The Biblio Files

Nessa's Adventures at Worldcon ~ Anticipation

2009-08-19T23:35:00.003-05:00

She is a comin' around the mountain agian

2009-05-24T14:05:00.001-05:00

Hi Everyone,

I am reading Black Rain by Masuji Ibuse. And will be posting soon enough.

Lots of changes in my life but things have settled down... its time to hit the books again.

Nessie

Help!

2008-04-23T09:56:00.004-05:00

Recently, I had the privelege to read Edith Wharton's Age of Innocence. I have no right to discuss this book it is truely beyond words, much less criticism.

Someone was kind enough to bring this article to my attention. Please consider giving a little. It is these works of art and history that survive for the next generation to teach them about the potential of humanity.

Save the Mount

Outside design circles, not many people know that Edith Wharton's first publication was a decorating manual. It's a perplexing fact. Our own American grande dame, author of more than 40 books, friend of Henry James and Theodore Roosevelt … bothered herself with wallpaper and sconces? (Actually, she loathed wallpaper.) But after the initial shock, perhaps you'll remember reading The Age of Innocence or seeing Martin Scorsese's film adaptation of it and realize that Wharton is fused in your mind with masterfully described interiors—at which point, your confusion will click into a satisfied "Huh!" If so, you might be moved, as I was, to rent a car and go visit the Mount, the only one of Wharton's many residences remaining. But act fast: If the Mount doesn't somehow acquire $3 million by April 24, the bank is going to shut it down. The interiors you're about to see may be lost to the public forever.

Slide Show: http://www.slate.com/id/2189098/

Which is it?

2008-01-25T22:13:00.000-05:00

Title: Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde

aka The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde
aka Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde

Author: Robert L. Stevenson who is known for other such works as Treasure Island and Kidnapped to name but a few.

Genre: Short Story, Horror
# of Pages: 81

Publisher: Knopf Publishing Group
Premiere classics Edition

Began and Finished Reading: January 2008

The audience follows Mr Utterson and the dilemna he faces over the course of a year that concerns his friend and client Dr. Jekyll. The good-natured Doctor has left his entire estate to Mr Hyde, a man with a crude reputation. Slowly, the plot thickens till the "shocking" ending leaves the reader astounded - that the two men are in fact the same person. The transformation caused when a concuction is injected that the Dr discovered which seperates the good and bad elements of a person.

Though a mark of just how his work has penetrated the Western cultural stratosphere, the fact that the finale to Stevenson's work is common knowledge (so much so that it would be a 100$ question on Who Wants to Be A Million Air) kills part of the effect the author wishes to evoke. Rather than relate with Utterson in pursuit of uncovering this mystery, the reader is frustrated with him, urgining him on in their minds for him to discover what we already know. The aspect of empathy is broken which seems unfair to Stevenson and I personally curse the foolish Literature teachers that feel such spoilers are of no consequence. They rape the novel of their soul and the author of their sole divine right - to depict the story from the narrative that best suits their ends.

Recommend To: Of course, post Tresure Island this is a great night read. Not enough horror for the kiddos not to sleep... though they may request a nightlight ;)

Title: An issue for the Trivia lover - the volume I own has all three titles at different times (Cover, Cover page, and table of contents). Which is it?

“- cause fantasy is a genre that is flailing its way toward the nearest tar pit to become extinct if people don’t stop writing the same book over and over again.”

2008-01-17T10:07:00.001-05:00

Series: The Braided Path (TBP)

Volume 1: The Weavers of Saramyr (2003)

Volume 2: The Skein of Lament (2004)

Volume 3: The Ascendency Veil (2005)

Author: Chris Wooding

Publisher: Gollancz

# of Pages: a lot!

Genre: Fantasy

Began Reading: December 14^th, 2007

Finished Reading: January 14^th, 2007

About: The Braided Path series follows the Empire of Saramyr which, for the past two thousand years, relies more and more on the talents of the Weavers, men who have the power to see and navigate within a 'fourth dimension'. Mostly used as a means to communicate, what began as an accessory found in every noble home soon develops into the pillar of Saramyr society. The Weavers fast exploit their position and a growing number of people – to avoid spoilers, let us call them the 'Anti- Weavers' – gather to rebel. The trilogy follows a vast cast of characters but the back bone of the story revolves around two strong females: Lucia, the Heir-Empress who is born with a talent that her mother hides from the world in fear for her child's life and throne and Kaiku, a young noble woman who fights to stay alive after everything she holds dear is taken away from her.

Jon C. Grimwood writes that Wooding is exploring "sexual politics" in his series (back of book cover Volume I). Though the main characters are female, Grimwood does not give Wooding enough credit for the intrigue he develops in the series. The tension in his characters is as strong as the plot - a characteristic not often found in typical fantasy. Whereas "sexual politics" may well apply to the Sword of Truth series (Terry Goodkind – a flop after volume 3), Wooding's heroes and villains are not so two-dimensional.

Best example would be the moments of reflection his characters often have. These moments of introspection are not only windows into thoughts but develop the character themselves. Much like Hamlet's monologues, the audience becomes aware of the personage in moments of solitude as much as in times of action. Odd yet involving for any novel, much less fantasy.

There are several instances throughout the series where characters actually take the time to contemplate – scenes that are in sharp contrast to the action packed moments. The selection read is one such instance that not only exemplifies this point but also demonstrates some of the riskier writing tactics Wooding uses. Kaiku for the past 100 pages has reluctantly been admitting to herself that she desires Saran. But the reader, having already become familiar with her from Volume 1, should be familiar with the fact that this is a half-truth. For Kaiku to respond and consider Saran in such a manner means she is willing to take this further than the physical level. Wooding never writes this explicitly until this scene when Kaiku confesses this to herself. The impact lies in the fact that we along with the author are conscious of her imperfection. This scene demonstrates one manner which the character develops and matures. I write "risky" because had anyone not been paying attention, the moment would have been lost and made useless. Wooding has faith it seems in us all... and expectation.

So What?:

"The Braided Path trilogy took me about three years to write, but I had to get it out of my system. I'd always wanted to write an epic fantasy as they were the first books I really fell in love with; but of course I wanted to do it my way, because by the time I grew up I was pretty bored with dragons and wizards and was wondering why everybody uses stock monsters and the old Dungeons and Dragons system of elf/dwarf/goblin, instead of using five-headed acid-spitting photovores that can iridesce their way through space-time – ie, something faintly original. (I did have several better ideas than that, but I deleted them cos I want to use them myself later J) TBP is an attempt to do something original within the trad-fantasy structure, 'cause it's a genre that is flailing its way toward the nearest tar pit to become extinct if people don't stop writing the same book over and over again." -ChrisWooding (chriswooding.com)

How astute! The genre is oft times misunderstood even by its own followers. Too many believe the E/D/G ratio to be at the core of the genre. However, a villain does not a good novel make. Rather the heart in fantasy rests in how an author can leverage the style to cultivate a system of logic, reality, vocabulary and science which forces the reader to be humbled by their lack of knowledge. Like a babe, the audience must take their first steps in an unknown world and it is the author's responsibility to do so in a creative, intriguing manner. Why? Imagine that in these places and within these characters the words "nigger", "feminist", "prime minister" etc do not exist. These worlds may contain their own set of prejudice, legal system and history but it is one that ostracizes the reader. And with that, I would argue, one can construct the most objective of opinions/positions as humanly possible. We can be entertained by the novelty these worlds offer and still use these tales to further our discussions on philosophy, politics and ethics.

With that we have what I would call the "teach me" scene – moments where characters, and in turn the reader, learn more about the world.

Tolkien termed the concept of "application" in relation to the fantasy genre and his own body of work (Jackson's LOR Bonus Feature on DVD). Tolkien's own LOR trilogy was not meant as a parody of, as is often argued, World War II or the Christian faith but of both and more. His reason for writing his story in the fantasy genre was so that the audience can apply the work as a metaphor to many such events. Whereas Tolkien is relating the tale to historical incidents I would dare to take the concept another step further and argue that fantasy provides a neutral platform for discourse on theoretical topics as well.

Wooding's TBP leverages this with his characters and plot. He provides content in which the audience can discuss gender politics, war and ethics. Most resounding in TBP is how the characters at one point or another face a "Sophie's Choice", an ultimatum that is a guaranteed loss.

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Wooding doesn't stop there. He takes the classic love story and tears it apart throughout the story.

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Whereas it seems more and more fantasy plots revolve around the romantic couple, Wooding makes love a consequence of his plot. Refreshing because it allows him to add quirky twists which make them more realistic. No rival for Lan and Nynaeve (Robert Jordan) but close.

And there is of course, politics. Not usually something of interest for me but here his characters were so consistent yet unpredictable.

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Wooding's word choice when it comes to domestic affairs is precise and chilling. It is the sections that he has mastered and would dare say that The Wheel of time Series could do with.

Unfortunately, Wooding has not (yet) created an epic. He had the right characters and storyline but he is missing details. His Oriental influence is so glaring that it destroys much of the mystery. The exotic soon dies in his characters and it at times feels like TBP is a 'What if?" history work. Wooding states on his website, "Saramyr gained an oriental theme, based on a blend of ancient Japan, China, Persia and Renaissance Italy and not resembling any of them very much in the end." It's that last part that would have to disagree with! The Japanese and Chinese influence is so strong it overshadows the tale.
Bottom line is that Wooding's own metaphors are so connected with Earth that at times its even jarring. Perhaps if he had taken a bit more time, the details could have been accentuated and perfected.

What were they thinking? The covers need revamping. Volume 3 is so bad I added it to the Awful Book Cover selection to the left.

However, they did release a collection of the three volumes in one which is a significant improvement.

Of Note: The author in question published at the age of twenty-one. He is now thirty years old, lives in Madrid and has published twenty – yes, 20 - novels. You can visit his website at http://www.chriswooding.com/ and check the long list for yourself.

To Chris Wooding, the Writing Machine.

Since this is online and there is a small chance you may actually read this...

Why Flen? Anyone but Flen! One of the simplest yet truest characters that have ever encountered and you X him.. You seem to have a certain pleasure in axing - so much so that I thought you may have had tea with G. R. R .Martin himself!

That being said, it would seem you are one of the few people alive interested in fantasy. That's an open invite if you are ever in MTL. Get out of Madrid – the food there is bad!

And finally, thanks. Avant-garde is always refreshing. Am a bit jealous. The good kind though. - vgg

“...for his narrative mastery, which with great sensibility expresses the essence of the Japanese mind.”

2008-01-06T01:23:00.000-05:00

Title: Meijin (The Master of Go)

Author: Kawabata, Yasunari

Published: 1951 for Shincho, a Japanese magazine (in serial). In 1954, Kawabata’s work was published as a novel.

Translation: Edward Seidensticker’s English translation was released in 1972 though not identical to the 1954 edition. This is due to the fact that Kawabata revised The Master of Go before it was published in book format. Seidensticker writes in the introduction that he used the shorter version because Kawabata preferred it.

Publisher: 1972, Alfred A Knopf

ISBN: 425026450

# of Pages: 186 (includes 2 pages of footnotes)

Began Reading: December 28th, 2007
Finished Reading: January 2nd, 2008

The "Beef": The Master of Go is the slight-fictionalization (shosetsu) of the actual Go match that Kawabata covered when he worked as a journalist for the Osaka and Tokyo magazine Mainichi. Kawabata describes it as a “faithful chronicle novel” and in fact many of the chapters are rewrites of his published articles (Kawabata v). The translator, Seidensticker, deduces in his introduction that Kawabata's work expresses his regret of Japan’s loss in World War II. Kawabata saw the post-war years as a time where he would only be capable of writing elegies, pieces that pay homage to times past. However, the deliberate yet graceful writing style of Kawabata emulates less of a regret than an uncertainty for the new era of Japan. With the war lost and the Emperor expressing defeat (his speech never mentions surrender), the Japanese faced a post-Hiroshima/Nagasaki world of pain, humiliation and, it can be said, dishonour. As a people, the social collective moved towards an adaptation of new (semi-Western) ways. This duality between old and new is articulated in the two opponents over the Go board. Kawabata examines the possibility in the Master’s younger opponent, Otake, whether or not there is not a necessity for the Japanese to adapt this “new approach” that can lead the nation to victory in the future. The character of the Master seems to have been reshaped from the cynical man in reality to a noble, wise figure who is accustomed to the older rules and manners of playing Go. Both players have a particular style and approach to their game that the narrator describes and analyzes throughout the novel. The Master who has always been victorious to date loses to the seventh rank player Otake, this being said in the opening pages so no need for concern on spoilers here.

"So What?": Like most things that concern Japan – sword fighting, drinking, the feudal system, the country’s literature is not an endeavour a Caucasian can expect to curl up with and enjoy. A certain amount of background and perhaps even a second read is required to fully comprehend an author’s intentions.

Consider this: plot. While reviewing the assignment of my Japanese language-exchange partner, Yoshiko, I suggested that she keep track of the plot by listing the key events with the page number beside. She was unfamiliar with the word "plot" and the dictionary's suggestion, arasuji, implies more summary than plot. When the difference between the two words was clarified, Yoshiko expressed surprise that English would even be concerned with “the order of events”. All elementary school attendees, past and present, recall the lesson of the ‘ ’. The beginning which introduces the characters and events that leads to the pivotal moment, also known as Climax, where the author’s point comes across at its strongest. From there, the reader is brought to a smooth end, usually a series of events that are of direct consequence to the previous key event. All this action concerns us, the Western reader (Americans and Europeans alike), to what end?, Yoshiko would ask directly... My (humble) guess is simply that, like an essay, Western culture has been given key templates to follow and we have done so without question, adopting the “plot” layout as a writing norm. Flip to Chapter II of any Jane Austen novel and you’ll see it for yourself – the Queen of English Literature gives detailed accounts of her characters at the precise time she is expected to. She introduces their personality, provides historical background and contextualizes them within the framework of their time and place.

This is not so for Japanese Literature (nor is it for Science Fiction and Fantasy genre but that is for another post). Let us consider the following passage:

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The tale of The Master of Go, and most other Japanese novels, do not quiet begin nor do they really end. When the reader has registered the last word on the final page of the novel, the tendency is to wonder whether perhaps there is not some misprint, some pages missing. In a Japanese novel, this "introduction of characters" where one is given history and context of the principal characters rarely happens if at all. The reading above summarizes all the events that take place - essentially the entire plot of the book - is given with this first chapter. The narrative for Japanese literature is focused more on the moments in which they have decided to express. This may sound like it is centered around a plot, but if so than it is o ne which bears little order or focus. It is not that the Japanese novel is a random series of events. Rather, it lacks a central focal point that everything revolves around. Overall, it can be said that Japanese literature is conscious of the fact that it gives a glimpse within a certain timeframe. A contrast to the more holistic feeling an English novel would provide.

Within the pages mentioned above, the audience is aware that the book covers the six month Go match played and lost by Master Syusai. His death less than a year later leaves the narrator with regret, he writes in those first pages, and yet the reader realizes that this event has brought insight on the character of the man the narrator so revered. The Master of Go’s short chapters are not a chronological account of the game. Rather, Kawabata discusses different moments that brought awe to the game, knowledge on the Master or his opponent or some social observations. Certain Chapters were so alive with thought and question yet nothing conclusive is written even though the narrator presents it as such on occasion. This is the magic that Japanese fiction holds that Western novels generally do not embody as well. And that is that the tale is more of a suggestion rather than a particular message. (This is where Mishima’s Patriotism provides an ideal counter argument but I have to leave something for the comments, don’t I?) Case in point: Chapter 28 explores the foreigner who plays Go. The narrator, Uuragami, becomes unsettled after the first game.

Recommendation: I recall reading that Snow Country (also by Kawabata) is the novel most recognized by the Western world and The Master of Go by the Japanese. Having now read both of these novels, the surprise was that this is the case simply because The Master of Go is more understandable to the Western reader. The characters in this novel are clean-cut with Kawabata providing a framework for us to work with. Snow Country and most other Japanese novels leave much of the characters personality, even when written in the first person (such as Oe’s The Silent Cry), unsaid. My recommendation for anyone who wishes to begin reading Japanese Fiction it would be this one.

Fun Facts: Kawabata (b. 1899 d.1972) was orphaned at the age of two and by the age of fifteen had lost his only sibling and his grandparent. He killed himself in 1972 by gassing himself though certain family members consider his death to be an accident.

In 1968, Kawabata was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature. The only other Japanese author with such an honour is Kenzaburo Oe who received his award in 1994.

Kawabata was Mishima's mentor. Mishima is an author discussed in this blog many a time and happens to be a personal favourite. It is said that the Nobel Prize was originally issued to Mishima but when he learned of this, insisted that it be given to his teacher and mentor, Kawabata (source: Wikipedia. They provided no citation). Mishima was nominated three times but never won.
Amazon.ca Widgets

New Year Resolutions out the window...

2008-01-02T20:03:00.000-05:00

Yes, am alive. Whether that's a good thing or not has yet to be determined...

The holiday did not live up to my hopes but met expectations. Therefore, all complaints and comments are reserved for a later date. Perferably never.

There are several reasons why did not write so much at the end of last year. Lets just say the joy in typing was sucked out when the words, "You can't write for shit" were uttered. Hmmmm, yes my own fault.

And no, it is not M. Good God, she is a cold hearted bitch but she would make sure she said that in-between the lines. If anything, that girl is cunning.

For the TBR Challenge, I got to Invisible Man. For my own challenge, I reached the fourth book of Proust. M and Contender 7 finished (in the Proust catagory). Cheers and hurrarys all around.

2007 will be remembered as the year Oscar Wilde was devoured. I just have three more plays of his to read but the crux was done - reread Dorian Gray and for the first time Importance of Being Ernest. Must reads that lol all the way.

At this moment am reading Yasunari Kawabata's THE MASTER OF GO. Expect post soon. Also, I recieved an E-READER for my birthday which has caused disorder among my intimate bibliophiles. More on this soon as well.

And yes, My Love & M, spell check and proof reading. Who said that writing is in the rewriting??? ;)

PS: I also read Age of Innocence and Atonement. Both of those books had me dying. Please read them. Won't even try to write a review (yet)... their words are more than enough.

2007-09-09T00:00:00.000-05:00

See Details for M & N's Summer 7 Challenge & the hot button that goes along with it by clicking this link.

"Bad girl ! drunk by six"

2007-08-12T20:42:00.000-05:00

Well, I haven't had a drink in ten months now (that story is for another post) so guess that the title isn't quite accurate but still appropriate. Just thought that I would check in with y'all since many emails have been coming this way asking if I was still alive and whether or not I was still apart of the blog world.

Turns out I am alive and kicking, though perhaps not with any aim. Right now, am one hundred pages into Volume 4 of Proust. The guy is truly amazing though I have had to take a few breaks this summer and read other 'lighter' books. A romance novel here, a Harry Potter there (Volume 5) and, of course, some fantasy.

I recommend Stardust - read and watch. Neil Gaiman's fairy tale is on the big screen and I loved it! Even M thought the movie was somewhat kick-ass... and we all know how critical M is.

Contender 7 was the first to read all of Proust - they finished in JULY! Check out all the details in www.contenderseven.blogspot.com

2 contenders pulled out and in 'punishment' have volunteered at their local community centre which is great for me.

Alright folks, keep your chins up! There is still time...

Just so I can be up-to-date...

2007-04-30T11:51:00.000-05:00

Having just finished The Darkness that Comes Before moments ago. Originally, the intention when logging on was to write a post on it but am feeling rather guilty if I would not write a little something on the other books that have read since In the Skin of a Lion. So they will get their moment of fame but not much else. Just wish there were 25 hours in a day, ya know?

