What Else Are You Reading?

[Jason, Walking Allergen]

As someone who often struggles with confidence too, Jim, let me assure you that confidence is all you lack.

[Robert]

Jason wrote: "As someone who often struggles with confidence too, Jim, let me assure you that confidence is all you lack."

I approve of this message.

[Jeppe]

Since I know some of you enjoy well-written crime non-fiction, I thought I'd recommend Paul French's Midnight in Peking: How the Murder of a Young Englishwoman Haunted the Last Days of Old China. I read it on the bus from NYC to Baltimore, and it's really a great book - a thoroughly researched and highly interesting story of the murder of a young Englishwoman in Peking (modern-day Beijing) in the weeks before the Japanese takeover of China. French gives the reader a vivid picture of life in the metropolitan yet slightly backwaters city, complete with seedy underworld, opportunistic riff-raff, and cumbersome bureaucracy obsessed with keeping "British face."

[Jim]

From Sarah Vowell's Take the Cannoli: On soul searching as a cure for insomnia:

John Ehrlichman's obituary was just in the paper and I decide to take a personal inventory by comparing my soul with his. Guess what. I come out on top! Do the math with me: The occasional late payment on my college loans...Watergate! Forgetting Mother's Day in 1983...Secret bombing of Cambodia! I can't sleep...He can't breathe.
I fall into bed immediately and drift off into the sleep of the just.

[Matt, I am the Great Went.]

Jim wrote: "From Sarah Vowell's Take the Cannoli: On soul searching as a cure for insomnia:

John Ehrlichman's obituary was just in the paper and I decide to take a personal inventory by comparing my soul w..."

I like Sarah Vowell's stuff...as long as I don't have to hear her voice reading it. :S

[Jim]

I just started 1984, and I have the sense that this telescreen is looking back at me. Accordingly, I have set my features into an expression of quiet optimism.

[Jason, Walking Allergen]

Ah, I love 1984, and not just because not to would put my loyalty to the State in question.

[Jim]

Finished 1984 the other day. Crushed me. Words fail. But now I feel like I should read something that's prophetic in a positive way. Is there such a thing?

For a total change of pace, started my first Christopher Moore novel, the lighthearted vampire story Bloodsucking Fiends. So far, so fun.
I've seen Moore compared to Tom Robbins and Kurt Vonnegut. As to the former, I certainly favor Moore: some of his characters have more than one dimension, and nothing is absurd just to be absurd. So far.
As to the latter: Get the fuck outta here.

[Devin]

I am plowing through a lot of comics lately, but only one book: Glut by Alex Wright. A non-fiction book about the history of information technology: how humans have ordered and catalogued information since the Stone Age. Really cool stuff, especially about the creation of the book and the connections between moveable type and witch burning!

[Dave Alluisi, Evolution of the Arm]

The last story in Widdershins, "Hic Jacet", is really fascinating stuff, especially considering Onions's general output. It's the age-old argument about commercial art versus "true" art; here, the narrator is a producer of commercial art attempting to write the biography of his recently departed friend, a "true" artist (and a pretty obnoxious one at that). The conclusion drawn is that the narrator is doomed to fail at any attempt at true art--or even literate discussion of a true artist--which, again, I find endlessly fascinating given Onions's own long bibliography of ghost stories, mysteries, and science fiction books. (Before anyone gets all offended at my implication here, by the way, it's Onions who calls these sorts of stories "rubbish" in his story, not me.)

This story, the second longest in the collection, also acts as the book's coda. Was Onions condemning his own work here? Did he have higher literary aspirations he felt doomed never to achieve? Or were the stories in Widdershins his attempt to combine the literary and commercial realms?

A cool collection. Glad to have read it.

[Jim]

Well into Rule of the Bone, a year in the life of a 14-year-old homeless outcast and petty criminal. The first-person voice of the semi-literate teenager took some getting used to, but now I'm enjoying it.

Surprised to find that Russell Banks's books exist in what a nerd might call a "shared universe." In RotB, we've already met a Winston Whitehouse, whose uncle was "a famous murderer" (Affliction). And a pair of brothers who live in a wrecked school bus that once crashed into a rock quarry (The Sweet Hereafter). Just found that a nifty little detail.

[Dave Alluisi, Evolution of the Arm]

Yeah, Banks does that sometimes. The bus driver from The Sweet Hereafter also showed up as a character in Lost Memory of Skin. One day I hope to have gone through all of his books and recognized a few more recurring characters. It was kinda sweet to see Dolores Driscoll end up happy after the horrific events of the bus crash. She also lent thematic weight to the Kid's story of living with social judgment.

