eat and how terrible for us it is. But most of all the "rules" about good eating are simple and make a lot of sense. Why DOES the loaf of bread on my kitchen counter have 15 things in it? No good reason. Even though I am SICK TO DEATH Pollan's "just eat fresh fruits and veggies all the time, it's not that hard" attitude--sorry, not all of us can live in California. Winter produce in Michigan sucks, it just does. Oh, and maintaining a garden takes considerably more than "just an hour or two of work a week"--I learned a lot from the rest of the book. ...more
this is just gorgeous. no, really, he is amazing. history is a mish-mash of opinions and hazy recollections, but it has never seemed so flexible orthis is just gorgeous. no, really, he is amazing. history is a mish-mash of opinions and hazy recollections, but it has never seemed so flexible or capacious to me before reading this book....more
bought this book for the essay "In the Subjunctive Mood" from Best American last year--really stunning way of thinking about language. The rest of thebought this book for the essay "In the Subjunctive Mood" from Best American last year--really stunning way of thinking about language. The rest of the essay are a mixed bag, I think. Some really gorgeous, and others trying to twine a few strands together and slightly missing the mark. Or maybe I just need to go to Spain. That must be it....more
I love this book so much I can hardly deal with myself. I get squirmy just thinking about it. I was already in love with the essay "The New Mecca"I love this book so much I can hardly deal with myself. I get squirmy just thinking about it. I was already in love with the essay "The New Mecca" from GQ last year, but this book has far more than just that. I was annoying to be around when reading it because I was laughing so much. George Saunders, you are my Syracuse hero....more
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