Title: The Millstone
Author: Margaret Drabble

Began & Finished Reading:
April 4th, 2007

"Hi N."

"Hi. " M (no not our M; a whole other one) has never called me. In fact, I have known her for less then a year and have seen her less then 3 times.

"I heard that you have - um- written papers for people." Ahh, straight shot. I like that. Doesn't waste precious time that can be spent reading. "I was wondering if..."

The Milestone was one such book. Drabble is well known for her contribution to modern literature though I would classify her as a Alice Munro by any means. However, her short novel is touching. A wonderful one night read which tells the simple story of a single mother. Her mastery of the English language is AWE-ful... there are lines which make one weep to be certain. I am no mother (yet) but she really does create this bridge between the before and after 'worlds' that allows for the reader a glimpse of change.

Title: Saturday Night, Sunday Morning
Author: Alan Sillitoe

Began & Finished Reading:
April 5-6 2007

Once again picked up to write that English paper. Though not as 'well written', our protagonist is much more memorable in personality and life events. More daring, outspoken and wild, Alex is one of those misunderstood people that society has a tendency of catagorizing as 'menencing'. The accessment would be accurate on a surface level - Alex's inner thoughts and intentions allow even the most puritan of readers to relish this tale.

Title: Guardian Angel

&
Castles

Author: Julie Garwood

Began April 26th, 2007
Finished: April 28th, 2007

Quick romance reads by my favorite author in the genre. Though nothing like her highlander storylines, the tale of the Cainewood family is one that overshadows most other trashy romances. Thrill reads, they served their purpose in having me want, by the end, to pick up something of more substance. My strategy to get through Proust with a smile on my face is to read two romances between every volume. If anyone has any recommendations, please let me know. I have almost finished reading all of her works which is unfortunate but maybe it is time to move on. I have re-read Saving Grace about 80 times... trust me - it's begining to show. ;)

Shout Out: Lucy from www.BooksPrice.com sent me an email about her website. Though I have not yet tried their services I do appreciate the innovative, crisp, clean lay-out that they have. Check it out guys and let me know.

That's it folks! I am off to the park with M where we are going to read Proust outloud to each other. Oh, yes! M did make the observation just this morning that many of the details which I choose to divulge to you go unexplained. Should there be any occasion which any of you feel that further detail is needed an email or comment is more then welcome.

2007-04-28T21:52:00.000-05:00

Title: In the Skin of the Lion
Author: Michael Ondaatje

ISBN: 0394281829
Page #s: 244

Began Reading:
April 1, 2007

Finished Reading:
April 2, 2007

"So what do you think?"

"Well, N," M said. She sighed holding the binder that held my (humble) 'first' book which only to date has been in print via my laser jet. I had a feeling this was going to be bad. "Your writing... it needs work. I mean there was not a single word in there that I stumbled over. ..." And on & on.

Its not that I can't take criticism (I think... I hope...) but what I hate most of all - and what I told M - is that everyone and anyone can say 'this is good'/'this is bad' . But constructive crit - oh yeah that word!- is more about guiding someone is a general new direction rather then a rant and rave. Much to my benefit she kinda took my advice when she showed up at the cafe a few days later and dropped this book right in front of me. "I think this is how you should write it. His style, the way he describes the things around him..."

Who said friendship - even a somewhat one - isn't about give or take? Retard.
Plot: Ummm. Ummmmmm... that's one of the things with this book. I don't think there is much of a plot. Yes, there's a bridge being built in Toronto and tons of immigrants slaving away constructing this new city. Some guy into placing bombs, wants to get back at those who exploit the toil of foreigners in Canada... there's a nun who gets pregnant after flying off the bridge and a tunnel digger who falls in love with an actress. Truly, there is little character and definitely barely any plot.

So Why Bother? Sometimes, while reading this I did ask myself this question. I wanted to hold onto something and carry it with me when not reading a book and this one left me little to no room to do that. However, it was beautifully written. Not that it read like a poem or lyrics but because there is this inherent illogic to the dialogue and prose which mirror that of the everyday.
"You don't want power. You were born to be a younger brother." page 124

"His breath is now almost whisper, almost language." page 205

Pretty incredible, aye?

Best Part: The way Alice dies. Amazing. Oh, and Caravaggio. Just because of his name, of course.

Worst Part: Blah, the disappointment. My expectations were high considering that M actually handed it over for study. It does need a second read just to further examine technique and his use of analogy but it won't be like reading Gatsby for the second time - not by a long shot.

Recommend To: Well, this is great Canadian lit in the sense that one can see the birth of the city if not the country in the modern era. And the multi-cultural aspects of Canada - how we are praised for being so excepting. Books like this and Obasan are necessary to show that its not about the place but the who. Canada has skeletons in its closet like any other country (though don't get me wrong. This IS, in comparison, the best country to live in today). This is one of Ondaatje favored books so I think that maybe I am being a little harsh - it could have not been the right time perhaps (that happens sometimes. Like the first time I read Hume... definitely not the right time). It has been given the CBC Radio Canada Reads 2002 Winner among others and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize which he lost to A Dream Like Mine by M. T. Kelly.

Factoid: Its the prequal to The English Patient.
The title, you discover as you read, comes from a line in The Epic of Gilgamesh.

I have 6 other books that I have read after this to write reviews on. Yes, it was a semi-productive month. Right now I am reading The Darkness that Came Before for the Once Upon a Time Challenge. Its great so far... promise longer and more reviews to come.

Some Stories Are Worth Retelling...

2007-04-13T10:08:00.000-05:00

Title:
The Gospel According to Jesus Christ
Author:
Jose Saramago
Translator:
Giovanni Pontiero
Portuguese to English

Number of Pages:
377
ISBN:
0156001411
Genre:
International Fiction

Challenge:
TBR Reading Challenge
4/12

Began Reading:
April 6th, 2007
Finished:
April 9, 2007

Even before blogging, my 'books-to-be-bought" list has been forever on my mind. Still, of late, I have purchased volumes usually on recommendation from a teacher, respected colleague, neighbour or fellow blogger.

However, I do ensure that when walking into a bookstore with a specific purchase in mind that I spend at least 10 minutes caressing each book with my eyes if not with my hands. My little cousin has always giggled in embarrassment on the occasions she has accompanied me (with Starbucks in mind of course), a by-stander while I flipped to a random page of a tomme I happened to pick up and smell. Deep breath. Taking in the smell of the ink pressed on paper. The fresh crack of the spine. The potential. These cheep trills I dive into at least once a week and would argue with any MD that its works greater wonders then any apple a day business.

Of course, there are negative consequences such as the effects to my wallet. On the day I picked up Saramago's volume, I was purchasing Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison (which is still on my TBR Pile). The title caught me off guard having been someone who believed that they knew pretty much all the important title if not all of this Nobel prize winner. My shame of course propelled me - no obliged - to make the purchase. I quickly signed it up as an April read for the TBR challenge hosted by Miz Books because I thought it would suit the Easter weekend with more lamb then even Jesus would expect.

Story: Well, it seems a little silly for me to relate to you the story of Jesus' life. No matter your faith or religious position - post-Dan Brown era means having some idea of what this man's life - at least in major events such as being born, dying and resurrecting - comprises of.

However, Saramago spends the majority of his piece devoted to the beginnings of Jesus life and even before, as he focuses on the couple Mary and Joseph as they struggle before their first son is born.

What this is however is a depiction of a man. A human who fucks and shits and swears. Who feels pride and shame, hurt and betrayal, love and confusion. Disturbing to say the least that Jesus didn't necessarily WANT this... that the fame post-partum was not of his design.

Is it worth it?: I don't know if the book really produced something effective or reviving. Though keeping in mind that this was written in 1991, it may be that all the news headlines of having found JC's bones and Mary Magdalene's grave has de-sensitized. The Church calls the book 'blasphemous' which is ridiculous considering it is clearly marked as Fiction but then maybe they forgot to read that part. If furthering your knowledge on multiple interpretations is what you are looking for then pick up this book. There is no great adventure or scheme as in Da Vinci Code. Its more like a humble memoir of how a miracle would have been carried out and later written about.

Best Part: When God comes to Jesus at the lake with the Devil and they talk for a while and JC asks why does the devil have to be there. God replies, "My son, never forget what I'm about to tell you, everything that concerns God also concerns the devil." page 310

I'll let you discover for yourself what was meant by that remark.

Worst Part: I got a bit annoyed at times of the characters. God was a 'cool dude' but a little too full of -self and that was frustrating; when you read pages and pages of the great wonders that are capable through -. In no way is Saramago using this text as some religious propaganda. Let us just say that when God spoke I had echo's of Nietzsche's discourse on the Old and New Testatment God in my head.

Style: Classic Saramago = means no quotation marks + very long paragraphs + sarcastic humour that makes one laugh out loud. He is, like Stendhal, TELLING a story to you. He acknowledges your presence and your knowledge of JC's life, using it to his advantage. I do prefer The Cave to this text and am told that Blindness is even better but everyone should experience one volume of Saramago sometime and discover for them self why he won the Nobel when he did.

Parting Words: Bla! I am writing another essay for an acquaintance. I am reinvesting the money into a HD DVD player but not with that Blue Disk coming out I am unsure whether I should or not.

I finished reading In the Skin of a Lion and the Milestone, neither being extraordinary but happy to have them under my belt if only for diversifying.

A Promise Once Made Never Forgotten

2007-04-04T20:55:00.000-05:00

Title: Gardens of the Moon
Author: Steven Erickson
Genre: Fantasy

Series: Book 1 of the Malazan Book of the Fallen

# of Pages: 494
ISBN:

Challenge: Chunkster, 2/3

Began Reading:
March 5 2007
Finished Reading :
April 5th 2007

Ok, so what a disgrace I am. Does it make a difference that for 2 weeks I did not touch this or any other book for that matter? Does it make a difference that this project am working on is due this Friday for an investor who may, just may, be investing well... a lot into this 'idea'?

See, even I can't convince myself.

There is no reason. Not having 2 hours sleep. Not eating. Not anything. When I went to the toilet I could have read but I didn't which is a bad, bad thing.

So in punishment I am signing up for a million challenges which are forcing me to keep me on my toes and thus ensure my tbr pile remains low ( relatively). Now back to important matters.

In high school, I was introduced to the fantasy world by W, the older brother of my then best friend D. W has my everlasting gratitude for introducing me to the world of the Wheel of Time. Though there were others in my social circle who picked up Jordan's epic, it was he who literally shoved it into my hands and said, 'Read it.'

Now one thing about fantasy that you should all know is that it creates a family. For example, for 2 years of my life I rode the bus reading my Jordan books in the morning. Another bus rider would carry his large hardbacks and do much the same as me. We never exchanged words and our identities remained anonymous until 600 days later we discovered that we have both been reading the same thing. A well of conversation began and we both regretted having lost the time of enjoying such conversations. He was in his 50s and then I was not even 17. But that did not matter of course. With Rand and Perrin and Matt and Nynaeve... age, race and status just don't fit in the equation.

What does this have to do with Erickson? Am getting there. Because fantasy is such a 'family' oriented genre, my fellow peers in class who realized that I too was becoming a 'member' began to approach me with suggestions. Most earnest of them all was N, the fellow who had the unfortunate fate of sitting behind me in Mrs. Woolgar's English class and thus listening to my every anecdote (*blush* am still that way). He begged that I read Erickson saying that he far surpassed Jordan - which I found to be an impossibility. This conversation continued for about a year and well soon after I forgot.

I did bump into him and another friend of ours from the days of youth and bliss in Indigo - the dreaded employment I had - and they reminded me that I had an obligation to fill by reading Mr. Erickson's series.

It was when I came across book 1 Gardens of the Moon in hardcover for 4.99 at Chapters that I picked it up and said to myself, 'Ok, N, gotta get back into the game.' Fantasy makes you obsessed. Case in point: last series I got into by Jacquline Carey Kushniel's Dart. Each tomme is 1000+ pages. there are 3 books. I read all of them in four. I did not work, sleep and only peed once a day... with my book as a companion. Taking N & G's words to heart, I have been scared recently - with so much on my plate - that I would be sucked in... this one being 10 volumes with 3 more editions to come.

Of course, I am sucked in because I feel madly in love with Crokus who is so chill and tomorrow am off to Chapters for a latte and Volume 2 as added weight in my bag.

The Plot: The Malazan Empire has been in Rule for a little under 200 years. The Empress has been in rule for over a decade and her stern, cold manner is how she has slowly but surly taken over city after city. She has also had intentions of destroying any trace of her predecessors rule by sending many of his garrisons that are still in duty on 'suicidal' missions. One such she is paying particular attention to is Whiskeyjack and his crew... for it seems that his newest recruit - a young girl from a fishing village - is not as innocent as one so young would be. It seems that the Shadowlord has somehow gotten involved but why? and for what reasons?

Gardens of the Moon introduces a dozen characters that you fall in love with and hate and want to throttle because they are so stubborn. It is but an introduction in a long epic that will keep you on your toes.

The Narrative: The work is written in third person but what Erickson does is weave the tail so that every few pages you change perspective if not scene. Usually, you have to read an entire chapter - as with Jordan or Martin - before you can move on to the next character. With Erickson its maximum 6 pages, usually 3 and your onto the next character. Its amazingly fast pace. One other consequence I realized was that it never made me dread any up comng chapters. I knew that if a passage did not interest me I would soon be on to the next.

Erickson, naturally, has a lot of military terminology which he seems to feel quiet comfortable with. It may be jarring at times but nothing that forces you to seek out the definition.

Favorite Part: Ouch! Is it bad when I say that Crokus decides to leave with Sorry. I literally whooped out load in public at that part.

Also, you have no clue who the good/bad 'guys' are. That definitely tickled my fancy.

Worst Part: The middle of the book... it was building up the final 200 pages of the book but there was a good 100 pages that was a little tiny bit dry.

Recommend to: Not for the fantasy novice at all. There is much left unsaid and unexplained in the book and most probably I predict throughout the series. Unlike Jordan where the inner workings sourcing the (magical) power is revealed this is not the case with Gardens of the Moon.

this book is on the Summer 7 challenge I am hosting. this summer. So feel free, after reading ********* this to jump on or off the band wagon*****

What F*&k am I thinking?

2007-04-01T00:11:00.000-05:00

Guys- I am a bad, bad girl.

After spending oh-too much time on a business plan with less the four hours of sleep a night, I haven't had enough time to read. I actually have gone an entire day without reading a word of my Erickson novel. Sacreligious! I don't think that has ever happened to me. My room mate had to calm me down and the next morning I did squeeze in 20 pages before returning to the drawing board. But still...

So not only have I like created the challenge thats so challenging only the crazy bloggers are joining (see link above) but also am joining other challenges. Hell, so far I am still on top of my challenge reading and these are TBR books anyways.

The Non-Fiction Challenge

is hosted by Thoughts of Joy and is something that I find to be a great idea. Literature we tend to stay niche but when it comes to Non-Fic, more and more when reading others' lists a hybrid appears. We all want to read a little bit of everything. As do I...

Orientalism by Edward Said is one of the most important texts I have ever read. In university, the first 3 chapters were required reading and I ran - literally - outside the next day to purchase it. Never before have I ever been so touched by the knowledge and passion. Said examines the consequences of Post-Colonialism - namely the idea that we define ourselves not by what we are but by what we are not. This is the first in a trilogy and by far the book Said is most known for though he was an active writer.

Will Ferguson has been an author that I have been dying to read for such a long time. I always caught snidpits of his books while at work but I never read anything sitting down. That is until I saw Hitching Rides With Buddha. It's his tale about his journey across Japan. A book about my fav place written by a fellow Canuk? Who could ask for better?

The Truth about Stories by Thomas King is another CBC Lecture put in print. A loved one gave me this for my b-day which I have not gotten to yet. I did my final high school project on oral tradition so to say that I have a passing interest would not be fair. This book discusses Native storytelling - a topic I know nothing about but should.

David Eggers's Pulitzer Winner A Heartbrecking Work of Staggering Genius I am reading to improve my writing style. And of course because EVERYONE is telling me to read this.

Finally, Elie Wiesel's Night. I wanted to read it for the reading group has chosen over at Heather's but alas alas the vote went the other way. So I thought to 'bump' it here. I saw him on Oprah and it spiked my curiosity. For whatever anyone wants to say about the lady, she has great taste in books.

I hope this is ok with you Joy!

The Challenge runs parallel to my own -May to September. Crazy!
Reading this with Proust. Thats why you guys are not seeing any Michel Foucault. I think I will make History of Sexuality a challenge of its own next year. If I'm insane enough.

*******

March 22nd to June 21st Stainless Steal Droppings is hosting a Fantasy challenge. I had to join since when all is said and done, this is my favorite genre.

Peter Pan - I have always loved. When I was a kid, I nailed a poster on my roof telling Peter Pan to come get me. I even had a suitcase all ready to go just in case. Therefore Barrie's classic is number one on my list.

InkSpell - am soooo excited to read. Funke's first book was so great and inspiring that when I saw the sequel my hands couldn't stop themselves. I am gittery just thinking about reading this one.

The Darkness That Comes Before is book one of R Scott Bakker's The Prince of Nothing Series. I have been eyeballing this one for some time. The author is a philosophy major and rumor has it that he has implemented many of this into his texts. How could I resist? Really.

Another series first is Terry Brooks' First King of Shannara. I have to get off my ass and read this series. Its not that it interests me per say but I have to read this - its a classic. I hate people who say they read fantasy but don't know what LofR stands for. Even after the bloody movie!

Last but not least AT ALL is the second volume of Eric Van Lustbader's Ring of 5 Dragons series. This I ended up reading on a bet. In reality, I won even though I lost. Why I was ever reluctant to read this epic is beyond me. I just found Book 2 & 3 in hardcover which was a sign that I had to stick them in here. Had to... Carl - This one I seriously recommend you read if you have not. It boggles the mind.

That's my five. I have to get back to writing a business plan now but I

M & N's Summer 7 Challenge

2007-03-12T09:39:00.000-05:00

***********UPDATES AT THE BOTTOM OF POST***************

a challenge is:

A test of one's abilities or resources in a demanding but stimulating undertaking.

Get ready guys.
This isn't going to be easy.
But it is definitely going to be rewarding.

Mission: To complete an entire series from start to finish of one of those listed below.

Time frame: May 1st to Septemeber 1st 2007
No, you can't start earlier.

Reward: Gift certificates to an online bookstore for those who complete the challege. Some may receive goodies such as books, booksmarks, etc.

The Catch: If you agree to take this challenge and do not complete the task you are REQUIRED to make a donation to brainwash books in the form of book or money. (a place that provides cheap books for university students. We act as a pseudo-library where you can buy the books for $, trade or borrow. And if you wish to encourage reading, regardless of your performance during the challenge, please feel free to do so. We love books - especially classics. ) I will be posting the logistics of this further along in the challenge.

Pre-reqs: You must have read no more than one of the books in the series (and yes, I will check your blogs, people!)

This way you're rewarded if you win.

And it hurts if you don't.

Now that's a challenge.

Who Is Doing it: So far, M and I are the only ones crazy enough to do this.

How We Came Up with This God Forsaken Idea:

N: I always wanted to read Proust.

M: Me too.

N: Bet you you can't read all 7 volumes in the summer.

M: Yes, I can.

You can figure out the rest of this overly intellectual dialogue.