He's also good at switching narrative voices, even when he's not using the first person. In Lost Memory, for instance, the passages that are from the perspective of the Kid (the sex offender) are very different from those told from the perspective of the Professor (an erudite genius), even though it's all third person perspective. I've been kinda interested in that sort of third person personal storytelling for a few years. I think it's an interesting way to separate multiple perspectives within a single narrative without having to necessarily worry about a Rashomon effect or the old unreliable narrator.

[Matt, I am the Great Went.]

Used a gift card at Powell's and picked up Blacklung, Big Book of Little Criminals and The Laughing Gorilla: A True Story of Police Corruption and Murder.

[Jason, Walking Allergen]

Very intrigued by Blacklung.

[Robert]

Yup, Blacklung jumped off the page at me, too.

[Jeppe]

I'm glad you picked up Blacklung! I've been wanting to get that one, so would love to hear your thoughts once you get around to reading it.

[Matt, I am the Great Went.]

Jeppe wrote: "I'm glad you picked up Blacklung! I've been wanting to get that one, so would love to hear your thoughts once you get around to reading it."

I thought it I heard of it from one of youse guys. Hmmm. Don't know how I learned of its existence.

[Jeppe]

Matt wrote: "I thought it I heard of it from one of yo..."

I put it on my to-read list a few days ago, after reading some rave reviews around the comics blogosphere. I think it came up in the recent "are there no good comics coming out" discussion here.

[Matt, I am the Great Went.]

Flying through the wonderful White Fang and wondering why I never read much Jack London before. He's becoming a favorite.

[Dave Alluisi, Evolution of the Arm]

Oh cool, I read White Fang recently, too. I had much the same reaction...I've only read Call of the Wild (which sort of reverse mirrors White Fang in a lot of ways), but it's made me want to check out a lot more London. I went ahead and picked up The Complete Works (Delphi Classics edition) and am looking forward to diving into some of the lesser known stuff down the road.

[Matt, I am the Great Went.]

We can talk about WF on the next mini! :)

[Matt, I am the Great Went.]

Reserved The Rocks Don't Lie: A Geologist Investigates Noah's Flood at the library after hearing the author interviewed on the radio when he was in town. Will be starting this tomorrow.

[Jeppe]

Matt wrote: "Reserved The Rocks Don't Lie: A Geologist Investigates Noah's Flood at the library after hearing the author interviewed on the radio when he was in town. Will be starting this tomorrow."

That looks very cool, I'm always looking for good skeptical accounts of myths like this.

[Matt, I am the Great Went.]

Dave wrote: "Oh cool, I read White Fang recently, too. I had much the same reaction...I've only read Call of the Wild (which sort of reverse mirrors White Fang in a lot of ways), but it's made me want to check ..."

Just finished WF and loved it. WF & CotW are perfect complements/yin to the other's yang.

[Alan]

Hey guys and gals!

I've read this novelette;

http://www.amazon.com/The-Cold-Misdir...

"The Cold Of Misdirected Heat" by Sonya Jones

I'd love to know what you guys might think of it, (if this is the right way to invite that)

[Jim]

Alan wrote: "Hey guys and gals!

I've read this novelette;

"The Cold Of Misdirected Heat" by Sonya Jones..."

Alan, you might have to sell us on it since it has no Amazon profile/reviews, and no Goodreads page.
What did you think of it? How did you find out about it in the first place?

[Alan]

The author referred it to me and I told her I'd alert others to it through a literature discussion forum.

I thought it was provoking! It forced me into places I didn't want to go with characters that echo from my own family. It made me uncomfortable in spots, which is either the author's strength or my own fragility.

I'm very eager to know how others' would experience the story.

[Alan]

Alan wrote: "The author referred it to me and I told her I'd alert others to it through a literature discussion forum.

I thought it was provoking! It forced me into places I didn't want to go with characters t..."

When I say "a literary discussion forum" I meant this one right here. ;-) It's my first ever.

[Alan]

How does it get a Goodreads page, btw?

[Jim]

Alan, it looks like you (or Ms. Jones) can just add it here.

I never thought about it before. My grandmother published a book of devotionals last year, and I started looking for it to magically appear on Goodreads. First it wasn't there, and then it was.
Turns out I could've just added it my own self.
/foreheadslap

[Alan]

Jim wrote: "Alan, it looks like you (or Ms. Jones) can just add it here.

I never thought about it before. My grandmother published a book of devotionals last year, and I started looking for it to magically a..."

