I often find myself comparing Lewis to Theodore Dreiser, mostly
because I once heard that both were considered for the Nobel Prize,
but Lewis prevailed. Dreiser has always been one of my favorite
writers, and I defend him whenever anyone mutters something snarky
about the "quality of his prose" or the "plainness"
of his ideas. After all, while he may not have been the most
accomplished stylist, Dreiser wrote with a deep sympathy and
curiosity, producing works of fiction in an effort to understand
people and promote tolerance. Lewis I know much less about (having
not yet read any biographies of him, and only three of his novels so
far), but I see him at times as Dreiser's polar opposite, interested
in exposing, rather than understanding, the people around him.
Pages
▼
7/28/14
Random Recommendation Guest Post: An Untamed State by Roxane Gay
This recommendation comes from Karena Fagan. You can follow her on Tumblr and on twitter @KarenaFagan.
An Untamed State (2014) by Roxane Gay
Praised by many for its narrative power, An Untamed State tells the story of a Haitian woman kidnapped for ransom, her captivity as her father refuses to pay and her husband fights for her release over thirteen days, and her struggle to come to terms with the ordeal in its aftermath.
An Untamed State (2014) by Roxane Gay
Praised by many for its narrative power, An Untamed State tells the story of a Haitian woman kidnapped for ransom, her captivity as her father refuses to pay and her husband fights for her release over thirteen days, and her struggle to come to terms with the ordeal in its aftermath.
7/22/14
From the TBR Shelf #22: Half-Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls
Snakes
dropping onto your kitchen table, floods destroying your house,
tornadoes flattening towns: this was the world of Lily Casey Smith,
the writer's grandmother, who was born and raised in the American
Southwest during the early 20th century. Walls takes her grandmother
as her subject in this, her second, book, after describing her own
itinerant and unstable childhood in The
Glass Castle.
And despite the flatness of the narrative voice at times, Walls's
book masterfully offers us a long-vanished world as seen through the
eyes of her no-nonsense, determined, intelligent grandmother.
7/21/14
Random Recommendation Guest Post: Above the East China Sea by Sarah Bird
This recommendation comes from Melissa W. You can follow her on her blog, balletbookworm.blogspot.com, on brazenreads.com, and on twitter @balletbookworm.
Above the East China Sea (2014) by Sarah Bird
An historical novel set in Okinawa during the last months of WWII, Above the East China Sea tells the entwined stories of two teenaged girls, an American and an Okinawan, whose lives are connected across seventy years by the shared experience of loss, the enduring strength of an ancient culture, and the redeeming power of family love.
7/18/14
Literary Tourism: Louisville, Kentucky
I visited this charming Southern city on the Kentucky/Indiana
border several years ago to give a paper at a literary studies
conference. All I knew about it was what my dad had told me, since he
had lived there for a time a few decades earlier- but much had changed
since then. The Louisville I saw was a vibrant, creative city with a
rich literary culture. Come on, let me show you around:
(And remember, it’s pronounced LOOuhvul!)
(And remember, it’s pronounced LOOuhvul!)
7/17/14
Review: Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King
Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King (Scribner, 448 pages, June 2014)
There's so much to love about Mr. Mercedes, King's latest novel, but this is not just me fan-girling all over it. Allow me to explain.
Unlike Under the Dome, for instance, Mr. Mercedes has just a handful of major characters, and it's this tightly-controlled narrative that propels the story forward at a brisk pace. You find yourself reading so fast that you're skipping words, but you want to know what did he just find out? Will they be too late? Will they warn them in time? etc. etc.
There's so much to love about Mr. Mercedes, King's latest novel, but this is not just me fan-girling all over it. Allow me to explain.
Unlike Under the Dome, for instance, Mr. Mercedes has just a handful of major characters, and it's this tightly-controlled narrative that propels the story forward at a brisk pace. You find yourself reading so fast that you're skipping words, but you want to know what did he just find out? Will they be too late? Will they warn them in time? etc. etc.
7/16/14
Books to Look For (July): Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Humor
Science Fiction
All Those Vanished Engines by Paul Park (Tor Books, 272 pages, July 1)
A novel of three alternate histories, All Those Vanished Engines offers us an intriguing look at the Civil War (apparently, the U.S. has a queen?), WWII (super-secret project- reminds me of parts of Cryptonomicon), and a near-future complete with aliens from the past. Yeah.
All Those Vanished Engines by Paul Park (Tor Books, 272 pages, July 1)
A novel of three alternate histories, All Those Vanished Engines offers us an intriguing look at the Civil War (apparently, the U.S. has a queen?), WWII (super-secret project- reminds me of parts of Cryptonomicon), and a near-future complete with aliens from the past. Yeah.
7/15/14
Translate Émile Zola: An Open Letter to Publishers
Artists, coal miners, prostitutes, politicians: you’ll find all of these characters and more in the works of Émile Zola.
I read my first Zola novel in college, during a lull in my final exams at the end of sophomore year. The college bookstore happened to have a copy of Le ventre de Paris (The Belly Of Paris) in its little “general literature” section, and from the moment I read the first page I was HOOKED.
Setting out to write about every aspect of French society under the Second Empire, Zola (1840-1902) crafted twenty exquisitely detailed novels over the course of two decades at the end of the 19th century. His formulation of literary Naturalism, where the writer attempts to objectively study and analyze human society through the lives of his/her characters, was so influential that it drove Stephen Crane, Frank Norris, and Theodore Dreiser, among others, to craft their own versions of American Naturalism.
I read my first Zola novel in college, during a lull in my final exams at the end of sophomore year. The college bookstore happened to have a copy of Le ventre de Paris (The Belly Of Paris) in its little “general literature” section, and from the moment I read the first page I was HOOKED.