The Series you can Choose From:

1. In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust

- Total 7 volumes.

This early twentieth century text is packed with love, art and social criticism. Filled with characters of all shapes and sizes, it is considered one of the most influential and important works of fiction.

Most however stop after having read the second volume. Only PhD students, thesis writers or ambitious laymen like ourselves bother with reading the entire 7 volumes that make up Proust's masterpiece.

They are:

Vol 1 - Swann's Way
Vol 2- In the Shadow of Young Girls in Flower
Vol 3- The Guermantes Way
Vol 4- Sodom and Gomorrah
Vol 5 - The Prisoner
Vol 6 - The Fugitive
Vol 7 - Finding Time Again

Originally written in French, though I'll be reading it in English. However, after finishing this work, you'll always have something to say at a party.

2. Malazan Book of the Fallen series by Steven Erickson

- total 7 volumes
(note that the series will have 10 books total but as of this year 7 have been released.)

This fantasy series is considered to be one, if not the best, in the genre. As you learn the eccentric traditions and customs of the different cities, you fall in love with your characters. It's better then being on a beach and cheaper.

Gardens of the Moon

Deadhouse Gates

Memories of Ice

House of Chains

Midnight Tides

The Bonehunters

Reaper's Gale

3. Complete Novels of the Bronte Sisters (Emily, Anne, & Charlotte)

- total 7 volumes

Talented but frail, these siblings died very young - before they could possibly flourish in their literary talents. Though they were given some recognition when alive, they could not foretell the impact they would have on the canon of great books.

1 .Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
2. Shirley by Charlotte Bronte
3. Villette by Charlotte Bronte
4. The Professor by Charlotte Bronte
5. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
6.Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte
7. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte

* you can choose your own which I gotta approve by email. Prereq is that it has to be an ACCOMPLISHMENT to brag about.

***Do You Dare Take the Challenge?***
just leave a comment at the end of this posting
w/ your selection choice
and blog address

end date for submission:
April 30th

UPDATES:

Hey Guys! So People are Actually crazy enough to do this. Who would have thought. Hats off for being taken under the influence of the M - she can definitly get under ones skin. Drum Roll please:

Contender 1& 2: founders and forefathers M & N

Contender #3
Heather from Orange Blossum Goddess, & several author of several other book blogs, was the first! Perhaps its because I staulk her on Facebook... who knows. She decided to inovate and take on Lord of the Rings & company. Yes, Tolkein wrote more then just the Hobbit as add ons to his classic.

Contender # 4

Sarah is a devoted brainwash customer with, alas no blog for me to link here. She is on facebook and has great taste in profile pics. This recent McGill alum has many a time shared a great cup of coffee with even better book talk. Sarah is taking the Bronte sisters this summer as her challenge. Right on girl!

Contender #5

Tanabata is a Canadian living in Japan and this my friends gives her the unfair advantage as being a personal fav of mine. Its the pics guys and my infatuation with a country that has more similarities to Italians then you would first assume! (yes, I tell you, I have thought this one out).Her blog definitly has the BEST landscape pics. Anyways, I let her off 'easy' with the 7 Harry Potters, another series I had considered taking for my own.

Contender #6

Christopher lives in TO and we met through a mutual friend. I simply sent him an email about a week ago saying how I had heard he loved to read and the rest is history. Christopher is talented to say the least and therefore in order to make this an actual challenge, he signed up for both the Brontes and Proust. He speaks Ancient Greek, Latin, Russian Italian and English most of which are self taught. Now do you get why?

Contender #7

Nessie-ite has signed up for Proust but has not gotten back to me with the blog address. I am waiting.... anxiously. Did I mention I wasn't patient? Please don't do this to me...

www.contenderseven.blogspot.com
this is my kind of humour guys check it out!

Contender # 8

Loose Baggy Monster happened to be perusing blogs, came accross my own humble one, saw the challenge and just 'could not resist'. Thanks babe. It makes me feel wanted which is always a nice warm feeling - the kind that warm milk can give you. LBM is going for the Proust while keeping an eye on the Brontes. Good job girl!

Contender # 9

Dolce Bellezza has come on board with the fantasy. The only one so far who choice this series. GREAT JOB! I am reading Erickson now and it is soooo amazing. I decided I am doing all three of my series choices. I can't help it - they are all sooo good.

Contender # 10

Kailana has decided to do Jim Butcher's The Dresden Files which I have no clue what that is but hell they look interesting enough and can't wait to read a little more.

Contender # 11

Think Pink Dana is, to M's everlasting shame for not having thought of this before signing up for Proust, is the complete works of George Elliot. M just finished reading Middle March for the second time and is itching to get her hands on others but will have to be satisfied this summer with Dana's reviews.

George Eliot?
Adam Bede, 1859
The Mill on the Floss, 1860
Silas Marner, 1861
Romola, 1863
Felix Holt, the Radical, 1866
Middlemarch, 1871-72
Daniel Deronda, 1876

Contender # 12

Natalie is reading the complete works of Jane Austen. I love it! I know tons of people will be visiting your blog even if it is just to read the words Mr Darcy yet again.

Contender # 13
Country Girl has joined and will be the entire Anne Rice Vampire series people. Crazy. Though easy to read its a challenge to keep up with Rice. I look forward to reading the reviews.

Contender # 14
Ashleigh has joined right on board with the hardest of the hard - Proust! Welcome ~ and I look forward to lamenting this with you. ;)
Potential Contenders

Lisa at Brecking the Fourth Wall
Bookish Lore at Literary Craving

note: Cry out to all ~ put a little peer pressure on these girls already!

Ghostrider

2007-03-10T22:02:00.000-05:00

Title: Anil's Ghost
Author: Micheal Ondaatje

ISBN: 0676973612
Published: 2000, Vintage Canada
# of Pages: 307

Began Reading:
March 7th, 2007

Finished Reading:
March 10th, 2007

Challenge:
TBR Challenge 3/12
March Read

My 19th birthday was a pretty crazy affair. Meaning that it may not have been the drunkin' bash of my 18th bday, but hell it had its high points. My older sibling, knowing that I detest the impersonal gifts of gift certificate, gave me just that. And though it was from Indigo and for $50, as always, I went well above that amount and was forced to dish out more cash from my pocket. Oh the perils of gift certificates!

Anil's Ghost was a cover that I loved though. So beautiful and promising, I desided to buy it then and there before I would forget. (Back then I didn't have my little green book with me, where I record all the books I need to purchase) 5 years this book has sat on my self, untouched.

Now do you understand why I would choose it for a TBR Challenge Read?!

The Plot: Anil left Sri Lanka over 15 years ago for England and USA. Never feeling at home yet never wanting to return, she finally does when she is hired by the UN to investigate as a forensic anthropologist on skeletons found which may lead to better understanding on the Civil War. The goverment is fighting both the insurgents and the seperatists which lead to people, especially young, male youths, simply disappearing. When Anil and her co-worker, Sarath, discover this prototype skeleton - deemed Sailor - in a historic burial ground, they begin an investigation that may be the first to bring the governments crimes to the international public's eye. As we follow the team in their 'journey of discovery', Ondaatje gives glimpes of their history, relationships, and dreams they once had which were shattered once reality kicked in. All this packaged in this author's outstandingly unique writing style.

Best Part: The character Gamini, who is a doctor and brother to Sarath. The piece-meal information that the author gives us makes us fall in love with how real he is. Drug addict, divorcee, gentel but harsh when it comes to anything outside of the hospital grounds, the sections on this character you will breeze through.

Worst Part: The adventure of Sailor and chasing the clues on who this person was not as exciting as had hoped Ondaatje would make it. There could have been a little more sence of adventure, of danger. The supposed 'threat' of the government concerning their studies just didn't penetrate outside the page.

Read this When: Historically, this is a great introduction to a violent historical event that has been given little to no news on. Using this as a stepping stone or complement to a class lesson may be ideal. There are other works by Ondaatje that still have his incredible writing style, this one had some Faulkner influence though much more comprehensible. Like Faulkner, Ondaatje is focused more on the human aspect of things then on plot. Hence, my recommendation for a group enviroment that will do some extra reading on the times and place we find Anil and Sarath.

Awards: Anil's Ghost won both the Giller Prize and Govenor General Award in 2000.

Now am reading Steven Erickson's Garden of Moons for the chunkster challenge! Am doing pretty well with these. Coming up will be my non-fiction list.

Where is Red and what have you done with him?!

2007-03-04T21:17:00.000-05:00

Title: My Name Is Red
Author: Orhan Pamuk
Winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2006
Tranlator: Erdag M Goknar

# of Pages: 413; Hardcover
ISBN: 0375406956
Published: Originally in Turkish in 1998
English 2001, A A Knof

Challenge: 2/12
TBR February Read

Began Reading:
February 20th, 2007

Finished Reading:
March 4, 2007

Oft times, while seeking more innovative and entertaining ways to procrastinate from shelving books during my eight hour shifts at Indigo, I would pull out the ol' pen 'n' paper, walk the aisles sideways as my gaze devoured the covers of the thousands of books that filled the store. The angel face of Ondajannte's Anil's Ghost called out to me in whispers, Xao's One Man's Bible was promising secrets each time more and more inviting and Atwood's Edible Woman kept reminding me in a stern voice that I had certain obligations to fill. Each of these I listened to and wrote on my list usually accompanied by an adjective: 'Classic', 'must read', mark's recommendation', urban lit', and so forth. Each I listened to carefully. Orhan Pamuk's My Name is Red I did not. Every time my eyes came upon the cover of the book with it's bold title, my hands, voluntarily or not, reached out and touched it. My thoughts would begin to run away with themselves on who this Red was and what was he like? Passionate? Violent? Flamboyant? I could not wait to read it... but never did.

Years later, after the Nobel Prize ceremonies, I logged online to read who accepted what and to read the acceptance speeches (which are usually great reads if any of you are looking for more ways to pass the time in front of your computer screen) and dam! there in my face he was - Orhan Pamuk with his nerdy glasses and his oh-so-foreign aura. In fact, I had posted a quote from him with a pic in an earlier blog entry just because it was so great:

" ...I write because I love

the smell of paper, pen, and ink."

Of course, my hands, once again voluntarily or not, reached over for the mouse, typed the letters a,m,a,z,o,n,.,c,a and ordered the hardcover edition of the book whose title had haunted my thoughts for so long... I just needed a kick in the ass to get there.

The Story: Orhan's tale is a murder mystery with a love story woven in. The Sultan has commissioned a book to be written and illustrated that would illuminate the power of Allah and the Sultan. When two consecutive murders occur, both related to some degree to the creation of this work of art, the search for this killer and the threat he poses to the miniaturists of the palace is on. The love story is between Black, the nephew of one of the victims - Enishte who happened to be coordinating the entire project - and Enishte's daughter Shekure, the most beautiful woman in the district. As Black comes closer and closer to discovering the culprit so is he to Shekure's heart. the thrill is in that fact that this murderer holds a threat not only over all the palace miniaturists but also to the fruition of this love affair.

The Setting: is the most attractive and alive aspect of this tale. Istanbul's smells and people come alive. One feels the crowded streets, the shouts of the clothier, the spices of the market place. Pamuk enriches this novel with tales, myths and philosophy of a culture that I myself, other then historical context, am unfamiliar with.

Narration: is by far the best part and where the author's genius shines through. Like Faulkner, every chapter is headed with the name of the narrator for that section: 'Black', 'Shekure', 'Uncle', 'Murderer'. The last was where the villain invites the reader directly to discover who he is:

"If I do have a style and character, it's not hidden in my artwork, but in my crime and in my words as well! Yes, try to discover who I am from the colour of my words!" page 98

And so we do, as clues contradict and facts become tangled, we the reader can only rely on the style of the murderers voice in comparison to all the other characters that are introduced to us. Therefore a warning, there is lots of flipping back and forth, comparing grammar and sentence structure, etc. etc. There is also another means of solving the puzzle - which I actually did ( though am peacocked yet again, it sucks that there was no surprise. boo!) - which is through the characters philosophy. My Name is Red has as much art philosophy as Dorian Gray guys and that's tons. Each character presents a variation on what art is, it's function and role. By seeing the Murderer's reasons for his crime and comparing it with the character's ideologies, you can possibly come to the right conclusion.

Furthermore, there are chapters which are named 'Dog', 'Coin', 'Tree' and other objects/characters that are present in drawings. They speak their history and their place. They talk of their master, or their desires and hopes. It was always a pleasure to read these chapters that were so insightful on life in Istanbul and in general.

Worst Part: It was just a little too long! And the love story was very artificial. I couldn't stand either of them after the second half of the book.

The Title: Where the hell was Red in all of this? I was extremely disappointed to see that a) it was not a person or anything that breaths and b) it had all of 6 pages devoted to it. Oh yeah, I feel just a bit duped even though its not Pamuk's fault but my own overwrought imagination.

Read this When: you need to write a paper on a good book, a classic or whatnot, and are worried about the length of pages. There is so much possibility for analysis with this book that you need not worry about not coming up with the right quantity.

... when your about to hop on a plane for Istanbul. I would kill to have read this book for the first time there.

What does this mean for Pamuk?
Well, the guy won a Nobel Prize and he is like Faulkner in that though the book wasn't enjoyable per say your inclined to read more by him, to explore his style and psyche. So am definitely adding Snow to my list of TBR's for this year or maybe next. Like any NP winner, it is the body of work and not a single book that the award is given to.

Book News~!!

2007-03-03T22:45:00.000-05:00

So like me and a whole bunch of other people were soooo put off by the fact that he

is playing Silvertongue for the up coming movie adaptation of

which I have reviewed already.

Anyways, it turns out that he is the voice who inspired the author to even write the book!!! She dedicated the sequal to him saying,

"whose voice is the heart of this book.

Thanks for inspiration and enchantment.

Mo wouldn't have stepped into my writing room without you,

and this story would never have been told."

So like who is really excited now for the movie to come out? 3 guesses guys...

Tresure Island

2007-03-02T21:27:00.000-05:00

Title: Treasure Island
Author: Robert Louis Stevenson

Genre:
Children's Lit, Adventure
ISBN:
0375756825
Published:
Modern Classics Library 2001;
Cassell & Company Ltd - 1883

Challenge:
Classics hosted Booklogged
4 of 5

Began:
Feburary 2007

Finished:
February 2007

I always wanted to marry a pirate. Especially when seeing Captain Sparrow on that big screen suddenly the hot sun didn't seem so offensive nor the nomadic lifestyle as scary. That adventure - knowing that life can change with every new wave that comes ones way - is what is so appealing about life at sea. Not one who shys away from letting everyone in hearing distance to listen to my 'fantasies', a friend once mentioned in passing, "Yeah, just like Long John Silver." Ashamed I bought the book the next day and swore to read it asat. The Classics Challenge was the kick in the ass that had me read it when I did.

The Jist: Poor Jim and his family did not know what they were getting themselves into when they accepted their eccentric guest who enjoyed his solitude by the fire with his ale. This unnamed fellow asks Jim to look out for the 'one legged man' ... and the young man faithfully does throughout even when ,soon after, the guest dies leaving, amongst his trinkets and old clothes, a treasure map. Once the Doctor and Captain are told of this discovery (Jim's discovery due to their guest not having paid for his stay) a boat is rented, a crew hired and off to sea with the map as navigator. Of course, the trusted crew are turncoats but luckily the ol' ship is true of heart. And so this tale begins with the esteemed Long John Silver and the heart of the coroption on board the vessile. When landing on the island, man, money and weather all stand in the way of safe journey... one which young Jim did not account for when he agreed to come along.

Best Part: Long John's 'mind over matter' character was fresh and heartening because it was so REAL. His character is what made this a page turner - loving the bastard was so easy and yet you can't help but feel a little guilty. A little naughty.

Worst Part: Sometimes Jim's circumstance seem contrived. Hey, is it bad if I say just a little?

Read This When: I you come home from work and are thinking to yourself, "But why the fuck bother?" And seriously consider leaving your stove on while you leave the house for a long long walk.
Or when the kids are trying to think of what to dress up for Halloween. I mean these characters make for the best costumes + its 'forcing them to read.

Why is this a classic?

Cordingly, he who penned the introduction to this edition, points out how Stevenson's first book is our yard stick for the pirate. Oh yes people, way before Johnny Depp's Captain Jack Sparrow came along this crew of pirates gave the world a ride to remember.

But more then that, Long John's character is remarkable; a sight worth seeing through the eyes of our narrator Jim. The youth makes you understand if anything, the charasima the captain has on those who come in his vicinity.

And above everything else, once a kid reads this book it would be hard for them NOT to become a bibliofile. This is a good thing people!

Film Version: There has been several adaptations of the work but most reknowned is the 1950 with Robert Newton playing LJS is considered the best.

Cool Factoid: The 1950s film was the first complete live action film by Disney.

Reading: My Name is Red - it's trailing from February but thats what moving does to you guys. Don't hate me :)

Deaf & Furious!

2007-03-02T16:49:00.000-05:00

Title:
The Sound and the Fury

&
As I Lay Dying

Author: William Faulkner
Genre: American;

Southern Literature

Published: 1929

Began Reading:
January 5th, 2006

Finished Reading:
January 24th, 2006
(both of them)

Challenge:
I guess I can say that its a bonus for the Classics Challenge! Yeah, that's 7 guys!

I finished what is known to be Faulkner's masterpiece, even before Oprah decreed it so, The Sound and the Fury, at the perfect time: two customers walked in and after my offer for coffee was accepted we proceeded to converse for sometime the many dimensions of Faulkner.

R, a cegep teacher here in Montreal who did his phd in British history, was explaining how he got into Faulkner's work. A friend of R had sat him down to explain all the little points such as Italics = memory and the narrative structure. K had to read this for class and she seemed to agree with most of what I had to say about it which is basically that it's hard to talk about.

The Sound and The Fury is a story that tells its tale through the train of thought of three members in the Compson family. A white family that lives in Jackson with 'lazy black' servants to support. The tale is actually summurized in the appendix at the end - Faulkner doesn't care as much about the events then he does the thoughts that preceed this, the mental breckdown - or makeup - of his characters.

I was suprised because for some reason had thought that this was a war book. (Consequence of being libra - we judge books by their covers & titles.) The horrible part was having an edition where the appendix was at the begining of the book . Since it was written by the author I was sure that it belonged in the begining and thus the plot was spoiled completly for me. Yes, yes its supposed to be about the text but christ I revert to the wise words of Edward Said when it comes to text and entertainment (which is basically that every reader has the right to enjoy what they read).

After reading a few classics (for the renowned Classics challenge), I picked up As I Lay Dying. Though the other reads were intence, enjoyable and memorable, Faulkner still echoed within, nagging at me about SOMETHING. Thinking that reading another of his texts would bring some insight on what exactly 'is Faulkner all about', all it did was make me fall in love with the teasing glimpse he gives the audiance of his characters' innerworkings .

Really there is not much of a plot for either text and no characters that one walks away and 'carries with them'. Instead, reading Faulkner is more about the 'Being John Malcovich' experiance then anything else. He forces you to stretch and exhaust yourself by becoming a mental handicap, a greedy logical businessman, or a doomed scholar. Suddenly, when reading a page of Faulkner, the cold Montreal weather becomes the dry Southern air and you hate the experiance but for some reason - some unexplainable reason - you stay and read on and read more even when your mouth fills with sand.