Added and reviewed here through Goodreads! Thanks for your help! Now go add your Memaw's book! :-)

[Alan]

The Cold of Misdirected Heat

The story in question!

[Jim]

Quick note on Salman Rushdie's memoir Joseph Anton: I really like Rushdie's voice. I really don't like Rushdie.
His outsize ego leaps out at the reader, as indicated by the third-person voice he chose here. One reviewer here suggested that he was writing about the Joseph Anton pseudonym he used while living undercover during the fatwa. But "Joseph Anton" didn't go to Cambridge, didn't write The Satanic Verses -- it's the affectation of a narcissist, that's all.
And I haven't even gotten to the name-dropping, score-settling portions the GR reviews assure me are yet to come. And I never will.
I might try reading one of Rushdie's novels someday. He's clearly a very talented writer. But I won't be finishing this book.

[Jason, Walking Allergen]

We get that you don't like Spook Country, Jim. Aliens visiting our planet know this. Jungle tribes who cover their children in fire ants as a rite of passage know this. Teenagers kept locked in a closet under the stairs by neglectful foster parents, learning how to communicate with other humans for the first time at the age of 15, know this. Your descendants, hundreds of years in the future, feel a quickening in their blood when those words are spoken, and they know this.

[Jason, Walking Allergen]

On the subject of Rushdie, I started Midnight Children year ago, and only made it about 50 pages. Didn't care for it.

I've heard about the guy's ego a few times. I guess being targeted for Jihad...well, surviving being targeted for Jihad...can have that effect on a person.

[Jim]

Point taken. Trolling deleted. Thanks, Jason.

If haikus were 3-5-3 rather than 5-7-5, that might not be the worst one ever.

[Jason, Walking Allergen]

Jim wrote: "Point taken. Trolling deleted. Thanks, Farrell."

I'm Jason around here, especially among friends. Unless that's a way of showing you're annoyed with me.

Write whatever you want! Or link whatever you want, I guess...

[Jeppe]

I've always wanted to read Midnight's Children, but never got around to it. I did read the first 40 or 50 pages of The Satanic Verses, and didn't particularly like it.

[Dave Alluisi, Evolution of the Arm]

The more I learn of Rushdie, the more he strikes me as either the stupidest smart guy in the world or a natural-born shit-stirrer. Maybe a little of both.

Either way, I'm with you, Jim. I found his prose insufferable.

[Matt, I am the Great Went.]

As usual, I have no idea what is going on. :/

[Matt, I am the Great Went.]

Halfway through London's The Son of the Wolf: Tales of the Far North and it's cracking good stuff. Highly entertaining. Love that characters appear in different stories, especially when they're named things like "Scruff" Mackenzie and "Malamute Kid."

[Jason, Walking Allergen]

Matt wrote: "Halfway through London's The Son of the Wolf: Tales of the Far North and it's cracking good stuff. Highly entertaining. Love that characters appear in different stories, especially when they're nam..."

I thought you finished that and talked about it weeks ago...

[Matt, I am the Great Went.]

I was just a couple stories in.

[Robert]

Recently finished The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach.

It's a great Summer read not just because it references baseball quite often, but Harbach has a very fluid style to his prose and narration that seems extremely natural, like a shortstops' scoop and throw to start a double play.

Imagine John Irving without the hackneyed analogies and metaphors nor the slapstick approach to tragedy and death.

Seriously, that's meant to be a compliment.

[Matt, I am the Great Went.]

I loathe baseball, but your description sold me on this book, which I was not interested in before. Take your commission.

[Jeppe]

Sounds cool! My favorite book-about-baseball-even-though-I-hate-baseball is You Gotta Have Wa by Robert Whiting. Really good stuff about cultural practices and cross-cultural encounters in the world of sports.

[Robert]

Thank you, gentlemen!

I'll definitely have to give You Gotta Have Wa a look-see. I'm extremely interested in the history of the sport as it has so many dichotomies and nuances that never fail to intrigue me.

In terms of the play, I find it as zen as anything.

[Sherry]

Recently read The Whereabouts of Eneas McNulty and Annie Dunne. Both books are recommended to anyone who appreciates the poetic possibiltuis of the English language. Sebastian Berry has gift with words.

[Jason, Walking Allergen]

Funny. I like baseball, but I don't really want to read any books about it.

[Jason, Walking Allergen]

I've almost finished Vicious Circle, the second Felix Castor book. The degree to which I have enjoyed it can be measured by the fact that I bought the third book on Nook last night.

Two novels in two months that weren't the show pick... What's gotten into me? ;)