Setting out to write about every aspect of French society under the Second Empire, Zola (1840-1902) crafted twenty exquisitely detailed novels over the course of two decades at the end of the 19th century. His formulation of literary Naturalism, where the writer attempts to objectively study and analyze human society through the lives of his/her characters, was so influential that it drove Stephen Crane, Frank Norris, and Theodore Dreiser, among others, to craft their own versions of American Naturalism.
From the TBR Shelf #21: Tenth of December by George Saunders
Yes,
I know, unbelievable
that it took me this
long
to get around to reading Tenth
of December,
but now I've done it and...well...*mind. blown.*
I think Karen Russell (another fantastic writer of short stories)
says it best: "[I] read Saunders because he always makes me want
to write. He reads like he's having such a good time..."
Yes,
yes, and yes. I find I get as much enjoyment out of Saunders as I do,
say, when I read Arthur C. Clarke (one of my favorites). The energy,
stylistic experimentation, and twisted satire in Saunders' stories
reminds me of how incredibly strange the world is and how ultimately
unknowable are the people in it.
7/14/14
Random Recommendation Guest Post: I Served The King of England by Bohumil Hrabal
This recommendation comes from Jake Burnett. You can follow him on twitter @Quibblemuch and on his website Quibblemuch's Impractical Miscellany
I Served the King of England (1983) by Bohumil Hrabal (transl. Paul Wilson)
A wonderful, sad, wistful, comic, sweet novel about a busboy in a Prague hotel in the middle of the 20th century. Hrabal is incredible, and this is one of the best introductions to his work I can think of. This novel captures an acceptance of the sadness and tragedy underlying life (especially during the darkness of the last century), yet treats that sadness with a softly comic sensibility. Hrabal is high on my list of writers whom I wish I had had the privilege to know.
7/10/14
Review: Land of Love and Drowning by Tiphanie Yanique
I've now read two books by Tiphanie Yanique in just a few months, and I
can't wait to see what she publishes next. Both HowTo Escape From A Leper Colony
and LoLaD
explore the rich history of the Caribbean Islands and interactions
between its people and foreigners (mostly from the U. S.). Yanique
dwells on the unique aspects of each island, and also what draws them
together. Because its people are a rich mixture of cultures and
ethnicities, the Caribbean offers her a varied and fascinating
field of study.
7/9/14
Books to Look For (July): History, Comics/Graphic Novels, & Travel
History
Queen Anne: Patroness of Arts by James Anderson Winn (Oxford University Press, 816 pages, July)
Despite a life marked by tragedy, Anne was nonetheless a devotee and patroness of the arts in 17th-century England. The last Stuart monarch, Anne inspired poets, painters, and composers to create works of great beauty and political importance, even as she excelled in the arts. Handel, Pope, Wren- they're all here. Sooo, guess this means I'm adding another British monarch biography to the TBR list!
Queen Anne: Patroness of Arts by James Anderson Winn (Oxford University Press, 816 pages, July)
Despite a life marked by tragedy, Anne was nonetheless a devotee and patroness of the arts in 17th-century England. The last Stuart monarch, Anne inspired poets, painters, and composers to create works of great beauty and political importance, even as she excelled in the arts. Handel, Pope, Wren- they're all here. Sooo, guess this means I'm adding another British monarch biography to the TBR list!
7/7/14
Rachel's Random Recommendation #39: Steppenwolf by Herman Hesse
Steppenwolf (1927) by Herman Hesse
You know those books that, even years after you've read them, you mostly forget what they're about but you remember how they made you feel? Yeah, that's my experience with Steppenwolf.
I remember reading this (my second) Hesse novel as a teenager, depressed that college and independence were still so far away (another year of high school!) and looking to books for solace. Having read Siddhartha a couple of times, I knew that Hesse would make me forget about the world and revel in language- thus, Steppenwolf.
You know those books that, even years after you've read them, you mostly forget what they're about but you remember how they made you feel? Yeah, that's my experience with Steppenwolf.
I remember reading this (my second) Hesse novel as a teenager, depressed that college and independence were still so far away (another year of high school!) and looking to books for solace. Having read Siddhartha a couple of times, I knew that Hesse would make me forget about the world and revel in language- thus, Steppenwolf.
7/3/14
What's YOUR Random Recommendation?
So I drone on and on and on about the books I've loved, and I want to hear from YOU GUYS. So hit me with your random recs and I'll post them each Monday night.
Include:
Your name
Your random recommendation
A few sentences about why it's awesome
(optional) Where people can find you (fb, twitter, website, etc.)
Include:
Your name
Your random recommendation
A few sentences about why it's awesome
(optional) Where people can find you (fb, twitter, website, etc.)
7/2/14
Books to Look For (July): Biography, Literary Fiction, & Mystery
Biography
Sally Ride: America's First Woman in Space by Lynn Sherr (Thorndike Press, July)
Oh man, I can't WAIT to get my paws on this book. I mean, if it weren't for the whole math and science and being crazy-fit thing, I'd totally be an astronaut. But seriously, I read James Hansen's First Man- a biography of Neil Armstrong- a few years ago and became only more fascinated with the development of the space program and the men and women who made it happen. I don't know a whole lot about Sally Ride, but I'm going to change that.
Sally Ride: America's First Woman in Space by Lynn Sherr (Thorndike Press, July)
Oh man, I can't WAIT to get my paws on this book. I mean, if it weren't for the whole math and science and being crazy-fit thing, I'd totally be an astronaut. But seriously, I read James Hansen's First Man- a biography of Neil Armstrong- a few years ago and became only more fascinated with the development of the space program and the men and women who made it happen. I don't know a whole lot about Sally Ride, but I'm going to change that.