The Sound and the Fury seemed to more of a comment on human nature than As I Lay Dying's insight on what is the odscure. In S&F, there are three narrators, one based on emotion, the second intellect and the last logic. All are overcome, realistically, by this oh-so-human factor and each of these male characters falls to their dimise to some extent because of this. Though some of Faulkner's insight on Southern life comes forward in both books, As I Lay Dying gives us more narratives of a family who is crossing towns, through obstacles after obstacle, with their mother's corpse. By far the easier read, I am happy that I have read it if only because it mentally prepared me for My Name is Red (my present read) which switches narrative often (to say the least).

If anything, hats off to Faulkner for his command of the English word. The way the words BECOME the character... one can read any paragraph in the book aloud and if your familiar with the charcters, you'll understand who is speaking the words. His ability to empathize and develop is worthy of a Nobel Peace Prize to accompany the one he did win in 1949 for Literature.

In closing, this last part I dedicate to you M ... with 'love & squalor':

On writing, Faulkner remarked, "Let the writer take up surgery or bricklaying if he is interested in technique. There is no mechanical way to get the writing done, no shortcut. The young writer would be a fool to follow a theory. Teach yourself by your own mistakes; people learn only by error. The good artist believes that nobody is good enough to give him advice. He has supreme vanity. No matter how much he admires the old writer, he wants to beat him."

a picture worth even more than a thousand words

2007-02-28T12:17:00.000-05:00

Title: The Picture of Dorian Gray
Author: Oscar Wilde

# of Pages: 177
ISBN: 1853260150
Published:
Originally ~ Lippincott's Magazine 1890;
Wordsworth Classic - 1991

Challenge Read:
Classics Challenge Read 3/5
(I actually finished them all though! Posts to come)

Started Reading:
Februrary , 2007

Finished Reading:
Februrary 10th, 2007

The shame the horror - 177 pages in over a week. How am I to read 104 books in a year?! Just exactly how? Do I have an excuse - none! Is there ever when it comes to such a holy endeaveor? A reason - oh I have plenty of those~! There's the stress of satisfying the whims of the new chef at the cafe and having to handle all the giggly university girls that crowd the bar (yes he is cute unfortunatly). Oh yes, then there is the fact that I have less then 48 hours to move out of my amazingly downtown located apartment where I could shop, go to the movies and above all else GO TO STARBUCKS CHATPERS in moments. Oh dearest reader, the perils of my life! M has helped me pack my books. Total box count= 27. Should I complain of having such treasures in my life, surrounding my daily activities, keep me company during meals and greeting my guests. I did go out once or twice - facebook does that to you - but they were minor outings with little else then watching others drown their sorrows in cheep beer and even cheeper talk. The qulundrums of youth. But then again who said being 24 was young? Which brings us to dearest Dorian - our hero, villian and victim.

What Happens: Basil, a known British Victorian Artist, finds his inspiration a youth in his later teens called dorian Gray. His face a canvas of purity and innocence, his person untouched by corrupt intentions or stressful thoughts. That is until Harry, a acquaintance of Basil, who enters the studio sparks the youths imagination by expressing the importance of being young and how it is an outward indicator of what is within a specimen. Dorian, realizing for once that his youth would not last forever exclaims, " How I wish I .... am jealous of that picture...." Page 46563. These words, much like those between Faust and the Devil, create a pack between the portrait of Dorian and the man himself - the portrait bears the marks of Dorians age and self while the man remains in face at least, as soft and inviting as ever.

Here begins the twisted decent of Grays soul to corruption that levels on the border of madness until the reviting ending, this short classic being Wilde's only completed volume is unquestionably a neccesary addition to any serious philosophy/art student and serious reader.

Best Part: When Dorian stares at the painting for the first time with realization that it is bearing the brunt of his endeavors. The fear, elation and apprehention that he feels at that time simply consumes you. It makes the reader realize the power that an object can have in a society that allows posession to possess such strengths.

Also, Wilde's preface to the audiance is a short yet pivotal compilation of statments that prepares the reader for what follows. His phrases are clear cut and straight to the point yet send the mind whirling in circles with thoughts that contradict and agree, simotaneously even, with the truths presented. Riveting.

Worst Part: Well, Harry's continuous speaches to Dorian about 'not caring', 'enjoying the now', and so forth. A little too much but nothing that's majorily intrusive to the text that it dulls the sences.

Factoid: The press tore this text and it's author apart when it was published. It was not successful until printed as a single volume.

Why is this considered a Classic?

Well, other than the subject matter of art and mankind and the eccentric synergy exchanged between the two, one aspect of this text that raises above others is the writing. Wilde's care and attention to detail of phrase is apparent from the opening line.

"From the corner of the divan of Persian saddlebags on which he was lying, smoking, as was his custom, innumerable cigerettes, Lord Henry Wotton could just catch the gleam of the honey-sweet and honey-coloured blossoms of a laburnum, whose tremulous branches seemed hardly able to bear the burden of a beauty so flame-like as theirs; and now and then the fantastic shadows of birds in flight flitted across the long tussore-silk curtains that were stretched in front of the huge window, producing a kind of momentary Japaense effect, and making him think of those pallid jade-faced painters of Tokio who, through the medium of an art that is necessarily immobile, seek to convey the sence of swiftness and motion." page 5

Wilde tried to pull it off to the public that the work was done in a single writing but the text itself and later physical evidence of the re-writes the authors did. Why? Perhaps the attraction the public has to the concept of unedited work. Dali and many of the surrealists had promoted their own artworks under the same auspisos and like Wilde's novel, was soon found to be untrue.

Though set in Victorian society - and there being a certain part of the book devoted to criticing the times - the novel is indeed timeless. Art philosophy, the idea of where art 'fits', the responsability of the artist, the fame/God aspect that's given to this medium adds activly to the conversation that great minds such as Plato, Hume and Adorno have been having.

The Beef about me Not Posting: Guys, man, please don't hate me! Blogger was wacking out on me every time I tried to log on and post this. Then I had to move apartment! Sadly enough, I stored away some of my books at my nonnina's house ( she does have a heated, tiled garage perfect for my tresures). Just going through the boxes to find the books so that I can post on it is challenge enough. I am reading and loving MY NAME IS RED right now, which is my Feb read for TBR Challenge and finished all my reads for the classics challenge... the books are waiting to be posted! Tomorrow TRESURE ISLAND. Thanks for understanding guys!

New Words:

"... the two young men went out into the garden together, and ensconced themselves on a long bamboo seat that stood in the shade of a tall laurel bush." page 7

"then it began to scramble all over the oval stellated globe of the tiny blossoms." page 22

"... stooping down he wrote his name in long vermilion letters on the left hand corner of the canvas." page 23

"Yes, there would be a day when his face would be wrinkled and wizen, his eyes dim and colourless, the grace of his figure broken and deformed." page 23

2007-02-06T20:28:00.000-05:00

Good News: I've read 3 books since asimov

Bad News: I have bloggers block. Blame M. She is evil :)

Many apologies as I turn back to Dorian Gray

2007-01-28T22:44:00.000-05:00

Title: I, Robot

Author: Isaac Asimov

ISBN: 0553294385
Published:
1950, DoubleDay; 1991

Started Reading:
January 24th, 2007

Finished Reading:
January 25th, 2007

Challenge:
Classics ~ due end of Feb '07
2nd of 5 hosted by Booklogged

Asimov's book is in fact a collection of short stories published throughout the 40s. The stories come together through the narrative of recurring character Dr. Sarah Calvin who reflects on her life as a robopsychologist. One of the difficulties in reading this was the disjointed nature of the text as a whole. Asimov presents his pieces in such a way that each chapter introduces a new idea about robots that isn't necessarily carried over into the next part. I'll make a comparison to Alice Munro here as her novel Lives of Girls and Women (highly recommended!) reflects short story-esque chapter divisions that are cunningly woven together by theme & character. Asimov's attempt at narrative unity isn't achieved - the book feels like an anthology masked as a novel (and for all you who know me well, I abhor anthologies).

Another distraction (or weakness) of the read was the dialogue. When principal characters yell out "By Jupiter!" moments before a certain death, it makes you wonder where these people came from. There is little interaction between characters, and when human characters speak to each other it comes off as contrived and artificial. As for the Robots... I will allow the fact that as a human reader I may have allowed certain corny terms and fake-flavoured sentences to slip by, considering the 'nature of the beast'. Yet there generally seems to be a lack of artfulness in the writing that leaves the reader constantly conscious of the writer's presence, which does not allow for the 'cathartic' experience.

Dr Calvin's character was introspective, however, and original. Her coldness, icy stares, quick wit and cool-under-pressure personality do make for an interesting tie-in; it is once again the elementary writing that surrounds her (and ultimately creates her character) that lessens the effect. Asimov simply did not strengthen this aspect of the text. What Dr Calvin does present us with is an informed and complex understanding of the role of robots in the lives of humanity. Her logic and respect for the beast (as un-beastlike as they are) allows her, unlike many others in her field, to consider the potential threat of what robots can do ... we have all seen Terminator, right?

Asimov himself felt that the strongest point of his robot series is his contribution of the three laws.

A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
A robot must obey orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

While I was researching on why this is a classic, wiki quotes the author on how Asimov wished to present robots in a different light than the traditional Frankenstein/terror or functionality format. Robots, in his book, come together as companions, machines that can interact, assess, and even befriend to a certain level. Asimov's presenting a world where machines are present as walking, talking, thinking beings, as a dependency that humanity has a love/hate relationship with (most strongly portrayed in his final chapter on the Regions) does portray the possible integration of such entities into our society as less of a threat than works such as Shelley's would have us believe.

What I am trying to decipher with other sci-fi fans is whether Asimov is using the robot in his text as a way of expressing the 'next natural step' in historical progression or as a mirror reflection of humanity and our tendencies on the level of social consciousness? It seems contradicting for it to be both simultaneously... any readers out there with thoughts on this topic? any other potential 'uses' for the robot?

Factoid: Asimov's original title was Mind and Iron but the publisher changed it.

Star Trek's creator would visit his friend Asimov with his ideas to see if they were scientifically viable. The author had a PhD in biochemistry.

He is attributed with coining the terms robotics, positronic, psychohistory.

The author died of AIDS which he was infected with during a blood transfusion. The family only disclosed this ten years after his death (d. 1992).

One reason that this may have seemed somewhat elementary to me is that I have been reading sci-fi for years now and usually find that the philosophical elements are not so blatant and obvious, but carefully weaved into the story, allowing the entertainment and active participation that great books demand. Perchance those introduced to the concept of sci-fi may find this a great breather - room to play would be my own recommendation. The language is easy enough for a advanced reader in 6th grade if they can tackle the concepts. At the same time, I'd like to note that there are many classics that 'do things first' , by which I mean put forward important themes or ideas, in a way that did not make me feel as if there was some basic attention to writing lacking in the text. Asimov's careless writing gives the reader the impression that he merely wishes to present the idea, without paying too much attention to genre, dialogue, or narrative style.

In Conclusion, I am happy to have finally read it and will have to read the Foundation Series in hopes that it is better (on a literary scale) than this. Please note that I am not a short stories type of gal, so my harsh criticism of the narrative is somewhat biased.However, the points on the dialogue hold true - it's pretty horrendous.

******

Cell phone ringing. Caller ID reads 'M'

M: Nessie, my child, we've got a problem. Possession is written by A. S. Byatt.

N: I know. What! You think...

M: You wrote in your comments that it was written by Austen.

N: No, loser, I wrote about Persuasion. (Saying this, cell in hand, I run over to the computer and log on.) I'm going to read it to you. "I finished Possessions some time ago. I am working on a MEGA AUTHOR post - I have read all the works by Jane Austen and" Oh, no!

M: You gotta change it.

N: Shit! Shit! Shit!

And shit. So sorry, Bella! I am looking forward to reading the book Possession by Byatt and will be commenting on your blog to let you know when have posted on it.
And M, what would I do without you!? (I would sit in a cardboard box and cry longingly).

Le rouge & le noir

2007-01-19T09:17:00.000-05:00

Title: The Red and the Black
Author: Marie-Henri Beyle
Nom-de-Plume: Stendhal

Translator: Burton Raffel
Published:
Modern Classics Library 2003;
November 1830

# of Pages:
485 +endnotes
ISBN:
0812972074

Began Reading:
December 19th, 2006
Finished Reading:
January 14th, 2007

Commencing every shift at the cafe , as if on Auto Pilot, I reach under the counter for the infamous log book. The book that holds all the secrets of the shifts between my own, where each devoted member of the staff writes important notices of what drop-offs were done and which illustrious customers came in yelling out 'Hari Krishna' to the freshmen learning that hot water is really only for when you bleach your whites. "The Red and the Black by Stendhal is a really good book. Has Vanessa read it?" The handwriting distinctly M's, it is still a compliment that she would take the trouble to write such a recommendation.

The Title: Within the circle of R&B readers, past and present, there has been a never-ending - dare I say un-progressive - debate on Stendhal's choice of title. Red... Black... Red... This particular exchange was peculiar for myself considering that there is one passage where the two colours become characters of there own. At the time I was reading this passage my pen on its own accord boldly encircled the words and wrote the words 'rouge et noir = chance'. There is an element of chance throughout the piece - the fact that the characters' thoughts and behaviour on the whole are completely unpredictable! One would expect ecstasy at the devotion of a young, proud woman's love, yet at certain points our so-called hero Julien Sorel discovers- oh no REdiscovers - another gentlewomen to bestow his affections on. Julien's behavior often resembles that of someone who is bi-polar, changing his mind as often as one (hopefully) changes their underthings. When he takes to riding the horse for the Prince's procession in town, one would have thought his character would have met the obligation with some disdain - Julien, idolizing Napoleon, desires throughout to be as honorable as he. He feels caught in society as his beliefs are rooted in another age. Julien adores Napoleon, aspires to glory, but must be wary of people's fear of 'heroes' in post-Terror France. The parade he participates in is more than contrived, it is an artificial display of heroism, with young soldiers dressed up nicely. Julien, however, is given the opportunity to act out the role and he enthusiastically seizes the moment and rides in the front. While feeling immensely proud of himself, the act of riding requires just enough bravery to mount one's own stead. Truly Julien! How could you have thought that would make Napoleon proud?

But I digress... forgive me, Reader - a consequence of loving-yet-hating this fellow whom we find to be our hero only because Stendhal chooses it to be so.

It was as I began searching some online French versions of the book to see if some of the passages that I felt to be mountain-moving in English were accurate to the original when it hit me. 'Le rouge et le noir' (French titles only have the first letter of the first word capitalized). ... Not 'Rouge et noir' LE rouge et LE noir' i.e. THE Red and THE Black. Stendhal is being specific, not general, in his use of the colour terms. Had he wanted to allow for more room for interpretation within the title than he would not have included the article but the fact is HE DID. Now, which specific Red? And which particular Black? The common conclusion is army (r) and clergy (b), which institutionally are portrayed as having many parallels in the areas of -ah! What? That in fact is my own debate. It seems that most sources concur that Stendhal is portraying the corruption of the army and church. But it also appears, especially within the church when Julien goes for his training, that Stendhal is criticizing the useless existence in general. Each group and others such as aristocrats, diplomats, etc. create conflict that defies logic in order, the text insinuates, for them to have some purpose to their existence. It seems that only in turmoil can heroism exist, only in condemning a damned soul can one be saved and only in defying norms can passionate love exist. This novel's plot resides in the contradictions of thoughts and actions in ways that are frustrating (especially at the end). I shall finish discussing this subject now, not because I want to stop, but because to explain my reading I'd need to find textual examples (at the most pivotal, exciting moments!) and ruin a delightfully suspenseful book.

My shift ended and I walked out onto the quiet avenue. Heading South, my mind replayed the message in my mind. Red and black. Red and Black. The author's name lost in my subconscious. But the title was there, bold and daring. A walk through campus, a right on St. Catherines and without realizing it, my feet carried my body into Chapters bookstore. 'One Red and Black', I requested.

Narrative: Shakespeare is loved and admired, not only for his ability to use words -such a variety of words! - like a true weapon, for that rich dialogue, and for his mastery of both comedy and tragedt but also for the ways in which the plot progresses through psychological narrative. Stendhal's novel, one of two that are actually complete, is considered to be the first in its genre that did so. These conclusions, though true and accurate, don't seem to do Stendhal's storytelling genius justice. It seems unlikely that he sat at his desk one evening and came to the realization that since no other novel has ever had a psychologically telling plot, that he would be the first making his piece an instant classic. (unlikely, but not impossible) Looking at this passage may be telling enough:

"As I've become less deceived by mere appearances," [Julien] told himself, "I've learned that Paris drawing rooms are inhabited by respectable people just like my father, or by clever rogues like these old convicts. They're right: society people will never wake up, in the morning, with this agonizing though: 'How am I going to eat?' And they boast about how honest they are ! And when they serve juries, they fiercely condemn a man who stole a set of silver tableware because he thought he'd die of hunger. ..." page 476

Throughout the novel we are introduced to a variety of characters within rural upper class, Parisian 'aristocracy', priests, Bishops, seminarians, etc. Julien is perpetually attempting to understand the intentions of these people. Even in moments of love and lust, Julien questions his present company's actions and words, deciphering what intent lies behind it? Was Monsieur de la Mole really interested in Julien or simply wanting entertainment when he invited the young clerk down in a blue suit for supper? Does Mathilde sacrifice herself for love or because she is playing to the romantic conventions of love? Julien is constantly trying to stay ahead of the game, playing as tactfully as Napoleon would and viewing his social world as one would look upon a battlefield.

And this brings us - oh yes! - back to the title. Red and black are often used as the two colors in a game, not only roulette, but chess and checkers, both games that are attributed with war analogies. Could this be another purpose for Stendhal's title? Whatever the answer, Stendhal's genius in storytelling through the characters' thoughts (the reader has insight into several others in the tale) is one that allows the reader to understand the motives behind the events that unfold in the story. We cannot judge a character solely by what they do but must also take into account their thoughts and private strategies. After all, when Julien is in love with Mathilde he treats her with contempt and indifference so that she will end up loving him more. His actions alone would allow us to believe Julien despised the woman's presence, but his thoughts give us the understanding behind his mean, calculated actions. This method of narration is so sophisticated here (and so innovative) that it adds more than just spice to the story; almost 200 years later, reading this work, we can still explain why Stendhal deserves such credit.

The book connoisseur who was destined to serve me that memorable day was tall. He gave off a sense of consistent discomfort as if he was taken by unpleasant surprise at his person finding itself in such a large body. The shadows under his eyes spoke to my romantic imagination and I guessed that he had had a long spell of reading the night before. This mental fragment of romantic fancy made me overlook his repulsiveness, or at least not focus on it at that time. "That's Stendhal. Follow me." We discovered the R authors, followed along the Ss, "Steinbeck..." But no Stendhal.

One other point on Stendhal's narrative.

Often when I attempt writing, ink to paper or fingers to the keyboard, the description of an environment or person is often the most difficult. I know the effect that I want the passage to convey- the room to be gloomy, the man to be handsome - but because we all vary in tastes (not all women like tall, blond and blue eyed) it is difficult to be in control of the reader's response.

See how Stendhal solves this dilemma:

"The rooms through which these gentlemen walked, on the ground floor, before arriving at the marquis's private office, would have seemed to you, oh my reader, quite as melancholy as they were magnificent. If they were offered to you, exactly as they are, you'd refuse to live in them: this is the land of yawning and dreary formalisms." page 229

GENIUS!! Stendhal is focusing on the reaction of the reader speaking directly to us, admitting to his and our presence in the tale. There is no description of the room, only what we ourselves would imagine this 'ground floor', through which you are walking with Julien, to look like.

Stendhal ends the paragraph by ensuring that the reader separates themself from Julien's character. "Julien's enchantment grew still stronger. 'How can anyone be unhappy,' he thought, 'when they live in such splendor!'" page 230

Had Stendhal described a dark room, a percentage of the audience, myself included, would have felt a comfort in such rooms and a kinship with Julien. However, Stendhal's title as a literary master comes in as he exploits his position of power as author - we cannot ever feel empathy for Julien (sympathy is a whole other issue).

Our Heroines: There are two in this novel: Madame de Renal, who is the mother of the three boys Julien is hired to tutor and Mathilde, the daughter of Julien's later employer. Each lady finds herself the principal topic of one of the two parts in the book. And within those parts one finds that both have a chapter entitled BOREDOM. Now, if one would visit the highly esteemed reading group that is presently devoting their time to this tome, one would see that they share a slight preference for Mme de Renal which I do not. Both women love Julien because he creates a purpose in their otherwise ordinary lives. Once you finish reading the book, please reread the two chapters mentioned above and you shall see what I mean. My apologies for not explaining my point further here. It is not because I wish to simply spurt out my meagre opinions of these bold female characters that are, above all else, entertaining, intelligent in their way and spirited (once Julien comes into the picture) but it would spoil some of the intrigue and that wouldn't be fair, now would it, comrades?

"No! No! You can't do that! You can't not have this book!" I knew I was loud but did not care. "I am sure we have it..." The fellow who read all night and felt uncomfortable in his own skin went to the front desk. "Ah Ha! Here! I've got it!" He placed a fresh copy, the cover of which you see above, in my eager hands.

In concluding the subject on female characters (though I do hope that some of your readers will comment below on the subject), I'd like to quote from It concerns a topic that for some time I have been biting on and considering to make into a theme for a month of reading sometime this year (along with the 3 trillion other challenges I am doing this year. "Unlike the heroines of certain English novels, who are apt to be clinging, frail, and doomed like Clarissa or Tess, to die at the least transgression, Stendhal's heroines are witty, rational, responsible for their own actions, and willing sometimes to sacrifice our pity for respect. Above all, they are women in a French novel, which is quite a different tradition, always franker about sex and infinitely less censorious." Page xix

Factoid: During the 2000 Presidential Election, Al Gore said that this was his favorite piece of literature. Why wasn't he elected again?...

Stendhal had over 200 pen-names. He was short, fat ugly and very un-Julien.

The chapter headings are invented quotations that are attributed to famous writers and philosophers. These headings are definite tells on the chapter to come.

Read This: When you are ready for a real challenge. For something very unexpected. Not a vacation read, but the girls at http://readingmiddlemarch.blogspot.com/ got it right when they chose this book as a together read. Definitely will be a source for many juicy debates which I hope you will all be in tune for.

As For the Chunkster Challenge: Bookfoolery, I know that this is kinda cheating because I started this in December, but maybe I can negotiate a half-point? Please, pretty please. I'll still consider myself having 3 to go! But damn! I'm a peacock for having read this one.

Now What: Well, M here it is. Another blog post that I have tried for a week to perfect which you will churn through the mincer I am sure.

Can anyone guess which book I am reading now and thus emulating above (slightly)?? Anyone save M...

The bad news right now is that I saw these amazing poetry volumes that I actually wanted (only$3 each!), but since I swore not to buy a book until I read 10 (which is what I usually do in a month), it was hard but I resisted. I am wondering if anyone out there is kind enough to buy it for me...

The Perfect Winter Book

2007-01-06T16:53:00.000-05:00

Title: Snow Country
Author: Yasunari Kawabata
Translator: Edward G. Seidensticker

ISBN: 0679761047
# of Pages: 175
Published: Originally in 1948 ;
1st English Edition 1957;
Vinatage International Edition 1996

Began Reading:
January 1st 2007

Finished Reading:
January 6th, 2007

Challenge:
Book 1 or 12 f
or the TBR Challenge hosted by Miz Books

I have written this entry several times, dear Reader, and yet it never seems to do Kawabata's letters justice. It is not that he has the drive of his student Mishima or his writing the eloquence (& disturbing quality) of Nabokov, the insight of Austen or the passion of Bronte. This is no Tolkien fantasy land of mystic elvish songs and hairy hobbits. Nothing like Dumas' brave Musketeers or Dante's epic. Kawabata is simple, plain. While all of the above are like the Grand Opulence of literature, Kawabata's piece is a vanilla ice cream cone; no dressings, no toppings. And yet, is there not something so basic, so fundamental about vanilla ice cream balls scooped on the cone that give it this long-term value that exceeds even the richest and most expensive of 'desserts'?

Yes that is it.

Kawabata is fundamental. Life, memory, existence - we know it now as this perfect line, when in fact it isn't even dotted or faded, much less bold and solid. It is not a line at all but a messy swirl that overlaps, passes borders, exceeds imagination. Kawabata has no beginning or end save for the letters that find themselves in that particular position within the bound papers that make up his book.

After some preliminary research, Kawabata's style is an extension of the haiku supposition of sporadic moments being caught in time. Snow Country is a collection of moments that are shared between Shimamura, he who finds use in the useless, and Komako, our young mountain geisha. These two share a series of junctures that, alone, may seem passive and even cold but combined are dynamite. The more I return to the text and select random sections, the more shocked I am that upon first reading these passages my notes indicate confusion, indecisiveness and at times frustration as I attempted to fit Kawabata's love story within the canon norm. Do not waste your time judging me for this. I am well aware of my crime and penance I have payed. Life is richer with Kawabata's words, "You're a good girl." In my case it took some time for that fact to dawn on me.

Is it naughty that, once again, I think of Gatsby? And how Daisy confesses her love to him? "You're a good woman"?

The reason I entitled this 'The Perfect Winter Read' is a reference to the resent podcast that I listened to by Reina. The subject of last month's episode was in fact winter reads and her companion mentioned that he never knew of a book that was actually about winter. And though what is not being said here is that this book is about winter, the season- the cold, the snow, the mountains covered for miles - allows for another dimension to the otherwise common words. "The woman's hair, the glass of the window, the sleeve of his kimono-everything he touched was cold in a way Shimamura had never known before.
Even the straw mats under his feet seemed cold. He started down to the bath." page 45

In reference to the above, concerning beginnings and endings, let us elaborate. Shimamura is on his way to this secluded village of northern Japan where feet of snow fall. The populace is comprised of working geisha and tourist men who come for a vacation alone or with friends. Our two principal characters fall under these categories. Shimamura is on the train where he hears the most clear and beautiful voice, that of Yoko. In the hotel he befriends and later enchants Komako whom we soon discover is somehow related to Yoko indirectly. They share a love for a man who dies suddenly; the situation is never clear nor defined. Shimamura is attached to one, intrigued by the other.

" 'You'll catch cold. See how cold it is." He tried to pull her back, but she clung to the railing.

'I'm going home.' Her voice choked.

'Go home, then.'

'Let me stay like this a little longer.'

'I'm going down for a bath.'

'No, stay here with me.'

'If you close the window.'

'Let me stay here like this a little longer.'

[...] He started down to the bath.

'Wait. I'll go with you.' The woman followed meekly."

Throughout there is a bitterness to this triangle between each of them: Shimamura in not returning Komako's love, Komako's and Yoko's fates being forced by some unknown circumstance to come together, Yoko and Shimamura for the lack of opportunity to pursue their intrigue. By the physical end of this book, one woman is lost in body, the other in mind. Shimamura watches knowing he will not return again to this place. "As he caught his footing, his head fell back, and the Milky Way flowed down inside him with a roar." And the words stop. Just like that.

Note: So, yes I recommend this book.

Yes, M, I am taking your harsh and hardy advice to heart and trying on a new format for size. Something that is more emotive, a touch academic and includes some of the literary styles I have taken affectionate note of (such as Stendhal!) and implementing/trying them on for size right here at my very own blog. What think you, some-what friend? Can you tell which I have decided to include (they are pretty obvious considering I talked about them with you for an entire hour!!)

"...it's about a man whose wicked heart is as black as ink, filled with darkness and evil."

2007-01-06T16:42:00.000-05:00

Title: Inkheart
Author: Cornelia Funke
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy

ISBN: 0439709105
# of Pages: 534

Published:
Originally in German 2003;
June 2005 Scholastic Books

Began Reading:
December 31st, 2006

Finished Reading:
January 4th, 2006

The Tale Begins: With Meggie and her father, Mo, who live in a remote farm house somewhere in Europe. In every room, hallway and cupboard one is sure to find a book or something that resembles one. Evening comes, as ordinary as any other when Meggie catches the glimpse of a mysterious scarred figure. Dustfinger. Mo welcomes him as one does a pestering guest and she overhears his warning to Mo: "Capricorn is coming for you. He knows where you are... Silvertongue." Thus begins the adventure of INKHEART, the tale of the villain Capricorn who one evening (when Meggie was just a toddler) appears after Mo reads him, along with Basta & Dustfinger, right out of a book. That same night 9 years ago, Meggie's mother had disappeared. Since then, Mo has traveled all over Europe with his daughter to avoid the malicious Capricorn while refusing to ever read out loud again for the risk of reading Meggie into a story, sharing the same fate as her mother, would be too great a risk. Off on an adventure they all go on with Tinker Bell as a late companion and the Elvish language of LofR as their crypt the family survives kidnapping, snakes, gunshots, immense amounts of fire and Elinor, a distant aunt who is the bibliophiles of all bibliophiles.

Comments: A true page turner! It was amazing to read - like a trip. Funke's work is a recipe: she takes parts, characters, elements and at times direct quotes which she mixes together, gives a shake then twirl & 'voila'! Not only is she attacking the book lover who immediately identifies with Meggie but she introduces the world of fiction - or in my case re-introduces- the wonderful amazing world it creates for the reader. Funke touches on classic subjects of kinship ties, obsession, and identity in various forms and surprisingly the plot and content is more mature then I thought it would be for the age group recommended for. Please read it. Oh, do!

Best Part: The description of Elinor's Library. One can sense the presence of the books, the lives that they hold, the histories that they tell and the secrets that they keep. With Elinor you can admit that you hear books talking to you in hushed voices, your name drowning you in waves of guilt and igniting a even stronger sense of anticipation. For the unknown. For the taste of words. For the smell of paoer. For the love of a hero and loathing of a villain. Elinor's character allows a space for obsession that few understand yet (it seems) that many have. Her library manifests the desire to own and possess, to amerce oneself in what they love with little care for consequence. Elinor's Library. Elinor's books. Elinor herself... all together make the best part by far.

And the line: " Fear is not red. Fear is pale as a dead man's face." page 451

Worst Part: The past tense used in the beginning. "She blew out the match in alarm- oh how well she remembered it, even many years later-and knelt to look out of the window, which was wet with rain. " Page 2 We learn then that Meggie survives. A lot of the adventure would have been more cutting edge if that particular fact had not been revealed at all.

Recommend to: For the bibliophile at heart. One can tell by the chapter titles, which are excerpts from classics, that Funke's recipe is to create a hybrid by amassing key pivots within great literary works - Tolkien's language, Fairy Tale characters, Thousand Nights adventure, etc. Although the concept of recycling characters and plots (like those insipid Darcy stories that have been pooping up in bookstores these days) has always seemed a sick & perverted scheme to ruin perfection and pollute our shelves, Funke's combination is an exception. No, not for language by any extraordinary means - in fact her writing though bold is simplistic the majority of the time. Funke's work shines because of the idea - an idea so powerful that one is literally carried away. Her principal character Meggie allows for connectivity if anything for her suspicious nature but it is the characters of INKHEART, the story within the story, who are memorable - save for Elinor the aunt for reasons mentioned above.
My only wish is that I had thought of it first.

New Words: For me anyhow, there were several new words whose context especially I was unfamiliar with. Great that after all these years of reading, a kids book can not only touch but teach too.

"Meggie couldn't decide whether it was mocking, supercilious, or just awkward." page 6

"He's a marten or something like that, right?' she asked." page 27

"A strong and bitter book-sickness floods one's soul. How ignominious to be strapped to this ponderous mass of paper, print and dead man's sentiment." page 79 a quote from Solomon Eagle

"Dustfinger sat up and leaned against the side of the cistern." page 272

"The charred walls were hardly visible, camouflaged as they were by the spurge, brambles, and wild thyme that had taken root among the soot-blackened stones." page 308

"The boy had reluctantly obeyed. He was sticking close to Dustfinger, close as a burr, and he didn't like the gutted cottage." page 309

"The flames here were both tame and mutinous, strange, silent beasts that sometimes bit the hand that fed them." page 310

"So Capricorn's men avoided that part of the village, where dirty dishes left by its long-gone inhabitants still stood on many tables behind dilapidated front doors." page 354

"You're right, those small creatures are as troublesome as midges." page 366

"Resa had seated herself on a sarcophagus." page 403

"Then don't gawp so stupidly, look at the book." page 440

"The sky above the houses was blue as dark as deep water - an ominous blue..." page 457

"This was the shocking thing; that the slime of the pit seemed to utter cries and voices; that the amorphous dust gesticulated and sinned; that what was dead, and had no shape, should usurp the offices of life." page 475 quote from Robert L Stevenson The Strang Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde

"A kind of rostrum had been set up in the middle of this arena with a cage opposite it, perhaps for the monster that Silvertongue's daughter was to read out of the book, perhaps for the prisoners." page 485

" Basta in particular was the object of enough scorn and derision for ten men, and from his failure to react at all one could only guess at the depths of his despair." page 494

"He's planning to feed you to his friend like a fly to a frog, so how about a little indignation ?" page 495

blog posts, kafka, harsh criticism, etc.

2007-01-04T21:07:00.000-05:00

date recieved: January 3rd
via: email

listen nessie,

i have written a long and very honest assessment of the kafka post and the blog in general. i am scared to send it to you because i think you might get horribly offended and despise me forever. if i didn't care or didn't think you could do so much better, i surely wouldn't say anything at all. i would humour you and without feeling, edit your blog with detachment. however, i do think you can do better and i want to see you have more fun with your writing about books. i am also not saying destroy the whole blog or that none of it is good, but i do think you can improve the quality of the posts. maybe you disagree, and then that is fine. it's your blog, after all. but i think as your editor and friend that i should make my thoughts on this clear. anyway, should you decide, after reading this that i am indeed a skank-ass-whore and do not deserve to work on the blog, i will understand.

first thing:

you've really got to make sure you are copying those quotations from the book right, because i don't even have the book and i've notcied grammatical and spelling mistakes. this is bad. i mean, now you're making kafka out to be a bad speller and i don't think that's very fair.

also, don't take this the wrong way, but i simply must be honest. it was difficult for me to correct that. i don't agree with you at all, and not just with what you're writing but how you go about doing these blog posts. you're terrifically intelligent and you've got the schooling, so why do these posts read like they were written by someone far less sophisticated? don't get super mad and don't hate me, but i just think you're capable of more. i know you're not an academic and that you're also trying to achieve a lighthearted, fun tone, but writing about literature in this manner is a bit negligent. i mean, i just think that writing these posts should be a challenge to you. you should wrestle with ideas when writing about a book more than when you read it. criticism, even lighthearted blog criticism, should be art-like in itself. why cloud the internet, the world, with more easy phrases and empty expressions? instead of musing on kafka's promise as a party-going friend or as a lover, think about how and why this book could (and does) resonate with people. why is it important? it needs to be thought through, it won't simply come to you in a second as you read, it isn't an easy answer you can immediately transfer to your blog. i'm not saying i could do any better, because i surely couldn't, but i do think you need to spend a little more time thinking about these books and how you address them.

what you're writing is purely immediate reactions (" i was glad when gregor dies!"), and conclusions that are never really explored. you list some themes, but don't mention how these are worked into the book or how they are meaningful. correct me if i am wrong, but it seems like your focus is how you felt when reading the book, the plot, how you felt towards the main characters, etc. you write that no one feels anything for any of the characters in the book, but you don't really support that statement with anything. when i read it in high school, i felt ready to cry. obviously, as you mentioned, there are tons of interpretations, but you've got to make some argument. honestly, i know people read the blog and are so far content with it, but if i were some reader on the internet, i would not be interested in your reading of kafka. because you aren't saying anything new or terrribly interesting. it's all personal reaction and ill-explained opinions. and besides your natural gifts, ect, you've got that wonderful passion for reading books. and if you want to transfer that passion onto the page, you've got to give this writing about books as much attention as the reading. reading these great works is a hard enough task, but writing about them, especially for the public, is a hundred times more difficult and daunting, and i think you've got to treat it seriously, even if you are going for light and fun. you don't have to like kafka, or anything deemed a 'classic', but you've got to write, in an intelligent, thorough way why you feel this way. you need to pay attention to the details and subtleties of works. kafka's book is titled The Metamorphosis, while Ovid's is The Metamorphoses. yes, one is singular, one plural, but very often the same titles are used for works...did you read somewhere that kafka was inspired by ovid? or is that pure speculation/ assumption? see, i find that everything needs to be investigated, you've got to think a bit more and tease out, with words, what you want to say in the best way possible. i know it's for fun, and it's primarily a place for you to explore and develop your passion, but if it's something you're working on and spending time on, i think it ought to be thought through properly. even wild passion benefits from some constraints or regulation.

and that is all i have to say tonight, do not hate me. you mentioned you cannot take blog criticism at the moment and i am giving you heapfuls. maybe one day when i write a few phrases, you can be the first to point out my weaknesses, mistakes and negligence. however, since it is you that has taken the courageous step of writing about literature and writing your own book, and not me, you are getting this criticism. alas, alas, alas.

by the way, the reading of the poem sounds great.

your friend,

Book Report #1 - Classics Challegne

2007-01-02T20:48:00.000-05:00

Title: Metamorphosis
Author: Franz Kafka
Translator from
German to English:
Micheal Hofmann

Genre: Classic, Novella
Published:
1st Pub. 1915
2006; Red Penguin Classics

ISBN: 0141023457
# of Pages: 79

Began Reading:
January 1st, 2007

Finished Reading:
January 1st, 2007

Y'all know how this book fell into my lap - yes the psycho who yelled at me in Indigo for reading Shopaholic. (see blog post Blame it on Booklogged). M says I should be ashamed of my reading choice, but since she seems to be embarrassed enough for the both of us, I won't let the shame or guilt get to me this time. Christ, I have enough holiday family drama in my life that I couldn't take blogger criticism right now, guys. ;)

It's About: Gregor's your average civilian: lives with his parents and sister, works everyday by driving the streets and selling. His pride is in providing for his family and supporting them, allowing them the luxury or retirement and eduction. His pleasure the fact that he can surprise them this coming Christmas with news that he will send his sister to the conservatory and she will not have to worry about the expense.

Then comes the day when Gregor awakes & realizes his body has transformed into a gigantic insect-like-being.

His family does not realize that he can understand them, that his capabilities to speak and write may have left but that his mind and memories are intact. Presuming their son has completely metamorphosed, they lock him in his room where he spends his days climbing the ceiling and eating rotten cheese. A dark cloud comes over the family as all three members are forced to seek employment and take in tenants - all which in one way or another become effected by the presence of the Insect Son. The so-called tragic ending frees Gregor of his guilt and the family of their burden.

Comments: It definitely improved as I read along, though I cannot claim to have fully understood it. As I read on, I began to appreciate the writing style as well. Kafka's sentences are direct, his language transparent. Slightly confusing was the strength and steadiness of Gregor's emotions for his family, as they begin to abuse and reject him. Despite his ill treatment, he remains positive and devoted. Is this a commentary on how some who live- like Gregor-are so useless? So unnecessary? There is not a single character one loves or hates or really even FEELS anything towards in this piece. An odd sensation that I have never before experienced with a book.

Best Part: "And it felt like a confirmation of their new dreams and their fond intentions when, as they reached their destination, their daughter was the first to get up, and stretched her nubile young body." page 79

Worst Part: The beginning. Why the hell would I care about a guy who becomes a beetle? I think the reason it never tickled my imagination is that it seems to me that the book is not really about the story or Gregor Samsa as a character but about some message that Kafka wanted to convey. It is funny when one hears a young adults book criticized for being two dimensional: 'For though the great idea is there, the language is lacking.' Well here, although the idea and the language are present the passion is not. The drive, the heart, the id!!! He just doesn't seem like th A-list party guy.

Why is it a Classic?: Well, talk about shooting myself in the foot. It turns out that there are more than 130 interpretations recorded of this short work. The Samsa family has been an inspiration in comics, aesthetics, film, and other works of literature - even children's. Using a title nearly identical to Ovid's Metamorphoses, Kafka also borrows the concept of transformation but that's where the similarity stops. While Ovid explores the action of change and fluidity, it seems that Kafka places his emphasis on the consequences tied to the body and mind of the 'hero'. The reaction to the event, and not the event itself, is the focus here. The themes of guilt, family duty, the economics in personal relationships, entrapment - all these shine through the tale of the Samsa Family and Gregor, their son. My own thoughts on this post reading/pre-minor research was that Kafka's hero, Gregor, seemed to suffer from the social hierarchy. Gregor has a position to fill as that of being the son in the family: he is care-giver both by supporting the family financially and through his emotive concerns for his sibling and parents. Throughout, he is concerned with the effects his physical state has on them. His family rarely thinks about him and what has occured to him - their focus is on what this means to their own lives. The father twice considers to simply kill squish 'the bug' but is stopped by wife and daughter for to kill 'it' would mean all hope of Gregor's return would be lost.

Gregor's concern for the family was almost unnatural - it created a distance between the reader and the him for the sympathy can not be shared when the individuals it is for are so undeserving. However the position that Gregor is in, the fact that it is the responsibility of the child to make such sacrifice - my original conclusion was that Kafka's comments were more about the politics of family more so than economics. Gregor does give monetary comfort but he also provides emotional support to his sibling and practical support in running the household affairs. His position calls for him to take all the responsibility without the privileges of being 'head of the house'.

But all you have to do is google the title and author's name and you will see for yourself the gazillion conclusions and reactions this short piece has conjured up (some listed above). Reason enough to be called a classic, wouldn't you agree? Toc-tac-toe isn't fun once you have figured out the rule which has you winning every time. But chess and go... the infinitum of these - like Metamorphesis - is why the passion continues till today.

Recommend to: This is difficult. The political content and social critic would appeal to those who are looking for fresh presentation on the subject - a new perspective. Like Voltaire's Candide, Kafka is using the fantastic to explore worldly themes. The imaginative elements become secondary to the consequences of the events. Considering the length and importance - this work is considered to the one of the most important of Kafka - I would say that everyone should read it. It isn't as much a book to enjoy as it is a work to discuss and debate. Perhaps here again is where institutional education carries worth. Even in a book club, there isn't the director or coordinator that jumps into the work exploring practical and theoretical application. Here however I'll paraphrase from Said's text Orientalism when he write that all literary texts, no matter their content, must and should have that 'entertainment' element. Hence why it is so difficult to pin point exactly who to recommend this to.

Cool Fact: Kafka worked as an insurance broker. Peter Drucker in his book Managing in the Next Society spoke of how Kafka instigated the usage of safety helmets amongst factory and construction workers. (Helmets till then were used only during combat) Kafka, at his death , had expressed that all of his works be burned. His wishes, obviously, were not considered. He died of starvation (as a consequence of his having tuberculosis; his throat was so swollen food could not pass) where as his sisters all died in concentration camps and ghettos during the war.

New Words: This is a new section that M frowns upon because she says I look like a dumb-ass. That's all right by me though. Basically, at the end I will list all the new words I learned by retyping the sentence they were in, followed by a definition of the word. Often while reading I can assume the meaning within the context but it's only after seeing it several times that I can reuse it in my own work/words. So, to speed up the process, I thought this exercise would ingrain it in my head and maybe, just maybe, spark a vocabulary interest of your own.

A) "There are some other travelling salesmen I could mention who live like harem women." page 3

B) "His father clinched his fist with a pugnacious expression, as if ready to push Gregor back into his room, then looked uncertainly round the living room, covered his hands and cried, his mighty chest shaking with sobs." page 18

C) "Rather as though there were no hindrance at all, he drove Gregor forward with even greater din; the sound to Gregor's ears was not that of one father alone; now it was really no laughing matter, and Gregor drove himself-happen what might against the door." page 25

D) "One side of his body canted up, he found himself lifted at an angle in the doorway, his flank as rubbed raw, and there were some ugly stains on the white door." page 25

E) "Once in the course of the long evening one of the side-doors was opened a crack, and once the other, and then hurriedly closed again; someone seemed to feel a desire to step inside, but then again had too many cavils about so doing." page 28

F) "These little red apples rolled on the floor as though electrified, often caroming into one another." Page 52

G) "Gregor's mother would tug at his sleeve, whisper blandishments in his ear, his sister would leave her work to support her mother, but all in vain." page 54

H) ".... a cashier in a hat shop whom he has courted assiduously, but far too slowly - ..." page 57

I) "Only sometimes, happening to pass the food that had been put out for him, he would desultorily take a morsel in his mouth, and keep it there for hours, before spitting it out again." page 60

10) "... because there was simply no more room in which to move, but later on with increasing pleasure, even though after such peregrinations he would find himself heart sore and weary to death, and wouldn't move for many hours." page 62

Hope your happy Booklogged! This is report number 1 of 5 for the Classics Challenge.

Who Says Words With My Mouth? by Rumi

2006-12-30T21:08:00.001-05:00

2006-12-23T00:21:00.000-05:00

Well guys, the above says it all. Hope you have lots of fun. I am off making my rounds. Italian family means having a trillion dinners in one day. On top of that my parents are divorced (the best Christmas present I have ever gotten) so that means I have to do the rounds TWICE as much. Oh the horror!!! One thing is for sure, I will be catching up on my reading and will have tons of juicy postings before the new year is here. I have no plans - just me and a book by the fire place for December 31st & moi!!!

Be Safe!

M is gonna KILL me!

2006-12-19T09:30:00.000-05:00

Title: Ransom
Author: Julie Garwood

Published: 1999 Simon & Schuster, Inc.
Genre: Romance (just look at the cover, fool)

ISBN: 9780671003364
# of Pages: 546

Began Reading: December 17th, 2006
Finished Reading: December 18th, 2006

Nessie: Ah! I just finished The Christmas Carol and I loved it! What a suprise Dickens is.

M: Yeah, he is good. [...some discussion on the book as we discuss the corrections for 'God Bless Us Everyone!' post...] What are you planning on reading next?

Nessie: Well, considering that the last 2 have been horrendous, I am in need of reading another romance, M. [look of fire from M] No. No, don't look at me that way. I have to.

M: What about The Red and the Black? What about that AMAZING book. Why don't you read that?

Well folks, that's how I went to Chapters, bought Ransom and enjoyed every single page whilst reading it. Oh, and M- I am reading The Red and Black right now. Finished Chapter 1 and it's right by me this very moment, as I type this post.

The Story: Gillian not only witnessed the murder of her father but she has been kept captive in her Uncle Morgan's home by the man who committed the former deed in the first place, Baron Alford. When Alford not only takes her away once again from the only family she has to his castle, she finds a young boy from Scotland there that was mistakenly kidnapped. Alford tells her his intentions to kill not only the boy but Uncle Morgan if she does not return to him the jeweled box that belonged to King John's love before she went and got killed. Gillian steals away through a secret passage with the boy Alec all the way to Scotland until they reach the land of his godfather, Brodick, who happens to be the usual hard, tall, mean Scottish hero we find in these stories. After a lot more killing and violence, Gillian finds the box and returns it to its rightful owner, King Johnny, and of course they live happily ever after.

Comment: Boy, I was scared for a while that there would be no more good romance. But you can always count on Garwood to give a great retelling - especially her Scottish work. I find her weak when it comes to England but Scotland is AMAZING. As usual, it is her dialogue that makes this a fun read. I always need a dessert book - whether it be a Dahl book or romance - when times get tough or I need some time to digest and re-think the book I have just finished reading. Count on Garwood to make you laugh and cry! She is really good.

Warning: We have met Brodick before in Garwood's The Secret which is Iain and Judith's story. Though it doesn't give away much - what romance novel doesn't have a happy ending? - it's still funner if you read it chronologically.

Worst Part: None really. My expectations when reading this were fulfilled. The text does what it promises. No complaints. I am sure M may want to add in a few words here but I won't let her since she hasn't read it. YET.

Best Part: Unlike Deverall's penis, Brodick has a character. I love our hero. Can't really describe him without sounding cheesy... he made me laugh out loud in a good way. And though there is A steamy love scene, really it's inconsequential to the text and easily glossed over. What's important in this text is the adventure of King John's box and bringing Alec to safety. After all, we only meet Brodick 150 pages in or so!

Recommend it to: Hahahaha. If you like romance, then pick up Garwood. I had started into this genre some years ago with Deveraux and though she too has great dialogue, Deveraux has excessive amounts of cheese involved.

Ok, better get back to The Red and The Black now!!

Thanks for pointing this out Magnificent Octopus ...

2006-12-17T21:52:00.000-05:00

"... I write because I love

the smell of paper, pen, and ink. ... "

"God Bless Us, Everyone"

2006-12-16T13:54:00.000-05:00

Title: A Christmas Carol

Author: Charles Dickens
Introduction: John Irving
Genre: Classic, Fiction

ISBN: 0375758887
# of Pages: 107
Published: 2001, Modern Library; Originally 1867

Began Reading: December 15th, 2006
Finished Reading: December 16th, 2006

My sister has always had an affinity for Charles Dickens. She has read the majority of his works and last year when she saw that his leather bound editions were being sold, she bought them all though she had copies at home. When shopping this year for Bridal Magazines - yup she is doing the big M - I saw the Modern Library edition of A Christmas Carol and thought it would make for some great holiday reading. Though my intention was to read it by the fire on Christmas Eve, after finishing Mansfield Park I needed something quick and refreshing. Something different. That's how I ended up reading one of Dickens' greatest works - as I am told - when I did.

The Story: I feel kinda silly writing the story of the three Christmas Ghosts and how they haunted Ebenezer Scrooge, making him go from a hoarding bastard (think Kevin Federline mixed in with Mr Potter from It's a Wonderful Life) to a generous, inspiring man (think my Uncle Joe). Yeah, that's the story for ya, folks.

Comments: I was so surprised by Dickens' humour that I cannot wait to delve into his other texts. For some reason my impression was that his writing style was heavier when in fact he has a biting humour that had me laughing out loud. Over 100 years ago this was published, and here I am laughing! Life is amazing that way, isn't it?

Worst Part: I had seen Mickey's Christmas Carol at a young age and loved it. While reading the novella, I consistently had the image of a grumpy duck! And a mouse of a clerk! Oh me! Oh my! What despair to do such injustice!!

Best Part: "It is a fair, even-handed, noble adjustment of things, that while there is infection in disease and sorrow, there is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good-humour." Page 70. How could you not want to tattoo that on your inner arm just so you can carry it around everywhere?

Recommend It To: Everyone who is looking for the right holiday read. The size is right, it's fun and I would love to read this out loud one evening with friend that would indulge me with such pleasure.

Blame it On Bookfool...

2006-12-13T20:26:00.000-05:00

oh yes it has happened again fellow reader. I have been tagged, dragged and forced to enter into yet another challenge. What does this mean for you?

a) I get to come up with more creative ways of cheating without telling anyone on the www

b) you get to hear me bitch and whine. It's what I do best anyways.

c) Hear great stories about how this crazy bibliophile drowned by the pile of books by her bed while sleeping as she knocked over the pile from tossing and turning that night due to the nightmares the untold amounts of stress brought upon her. Makes a great Nora Roberts you'd have to admit!

My Chunkster Challenge

So I really want to read all of these because I have owned them for a gazillion years I swear. But for this challenge I will pick 3. I promise Book fool that I will try my best to get through them all. But it will mean cutting out everything good in my life - sex, drugs in the form of caffeine, and commenting on your blog!! We wouldn't want that to happen now would we??

For Once in no particular order:

(1) Tale Of Genji by Murasaki
1120 pages, tini tiny print, tradepaper edition
Me, the grad from Jap Language & Lit has not read this book - what is known to be the first novel in the history of man - yet. The horror and shame Bookfool... you cannnot imagine.

(2) Moby Dick: Or, the Whale by Herman Melville
726 pages, Normal size print, hardcover edition
I saw this book for 12$ hard cover, new and calling my name saying what a bad person I was for ignoring them. What could I do?

(3) A Feast for Crows by George R. R. Martin
684 pages, smallish print, hardcover edition
The fourth in the series but I am having trouble getting through it. I am not even 100 pages into it but because my favorite characters are not coming up anytime soon... what can I say? I plede guilty your honour. Guilty.

(4) Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke
782 Pages, Normal size print, tradeback edition
Amazing is it not how I could still have not read this book. Amazing enough that I could go live in a cave right now. Right now I said.

(5)Suitable Boy a Volume I & II by Vikram Seth
1474 pages, tiny print, trade back edition
A colleague of mine said I had to read this book and if I do during this challenge Bookfool let me tell you something - I deserve a fuckin' halo! Seriously!

(6)The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen
560 pages, Normal size print, Hardcover edition
Another must read. ANother haven't yet. I am so happy my mom is not here to read this.

(7) The Three Musketeers by A. Dumas
565 pages, tiny print, trade paper edition
Oh Yeah baby. I am so a Count of Monte... fan so this is definitly high high up there!

(8) Gardens of the Moon (Malazan Book of the F allen, Book 1) by Steven Erikson
492 Pages, Small print, Hardcover edition
Someone recommended this to me and have no dought that will love it though never as much as Jordan.

(9) Birds Without Wings by Louis de Bernieres
625 pages, Normal Size print; Hardcover edition
Some Bitch said that she loved this book and I had already bought it. Everytime I see it I fantize of ways to torture her slowly. Point is, I have a bias against the book that am going to try and have to get over. Somehow.

(10) Carnevale by M R Lovrie
634 pages; medium size print, trade edition
I was saving this for alone time. You know - no male around to fool around this. I am told that this is Marquis de Sade competition people!

Thats it folks... for now. Let me get back to Austen's Mansfield Park. Yes it has been a week I have been reading it. Yes, I will be making a mega Austen post here that will be so long all my other posts will be stored in cyberspace whatever. Hope you all are doing your homework and cleaning your teeth like good citizens should. Over & Out.

Olé-lé, Ola-la, Olé-lé, Ola-la

2006-12-12T10:08:00.000-05:00

Title: Homage to Catalonia
Author: George Orwell
Genre: Fiction, Historical

ISBN: 0141183055
# of Pages: 248

Publisher: Penguin Books;1938

Began Reading: January 30th, 2006
Finished Reading: Feb. 4th, 2006

In Barcelona, my days fell into a pattern. I would wake up at 6am and go to Starbucks for 6:45. There after being online for 2 hours, I would return home and change. Sometimes Painter J, the person I was staying with, would be home and we may chit chat before I left for either a guided tour or sightseeing. That lasted till 2pm for which I would return to the studio and meet J again for lunch... almost everyday for over 3 weeks. One of these same mornings, as I was returning to the studio in hopes of eating rabbit for lunch, I realized that I was early and decided to puruse the bookstore shelves. Not expecting to find anything of interest - it is Barcelona after all- the covers of the books and the familiarity of a 'face' well loved was enough. Then an odd cover, what looked to be a rooster, caught my eye. I unconsciously went to pick it up. Seeing the title and the author and the language, the purchase was a done deal. That's how and where I ended up reading Homage to Catalonia.

The Incident: Our main character, a British gentleman, finds himself in Barcelona with his wife at the Eve of the Spanish Civil War - the fight between Franco and the Republicans/Loyalists. Our narrator, overcome with the sensation of having entered into an' era of equality & freedom' (page 4), joins forces with the latter group in the fight against monarchy and totalitarian rule. What follows is an account of war - unorganized, cold, smelly and quit boring to those who fight it. As our English eye-witness tells it, there came a point where there was uncertainty about who was what and where. Though he, till the very end, defends the Loyalists and their cause, he acknowledges the impossibility of complete horizontal rule. "If you wanted to slap the general commanding the division on the back and ask him for a cigarette, you could do so, and no one thought it curious. In theory at any rate each militia was a democracy and not a hierarchy." (Page 26) His peers are his superiors and vice versa. There is no authority nor organization - simply put they fight - or try to - a common enemy. With that, comes the insight Orwell brings to the Catalonia way of life. When asking a Spaniard for a cigarette they give the entire pack, he recounts.

Comments: It was a good read to be sure though the language was somewhat dense. This is not so fictitious as Animal Farm or 1984. The account is very much like a memoir thus it took some adapting to. Never thought that a gendre had such an effect on my frame of mind while reading but it did. Of course, the experience and knowledge gained from the text enriched my trip and experience there. Top that off with sharing the text with J as he related his vivid memories of the Civil War in return.

Best Part: Sitting on a terrasse at a cafe on Las Ramblas while Orwell describes the fighting in the streets. As I read of Cafe Opera and Liceu I would look up and see the buildings before my very eyes. You can't beat that!!

Worst Part: considering the fact that there was such little excitment on the field, that description in the 'novel' could have been cut down a little. Though it may have been intentional to drag it out somewhat, time is of essence People! But for Orwell and the men in the trenches, time was their worst enemy.

Recommend to: A great way of introducing a subject that is otherwise left unsaid in history class. Franco's war and rule is not considered to be a dictator because of the NUMBERS - numbers of deaths, number of soldiers, number of those involved. Though he killed as many for simply being liberal teachers - including J's own 1st grade teacher - he didn't kill enough for that 'honour'.

Cool Fact: Though considered to be a work of fiction by Orwell, the gentleman in question did in fact live in Barcelona at the time of the Civil War and did fight for the Loyalists. This is more of an eyewitness account then one would at first believe it to be.
Orwell's real name is Eric Blair. He wrote this as he was recooperating from his wound.

What Distraction?

2006-12-08T16:41:00.000-05:00

Title: To Distraction
Authur: Stephanie Laurens
Series: The Bastion Club
Genre: Romance

ISBN: 9780060839109
# of Pages: 483
Published: 2006 Harper Collins

Began Reading:
December 2nd, 2006
Finished Reading:
December 5th, 2006

Back in the day when I was working in the book-slave trade, stacking endless amounts of tomes while ungrateful customers found their greatest pleasure in ruining my beautiful displays--a pox on their house! Right. So, back in the day when I was the only Indigo employee - except from that terrible Brenda - who would admit to reading a trashy romance once in a while... or two... or maybe even a few. Anyway, point is that whenever a customer walked in or called with a Romance question, the gang cried, " Nessa!" and I came calling.
On one of these particularly cruel afternoons, as I struggled to maintain order on the shelves, a call was transferred to me. "Romance call on line 2," they said. I picked it up. 'Hello?"
"Hi, is this Nessa? They said you were familiar with Romance novels?"

"Somewhat yes." I felt happy to find a proud kindred spirit.

"Yes, oh thank goodness. I live in Laval and I am dying to get a copy of Stephanie Lauren's Bastion Club Series Book 1 & 2. I called Chapters the other day and they promised to put two on hold but when I got there they had nothing! It takes me two hours to drive down and well... do you have any on hand. You know what I am talking about, don't you?"

Not a clue. "Of course. Laurens. Bastion Club." I nodded even though she could not see me. It felt better. More convincing. "Let me check the stacks - it'll be a sec."

Something was helping me that night becuase low and behold i found the two books in less than a minute and helped two other store clients along the way. Talk about multi-tasking.

"I've got them here in my hands!"

"Oh wonderful, don't let them go!" She was there 2 hours later on the dot. I gave her the two books and then we spent a good half hour filling up a cart of more romance for her to take home with her. "Let's make this worth my trip!" she told me.

I saw her to the cash and said my goodbyes. My shift was almost over and I was happy to be going home. As I went to my locker, my manager called me in. "Is there something wrong?" I asked.
"No". We were both suprised by that. "In fact, this is for you." My manager handed me a bag. Inside was book one and two of the Bastion club series - The Lady Chosen and A Gentleman's Honour - with a $10 bill inside. 'For the Great Help,' she wrote.

I felt a obligation to finish the entire series. To date, the first 4 were amazing - loved them. But then I got this one... the fourth. And that all changed.

The Series Scope: The Bastian Club's motto is to get married and fast with an outrageously sexy lady who has some brains and a little brawn. Someone they could tolerate for the next lifetime or so and could consider mixing 23 of their own chromozones with which to create another being. All the members are not friends but were secret spies in france during the Napoleonic wars. These British fellows, who somehow speak perfect French, don't seem to fit in with anyone really. They're too handsome and smart and masculine to mingle with the rest of the ton.

Dude #5's Gist: It's Deverell's turn to find the lady of his dreams and in To Distraction it's Phoebe Malleson. He sees her at a tea party with her nose in a book (that's the best part). What follows is a long, long courtship where Phobe has to get over her fear of men because of an incident from the past when she was cornered in a morning room. From then on she became convinced that all men were evil, that she would never marry and that she would help vulnerable women--maids and governesses in wealthy homes--escape. Why they have to escape & not just quit is beyond me. Deverall takes forever to figure out about this agency she operates to help these damsels in distress, and soon they enter the philanthropic work together as ... partners... Then they kill this bad guy who is selling maids and governesses to white slave traders and then they get married and mingle with the other Bastion Club success stories.

Best Part: Is probably also the worst. It's so bad I love it. On the back of the book they write, "Phoebe must accept Deverell's help...though the cost to them both might be dear--and deadly." Hahahahahah Ahahahahahah A hahahahaha AAAAAhahhaha. Thats soooo funny. It's amazing that even though the colour of the cover is fushia and marked with an X-rated picture they STILL make a pathetic attempt to pass this book off as a work of general fiction. Utter madness.

Worst Part: Deverell's loins. They never stop. Even when they are being attacked by goons, Deverell's penis just won't stop. No wonder they never think with their head...

Blame it on Booklogged...

2006-12-07T21:44:00.000-05:00

"What, another challenge. The Horror?"

"The Horror?" she said...

"The horror that I didn't think of it myself. What would I do without my fellow bibliophile bloggers." The tone of wonder was sincere even if it was corny as hell.

My 5 Classics:

As I mentioned below in my TBR Challenge List that I have a tendency to cheat, Miz Books wised me up. So no I am not even going to cross any books over. These are 5 picked from the stacks guys and hope ya like 'em cause your gonna be hearing me blab about them for two months!!
This time though, it's in no particular order:

(1) Franz Kafka's Metamorphosis
Once when I was minding my business reading Shopaholic and loving it at Indigo, this 'gentleman' comes up to me and starts YELLING at how I was wasting my mind away reading 'that junk'. He ran over to the stacks and picked out this book and ordered me to buy it immediately. Well ,you Elitest Asshole, I eventually did buy it and I plan to read it. Yet I insist that I am not wasting my time reading "dessert books," that I am such a dedicated and astute reader that I manage to learn something from even the most meagre artistic materials. I am able to find something worthy, if only an interesting character or a humourous line, in what you so easily and hastily termed 'junk'. And, I may as well add, that I am likely reading what you yourself read too. I read it all, mister. One more thing, sir, you should probably mind your own business and let readers be readers.

(2) I, Robot by Asimov

I love the movie. It is a classic that has to be read, have it on my nighttable but I'm always like 'Oh next time. Next.' Yeah! Next is finally here!

(3) Treasure Island by Robert louis Stevenson
Did I tell you that I'm a part-time pirate?! Seriously! How could that have slippedm y mind...

(4) The Art of Love by Ovid
This is my Valentine's Day special to get me in the mood and in the groove. Also, M keeps on nagging that I have to make some headway into the poetry realm. It just never tickled my fancy.

(5) The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
I did read it but then didn't. So I have to do the justice that it deserves.

That's it Folks. Call me Crazy. Call me Mad. But I'm in Love.

Giuseppe Manzzini

2006-12-07T14:54:00.000-05:00

Love your country. Your country is the land where your parents sleep, where is spoken that language in which the chosen of your heart, blushing, whispered the first word of love; it is the home that God has given you that by striving to perfect yourselves therein you may prepare to ascend to him.

Title: Patriotism
Author: Yukio Mishima
Translated: Geoffrey W. Sargent
Genre: Fiction, Japanese

ISBN: 9780811213127
# of Pages: 57
Published: 1966; 1995 by New Directions Publishing

Began & Finished Reading: November 30th, 2006

Skimming the aisles of Paragraph bookstore, I saw this book and said, " Shit! I have to buy it." 'Shit' because it meant another 12$ CAN+ tax in the hole and 'have to' because a) it's Mishima b) its SOOO not usual to be able to find a copy in a local bookstore and c) it was calling my name so softly, "Nessssssssssssa. NesssssSSSSsssssa." Who could possibly resist?

The Biz: A young couple has commited ritual suicude - seppuku - in their home. The community speaks of them with admiration and heroism. Thus we enter into their final hours together where they enjoy a small meal, make passionate love and say their farewells.

Comments: The ' oddest' factor in this piece is the intence emotions unlike most other Japanese literature that have read to date. Is it crazy that throughout I had a nagging feeling that Mishima was slightly mocking Japan? Is it crazy that he thought not that death and suicide for one's country is overrated but the drama associated to it is? The entire text spoke of a sweetness to life one would feel upon deciding that their time of death was near. The entire theme was to me between admiration for their courage and frustration for their foolishness. At the age of 45, Mishima commited seppuku. Did he die because he was propelled by a love for his nation or because of the delights he describes in this text of being surrounded by the people and enviroment of your choice?

Recommend To: this short text makes it ideal to read and discuss though one would need to have some knowledge of Tokugawa to WWII history in their back pocket to understand the text and not have a cultural bias. Many have accused the Japanese of having a loose and carefree idea concerning death but this is a cultural misconception. In fact, they see death as apart of life - which it is - not distant in the future but ever present. Death is the great equalizer but the manner in which we die can mean as much as an entire life. In the case of the couple in question it seems that they died because for each, their life's actions would have little value in comparison to what they were capable of doing with their death. Really, it requires someone who has a little more insight on the Japaneseness of things which again has me wondering if Mishima intended this for a Western or Eastern audiance or was simply indulging a whim by writing this.

Best Part: I would have to say that it was the sex scene! For a gay guy, Mishima had heterosexual sex down pat. Hats off. It was steamy and accented by the death to come, with a Romeo and Juliett feel to it to be sure.

Worst Part: Not necessarily the worst but it made you cringe was the scene where the wife is witnessing the death of her husband. This goes wayyyy beyond blood and guts guys.

Cool Fact: Mishima was about to be nominated (and garanteed) to win the Nobel Prize but he spoke with the councel and advised them that they would prefer that they pass the honour to his senseii, Kawabata the author of Snow Country and Master of Go.

Queen's Gambit

2006-12-01T22:33:00.000-05:00

Title: The Queen's Gambit: a Novel

Author: Walter Tevis
Gendre: Fiction

ISBN: 1400030609
# of Pages: 243
Published: 1983; Random House Inc.

Began & Finished Reading: Easter Day of 2004

After fighting with someone, you know how you storm out of the room (or in this case car), slamming the door for just enough of a dramatic exit. Loud.

On that particular day I was annoyed by the vulgar, chauvinistic comments made by my driver a.k.a. acquaintance in question. Going up the stairs to my apartment on the Main, I decided to take a shower as I often do to cool off.

Having missed a call on my cell phone, I turned my tote bag over spilling all the contents on my kitchen table (which is another bad habit I have formed over the years since I cannot find the patience to stick my hand in the deep abyss rummaging for a little gadget that is more of an annoyance than help). I found my cell phone alright and a book. This book. On the first page it was written

"To Van,*

the One and Only.

May Beth find a kindred

spirit in your thoughts.

jlp"

I had to forgive him of course. I plopped down on the coach with a towel in my hair and nothing else on, reading the entire thing even though my Japanese homework was calling me from across the room. That's how The Queen's Gambit came to be in my possession.

The Plot: When Beth's Arithmetic teacher sends her to clean his board brushes, she comes upon the janitors staring at a board deep in thought. Curious she approaches and though at first he is hesitant, the man finally explains tp her the problem before him. " Okay, child, We can play chess now. I play White." ( Page 8). From there Beth begins the quick journey of fighting for the World Champion title while struggling with her addiction to drugs and alcohol. She also feels alienated from the other women, who are few in that field, and the chess players who distance themselves from her because of her age and gender. This freak of nature is no predictable character. Instead, she brings forth the dark side of genius & its burden. This book is more about how a life is a game than about a game that dictates a life.

Comments: Beth is one of the most prominent female characters that I have ever encountered in a book. One does not empathize with her--one becomes her: in her delusions, in her pain. When Beth closes her eyes and sees rock taking bishop on A1 so do you. Astonishingly enough Tevis, being male, does a great job in making her a believable female character. Her obsession and intellect do not set her apart as one would expect and this is most likely due to the way in which Tevis decides to describe her situation to you. When she takes drugs for example he writes, " That night for the first time she took three pills, one after the other. Little prickles went across the hairs on the back of her neck; she had discovered something important. She let the glow spread all over her, lying on her cot in her faded blue pajamas in the worst place in the Girls' Ward, near the door to the corridor and across from the bathroom. Something in her life was solved: she knew about the chess pieces and how they moved and captured, and she knew how to make herself feel good in the stomach and in the tense joints of her arms and legs, with the pills the orphanage had given her." (Page 8)

The sensations were not necessary but suddenly when reading (or typing) this tingle begins in my calves and my head spins just a little. There are always visions of chess pieces and boards with you as you read. They may not be as sharp or accurate as her own, but they are nonetheless constantly there.

Best Part: When she breaks into the cupboard at the orphanage and swallows an entire JAR of pills. You almost want her to succeed as the description of her need for them is that intense, and the text that follows describing her being purged of the drugs is highly dramatic.

Worst Part: Her later teen years can drag on a little... Also, some passages are so involved in Beth's head that you may have to reread it a few times to be certain on what's happening in the 'real' world.

Recommend To: To: Well, notice how I have been going back in time from books I have read in the past? ( no! You don't say? ) Well, it's because a) I am reading everything by Jane Austen and I will be writing a mega entry on that & b) it's the holidays and there is no Da Vinci Code this season to buy, everyone (no M you cannot edit that line!) . I thought I'd introduce GREAT, priceless & timeless reads that are good for all ages and sizes when going to that dinner party and you don't know what to bring.

Cool Fact: Tevis is all about the Game. One of his more renowned pieces is The Hustler and - you got it!- The Color of Money, another book/ movie duo you may want to explore. In this case, the book wins hands down. He died in 1984 at the age of 58 of lung cancer and was known more for his fantasy writing than his fiction.

****I hate that nickname and refuse for anyone to call me that!!!

URGENT MESSAGE!!!

2006-12-01T00:06:00.000-05:00

A WARNING!!!!!!

THIS IS THE WORST BOOK I HAVE EVER TRIED TO READ. PLEASE DO NOT PURCHASE THIS UNLESS IT IS FOR A GIFT FOR SOMEONE WHO YOU REALLY DO NOT LIKE.

How I ended up holding this unfortunate waste of paper in my hands is that I took on a 'contract' to write someone's paper on a Natural Disaster. I choose to use this opportunity to learn of something that I always wanted to know more on.... Vesuvius was that. This book KILLED it! Please, if you have this on your night table or in your house make use of it and use it to kindle your fire this cold season.

2006 GIFT Challenge ~ Ain't I Just a Bundle of Fun!

2006-11-30T23:19:00.000-05:00

I don't know if I am conforming with the challenge but the button was so bloody pretty that I decided to put it up anyways. Hahaha my evilness is public. Don's hate me Carl!!

2006 Challenge/ Recommendation purchase
List for this Christmas.
You know for all those people you 'love' & for those you Don't

What to Give Your Mother In Law:
Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory McGuire

What to Give your finance just because you couldn't find the words to Express it.
Son of a Witch by Gregory McGuire

What to give your Nephew who always comes over and destroys your furniture:
Loser by Jerry Spinelli

What to give that Sister who is always betting on 'em dam horses:
Sense And Sensibility by Jane Austen

For that brother whose minimalist (a.k.a. cheap) philosophy for Christmas has gotten to be too much to digest:
The Giver by Lois Lowry

What to Give your Mate who can never get you the right size when he shops for you :
The Idiot by F Dostoevsky

For Your Neighbours that have their MSN Messenger on Extra loud Speakers waking you up at all hours from that *bring*sound:
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

For your Friend who always wanted to travel but could never afford it:
Gullivers Travels by Jonathan Swift

For the Boss who Just Brought you in for that really challenging raise:
Interview With the Vampire by Anne Rice

For the Cook in the Family:
The Edible Woman by Margaret Atwood

To Your Aunt Fanny who always has to have Christmas at her house every year, her way:
Les Miserables by Victor Hugo

To that Boyfriend who is hinting towards the big question and just needs a little nudge:
Lord of the Rings Boxed Set by J. R. R. Tolkien

What to give your Mom after midnight mass:
Why Do Men Have Nipples? by Mark Leyner & Dr. Billy Goldberg

For the Family Mooch:
The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke

The Beatles Fan:
Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami

For your British Friend Given with the best of intentions:
White Teeth by Zadie Smith

For the Italian Girls:
French Women Don't Get Fat by Mireille Guiliano

The Family Member who thinks they know Everything:
The World Is Flat by Thomas L. Friedman

For the Expecting Mother:
Welcome to Hell by Jan Arriens

Blame it on Sci FI Girl...

2006-11-30T13:39:00.000-05:00

Good God, I always sucked at Tag. Looks like am handcuffed again Guys...

Christmas Meme:

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate?

Neither. I prefer whatever has excessive amounts of caffine to stimulate my potent creative side.

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just set them under the tree?

Santa comes to my house down the chimeney having a striking resemblance to my extremally handsome-Keanu-Reeves-look-alike -uncle Joe. Every family member must recite all the good and bad things they've and then he looks into his magic bag and gives me tons of presents most of which are pjs sized Extra Large just becasue my 4f 11" family thinks my 5'9", 150 pound body can't fit in anything else. And who said Santa is all knowing?

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white?
Neither. I painted a tree 3 years ago ...arcylic on canvas (no I cannot draw for my life... but it looks like a tree) . I just grab it from my closet and hang it up. There are both coloured lights and white ... or maybe there are ornaments? Whatever.

4. Do you hang mistletoe?

What?! And promote incestuous behavior?? Where do you come from?

6. What is your favorite holiday dish?
The dip.

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child:
When we were only 2 grandchildren with a trillion childless uncles and aunts that showered us with presents.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?
I woke up and heard my sis talking to my mom. "Ma, Vanes should know about Santa and the ToothFairy. She is soooo old."

I was three. My sister was six.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?
Yes. I usually get one gift now.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree?
It's permant so...

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it?
When I am inside looking out - loving it.

When I am shoveling the car in -72 weather (which is what it went to 2 years ago) NO.

12. Can you ice skate?
Hardly. Did I mention my brother won the Nationals and is going to the Special Olympics for Figure Skating and my cousins are all in the Professional Sincronized Skating. My male cousin Enzo got scouted for NHL. Yeah. I can't skate.

14. What’s the most important thing about the Holidays for you?
Making it as lurative an affair as possible. Jesus? Whose that?

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition?
Getting so fat that I have to unbutton my pants. Gluttony!

17. What tops your tree?
Ummm... I'm supposed to top my tree?? Dam!

19. What is your favorite Christmas Song?
Let it Snow. Hands Down.

I added:

0. What is your favorite Christmas reading tradition or book to re-read?My holiday reading tradition is to get a whole bunch of books by one author and read one after the other. Sometimes I get a couple of chunksters and read them in like 2 days. I love the holidays and wish that we kept the tradition to be on holiday till the 6th of January.

Noah's Arch

2006-11-28T22:04:00.000-05:00

Title: Colour ~ Travels through the Paintbox
Author: Victoria Finlay
Genre: Art; Non-Fiction

ISBN: 0340733292
# of Pages: 438
Published: 2002, Hodder & Stoughton

Began Reading: January 25th, 2006
Finished Reading: January 30th, 2006
*** I started on my plane ride to Spain so thats why it took so long***

I would love to say that a tenacious force ushered this book into my hands or that am naturally inclined to read herculean size non-fiction works.

Alas, my dear reader, I must disappoint you yet again.

It is truly for primitive reasons - the eye candy that this particular cover provides - that I purchased this detailed history of color. It is by the grace of the gods alone that Finlay's piece happened to not only be a valuable source but a wonderful read. The grace of the gods indeed.

Whats She's Saying: Our sight is something that is often taken for granted. Whereas we may relish in the flavors of pasta primavera and purr to the feel of a lover's caress how often in one day do we appreciate the brilliance of red? Or the purity of white? Finlay's work gives us an opportunity to give this sense of sight the attention and praise it deserves. Colour is both a historical overview & cultural perspective of its namesake. Orche, Yellow, Blue, Red, Purple, Black & Brown, Orange, and more make up the chapter headings. In each of these sections we find not only is our author on an adventure to visit the area of the color in question's natural source but also examines the people around this colors, the traditions in art and in society that revolve around it and how it essentially - though we may be unconscious about it - effects our daily lives. Finlay's journalistic experience metamorphosis into an anthropologists role of living & breathing her subject (and at times even eating it) while remaining a close step behind - far enough to be objective and close enough for intimacy. Something that the sedentary reader oh-so appreciates.

Comments: As was con notated above, this book was a surprise. Usually, I read non-fiction during the day and fiction before bedtime (for nice dreams). This book I opened and could not put it down (except for arriving in Spain & taking a plane where really bad bad things happened to me which won't get into at this time because well... no) . The amazing thing about this book is the way she brings together the most obscure things and, like a recipe, makes it 'taste' good. Her language and style are less then secondary for this work. You are reading this for the fact and it is this same information that is making you turn the page even though your supposed to be studying for a Art History exam on Gothic Art that you have tomorrow morning and haven't attended a single class so are really really screwed.

Best Part: Oh My God! Screw how JFK died... the real beef is with - yes you got it - NAPOLEON! He died from green walls, mold and Italy. No joke. I'm very serious. (page 291-293)

Worst Part: Many of the endnotes should be footnotes. Its so annoying to have to flip back every single time. I had to stop even though promise that I tried really really really hard.

Recommend It To: Everyone really. This is the type of book that makes for great coffee talk, essay writing and personal reflection. It works on a beach and by a fireplace. If your scared of Non-fiction or know someone who is this may be the book that help you get over your phobia.

A Short History of Myth

2006-11-27T11:56:00.000-05:00

Title: A Short History of Myth: (Myths)
Author: Karen Armstrong
Gendre: Religion, History
Series: Myth Series with Margaret Atwood, Jeanette Winterson, A, Y. Byatt, Donna Tartt & more!

ISBN: 0676974198
# of Pages: 159
Published: 2005; Alfred A Knoff Canada

Began & Finished Reading:
Sometime in November '05. Read it in one sitting... that kindof book.

Since Grade Three when my Mom came to school and dropped off my blue-framed glasses, I have been a blind bat. Close, far--doesn't matter. I was squinting all the time even with the lenses on. Last year when my doctor told me that my eyes were as dry as a prune, my father, in an act of charity decided to send me to IRIS & get my eyeballs zapped. Up until that point when they were cutting open my cornea, I was looking forward to the morning that I would awake without having to poke my eyeballs out. Alas, my first morning post-surgery was spent in bed, lying on my back wearing a huge pair of protective sunglasses, my eyes tearing up. The only form of entertainment I had were dreams (which can be fun & scary) & CBC radio. Boy did I learn a lot! One of the episodes was an interview with Margaret Atwood on her piece The Penelopiad; they went into some detail on the idea of myth and Armstrong's work. Well of course the first thing I did when getting out of bed was head to Chapters & buy books (now that I could read without glasses!!!) And since Atwood’s work didn't turn me on, so to say, I decided to pay the non-fiction world a visit and that’s how I ended up reading Armstrong's slim volume, The Short History of Myth.

The Gist: Armstrong's piece is a short overview of what a myth is and the various interpretations and presence it has had throughout World History. Her chapters are broken up in chronological order of time periods--from Paleolithic to Present--and she does examine the international scale and not solely Western myth. She examines the effects myth has on a populace as a whole more so than on a particular individual and how the myth & ideology supports many of the social, political and economic structures in place at the said time.

Comments: Already the idea of examining 'myth' on such a large scale level is ambiguous and it’s difficult even now to think of how she does it in 150-some pages! Fact is, she doesn't... Armstrong's work is a springboard if anything... a push in the right direction. She does have a list of references at the end which you can take up on any of the topics that interested you most. Overall, it’s a great addition to my library, but it’s not the know-all, have-all on mythology. I recommend the book Mythology by C. Scott Littleton (ISBN: 184480616). Many of Armstrong's points help with the interpretation of myths while reading them and understanding how they function on several levels.

Best Part: One unique element in this book is that throughout the work, Armstrong examines root words & the evolution of their meaning.

"Today the word 'myth' is often used to describe something that is simply not true. A politician accused of a peccadillo will say that it is a 'myth', that it never happened. [...] But in the pre-modern world, when people wrote about the past they were more concerned with what an event meant. A myth was an event which , in some sense, had happened once, but which also happened all the time."

Also, you can see her language is simple but appropriate unlike those business books you read that make you feel like a high school drop out the grammar and vocabulary is so, "I see Jane. Jane sees me."

Worst Part: She integrates historical aspects well but there is a lack of STORY. It would be nice if there were brief examples of myths themselves. The omission is understandable, I guess, considering the size but since when was there a maximum number of pages for a book? I think if she would have made it 60 pages longer and include some actual myths it would have enriched her text considerably.

Recommend To: A teacher to include on a summer reading list ACCOMPANIED by a myth. I can see how this can be a constructive tool for younger students to apply in essay writing in the future--a skill it seems the education system is not addressing correctly considering the number of students that do not understand that a thesis is NOT an introduction. Armstrong organizes and clearly explains her ideas in a way that could stand to be emulated.

Cool Fact: Armstrong was a Nun, who during her time living in a convent went to Oxford University during the day. She left the order during her school years and when her Doctoral thesis was rejected by the panel, she went her own way. Armstrong’s biography, The Spiral Staircase: My Climb Out of Darkness.

Blame it On Miz Books

2006-11-26T18:39:00.001-05:00

Ok yeah, so you know having started my own blog means I have to check out the scoop, get low on the down, smell the meat and all that jazz. It’s a lot of responsibility to be a blogger. I have to constantly entertain myself all the while taking my esteemed audience’s reactions (in theory at least) into consideration.

As I was in the midst of doing my favourite part about blogging--pressing the ‘Next Blog’ button to see where fate would bring me next, I happened upon a fellow member of the book blog universe, Miz Books. Lo and behold as I am in the midst of enjoying myself she challenges me to the TBR Challenge (!) where I have to dare myself to read 12 books (1 every 720 hours) and choose them NOW~! Shame on her... The audacity... I love it!!!

So of course I joined. The only thing that sucks is I can't cheat. Or at least admit to it when she places a hot poker close to my face during her random investigations which she has yet to say she will do, but I’ve just got this feeling…

My Crazy 2007 Challenge:

January will have to start the year with a book whose title fits the season. My idea is to read it all on Jan 1st and get it out of the way. Snow Country by Nobel Prize Winner Yasunari Kawabata sounds like a great fun way to start the year--plus there’s an Ethan Hawke movie out there... (yes, I hate what he did to Uma but hell! In the movie I’ll just believe he is someone else, ok?

February means Valentine’s Day which I spend alone in my bedroom with what is usually an Austen novel. But this year I will have to go with My Name Is Red by (another) Nobel Prize Winner Orhan Pamuk. Even though I may not be wearing the colour that day, who can say I'm not in holiday spirit…

My dad used to always say “beware of the Ides of March”. Well, I have no books on Caesar or Rome in my pile but Michael Ondaatje's Anil's Ghost seemed to suit the idea of bewaring well enough. The English Patient Canadian author tends to curl toes and have no dought that this one will too.

Being a wholly non-devout Italian Catholic, it just seemed right to do my Easter duty in April with Jose Saramago's The Gospel According to Jesus Christ. Oh yes, Nonnina! I am a good Christian after all. This book is banned in more countries than it is printed in.

May is a dreaded time for me because all of those Geminis in my life suck large amount of money out of me. I have more presents to give in May than I do at Christmas. Often, during these financially difficult times, I pray to the Force to make me an Invisible Man. So Ralph Ellison's book is just going to have to make due, considering it’s never happened (yet).

June Bride I will never be but I love a good romance and what better then Possessionby A. S. Byatt. No, I have not seen the Paltrow movie and I am not too sure I will, since it’s been said to be a piece of garbage not worthy of compost.

I have never been a beach girl. And yes we have a beach in Montreal. I hate the sand that gets into my asscrack and the hidden glass and needles that are floating around in the ocean. Give me chlorine, people! While my roommate buys a bikini, I'll stay home with Haruki Murakami's Kafka on the Shore. Let her get skin cancer & wrinkles.

August is more of a so-what month for me. Nothing special, nothing bad. I'm finished school so what do I care about the beginning of fall? Therefore, The Name of the Roseby my fellow WOP Master Umberto Eco sounds like a plan.

And since I'm proud of being an immigrant and September is another inconsequential month, let's add The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana to the list.

Now October is my month. My birthday, fall leaves, darkened skies. Dostoevsky's Crim e and Punishmentseems oh so appropriate, don't you think?

November always makes me think of my mother since it’s her birthday, and so with that in mind I choose, The Hunchback of Notre-Dame by Hugo as my book of choice.

And since I started the year with a Japanese work, I decided to end my year in the same way. Hail to Kenzaburo Oe and Somersault.

That’s my list, guys. I will try to get my side-kick M. the Book Snob to join as well ... See what pretentious books she picks… Expect some monthly updats as of Jan 1st.

*** oh yeah look to the left for all the juicy links & jazz if you wanna join the team!

Thanks to Library Ladder...

2006-11-25T14:15:00.000-05:00

1- How old were you when you learned to read and who taught you?

In Grade One my teacher was giving the class an oral reading exam - a final. I remember when it was my turn I was so proud that I could read. I had stuttered, drooled and frowned but I got through the 3 pages assigned. When finished I looked up from the book waiting for my teachers words of encouragement.

She laughed at me. The class soon followed after.

My Mom remarried that summer and we moved to some suburban 'city' and I started Grade II REFUSING to read or do any kind of spelling exams. I was failing to say the least and my teacher, frustrated by my Calabrese stubbornness, sent me to sit at the back of the classroom. That lasted until just before the Christmas holidays when Sister Hunter decided to read to us a chapter book. The BoxCar Children Book #1.

I was hooked and glued. I asked Santa for a Boxcar for Christmas and got a pearl watch (which I just gave back to my mother. I am convinced she does that on purpose). The only way, it soon became clear, for me to get that same pleasure was to re-read the book. At the school fair i saved my allowance and bought the book in secret (paid someone to go to the cash for me. Yes, I was child with several means of resources) went home and read it. Once. Twice. 2 dozen. I became obsessed. To this day I re-read that book AT LEAST once a year.

I never saw that teacher again and have no clue where she is.

2- Did you own any books as a child? If so, what’s the first one that you remember owning? If not, do you recall any of the first titles that you borrowed from the library?

BoxCar was the first. After that I saved up some more money and bought every single one from 1 to 126 in one shot. The guy working at Coles fell in love with me (the platonic way) and he ended up being my French Teacher in Sec 3!!!

3- What’s the first book that you bought with your own money?

I defer to question 1 & 2

4- Were you a re-reader as a child?

Yes. And still am. Its a very very very bad habit and I recommend to everyone.

5- What’s the first adult book that captured your interest and how old were you when you read it?

For my 12th birthday I got 2 V.C. Andrews books: Dawn and the sequel to that. It was the first sex scene I had ever written and I decided to share it with the rest of my 6th grade class. I didn't realize at the time this wasn't done and got in serious trouble. I should have known better considering the character ends up fuckin' her brother (wince. In my defense I did not know it at the time it was being read)

6. Are there children’s books that you passed by as a child that you have learned to love as an adult? Which ones?

Yeah. All the ones I didn't read. I think its crucial that we continue ALL OF US - but especially teachers - continue to read young adult lit for the obvious reasons that it creates a line of communication that is much more empathetic.

Obasan

2006-11-25T13:40:00.000-05:00

Title: Obasan
Author: Joy Kogawa
Genre: Historical Fiction

ISBN: 9780143055020

# of Pages: 228
Published: 1981, Penguin group Canada

Began Reading Nov. 16th, '06
Finished Reading: Nov.21st, '06

It is always dangerous for me to walk into Chapters. The smell of books fresh off the press, the sound of pages being flipped as a potential courtier peruses the contents, the Pine Sol brilliance of the shelves... Walking down the aisles, I reach out my hand and caress the covers as if it is the silky skin of my lovers. My roommate, used to the blank expression on my face, reminds me of the humongous pile of unread books on my nightstand and the even larger pile that has no shelf, for there is no room. But her voice is more like a bee buzzing by my ear than a siren of warning. 'I need it. I want it.'” Overcome with desire, I give in every time. At home, I introduce them to the family, "Chekhov. Melville. Meet your new neighbor." I may not start reading it that night or that year. But I will read it eventually. And buy more.

Thats how Obasan fell into my hands.

The Cheese: "Everyone someday dies," Obasan keeps on repeating to her niece Naomi. As Naomi stares at her aged aunt whose aura of silence has always baffled her, she recalls the course of events that brought her family from their happy home on the B.C. coast to the Alberta prairies. Covering the startling and shocking treatment of Japanese-Canadians during WWII, the reader is introduced to a Canada never seen before. Racist, apathetic, and selfish the country drives their citizens through starvation, the robbery of loved ones & possessions, and death. Naomi is our narrator and tells in her bitter, eloquent voice how even with all the suffering & bad blood she is Canadian and her country's actions are her cross to bear along with the others.

Comments:Powerful in language. Her lyrical tone reminds me of a sad ballad one may hear on an oldies radio station. What sets this work apart is the use of SILENCE at the times when normally there would have been dialogue. The way the story unfolds features is complex & is time sensitive - something one realizes only upon reflection. These characters, whose cyclical lives feel so much like our own, are each trying to cope with the unexpected. My only regret is that I did not choose this as the monthly B. Club read--the imagery, style & powerful metaphors all call for open panel discussion. Too complex & too many for one mind in one read to fully comprehend &/or appreciate.

Best Part: 'Once a widower father of one of the boys in my class came to see me after school and took me to dinner at the local hotel. I felt nervous walking into the Cecil Inn with him.

' "Where do you come from?" he asked, as we sat down at the small table in a corner. That's the one sure-fire question I always get from strangers. People assume when they meet me I'm a foreigner.' Page 11

Whenever that question comes up, it’s always followed with a long pause and then an even longer explanation, and I am never sure quite what the inquiry means. Being a third generation WOP-Canuk myself, which am I? Both Italian and Canadian because I have both passports? Canadian because I was born here? Italian because I still make sausage and wine in my Nonnina's candina? Is this question only ambiguous for Canadians? Perhaps this lack of self-identity grounded in nationhood is a reason why Canadian identity is such a troubling, ambiguous issue. However confusing it may be for me and others of different cultural heritage, the issue was all the more confused for the characters in Obasan, especially during that period in Japanese-Canadian history.

Recommend To: Those that appreciate a writer’s twist in language, in a bitter-sarcastic way. Best example being Chapter 38, an Ode to her Mother that in terms of prose rings of the Hail Mary. All those who love accurate historical fiction will also enjoy this read.

Not For: The impatient reader. Going on a trip to Vancouver--you don't want to bring this along. Trust me, it’s not about the scenery. (if you are then Stanley Park is much better suited for that ;)

Awards Won:

First Novel Award - Books in Canada
Book of the Year Award - Canadian Authors Association
Best Paperback Fiction Award - Periodical Distributors of Canada
The American Book Award - Before Columbus Foundation

Cool Stuff: For anyone that wishes to use this book in a group or classroom there is a great community website that gives guides, bibliography for further research, and author history. Go here .

Another fellow Book Blogger beat me to a Review!!! Check out what she had to say by clicking on her link to the right 'Les Book Nook'. It’s always recommended to get a second opinion...

Reading Lolita in Tehran

2006-11-24T22:50:00.000-05:00

Title: Reading Lolita in Tehran ~ A Memoir in Books
Author: Azar Nafisi

Genre: Memoir

ISBN: 081297106x
# of Pages: 347
Published: 2003 Random House

Began Reading: October 17th 2006
Finished Reading: Nov. 7th 2006 (took a little break half way)

Perhaps it is P.’s reliably excellent book-choosing which got us to read another of her picks, or maybe it’s because our book club is really special, ambitious, etc. and can easily tackle reading more than one book a month, despite our dizzyingly busy lives…

Like other humble gatherings, we choose one book that we all read, then meet on the first of every month and discuss, discuss, discuss. Whoever picks the book that month also offers supplementary reading (about 5 books) and this memoir was chosen for... you got it! – Lolita.

P., being from Iran herself, was interested in exploring if Nafisi exaggerated in describing the oppression and fear which plague the women in the book. "Often," she explained, "books written about Iraq, or anywhere else in the Middle East, work-up wearing the hijab & the like to the point where it's just not true. They do it just to sell books..." Although what she said may be true as a generalization, after having devoured this book, Nafisi's voice carries such a ring of betrayal that it is hard to believe the possibility of her distorting her story. If anything, I thank P. once again for her good taste in book recommendations. ;)

Plot Overview: Reading Lolita in Tehran chronicles an illegal love affair in the Islamic Republic of Iran that exists between the forbidden classics of Fitzgerald, Austen, & Nabokov with a group of seven young, intellectual women and their teacher, our narrator, Professor Azar Nafisi. During their Thursday morning meetings, as they speak of Lolita's naughtiness & debate over Darcy's sex appeal, we discover the history of the book club's members and what life situations have forced them into seeking companionship through the written word. In Nafisi's living room we learn of her expulsion from teaching at the university for refusing to wear the veil, the chaotic energy surrounding the student rebellions, & the frequent mental and physical harassment which dogs the people of Iran. This memoir combines an individual’s drive for ambition with a citizen’s ambivalent attachment to her nation and homeland, and depicts her struggle to make sense of it all.

Comments: After reading this book it was hard to understand why Nafisi did not leave earlier. The daily struggles & stress resulting from say, a wisp of hair exposed at the wrong place or time, seems to be motivation enough to leave--not to mention her children’s safety and wellbeing. At one point, Nafisi explains how the progression of Iran was unnatural--instead of thinking of the past as archaic & backward, it was secretly longed for and upheld as a time of freedom & choice. "Before the revolution, [Mashid] could in a sense take pride in her isolation. At the time, she had worn the scarf as a testament to her faith. Her decision was a voluntary act. When the revolution forced the scarf on others, her action became meaningless" (Page 13). If not for having taken a class on world religions, there would have been many details that would have escaped and confused me, namely the rift between the girls who came from different divisions of Islam (log onto CNN for all the dirt on Sunni/Shi'a rift). Nafisi compliments her audience by treating us like post-doc students who will take her work as a starting point to research into her points on literature and Islam.

Best Part: Throughout the work, Nafisi's words become more and more of an Ode to Literature & the Written word. She may even rival my own passionate love affair with books... Above all, it’s her insight on this love and the firm position she takes that makes RLIT so distinct. Nafisi writes, "Every fairy tale offers the potential to surpass present limits, so in a sense the fairy tale offers you freedoms that reality denies. In all great works of fiction, regardless of the grim reality they present, (Lolita being one such piece that comes to mind...) there is an affirmation of the life against the transience of that life, an essential defiance" (page 47).

Oh yes! and the definition of Poshlust & upsilamba... anyone want to dare and define either??...

Not So Great: The book was, once again like Nabokov's classic, too long at parts. Though the information on Iran's policies was fascinating and it is much appreciated to have an insider’s perspective, there comes a time when too many details of injustice and fear can make the reader insensitive--which is what happened to me by the last part of the book. Whenever my mind becomes eager to get to the next book and I am reading more for the sake of finishing it than anything else, it seems there could have been some chopping here & there. ***

Recommend To: The Bibliophile looking for an accomplice. Young women in their later years of high school... it's important for them to understand the cultural relativism. I’d recommend it to my mother as well because she always makes comments about how she doesn't understand why these women do not fight back. Ma, they are. They are trying.

*** Granted, my desire for shorter reads may also be attributed to the stress I feel every night before going to bed as I survey my ever-growing pile of unread books, books I have to re-read, and books I have to study mount ever higher in sharp contrast to the receding amount (seemingly, I guess) of the ones that have already been read. I admit this may make me more of an anxious reader then most. And it definitely isn’t the best way to approach reading, but still I feel this way…

Relief & Regret

2006-11-22T23:04:00.000-05:00

Title: Lolita
Author: Vladamir Nabokov

ISBN: 0679723161
# of Pages: 309

Published: Originally 1955 - Paris; 50th Anniversary Edition ~ Vintage, 1997

Began Reading: October 11th, 2006
Finished Reading: October 15th 2006

When P. was reading off her list of choices for our November Book Club Meet, Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov was last. But it was the only one that all the members wanted to read for no other reason then it had been on all our 'Meaning to Get to It' lists for such a long time and now it seemed like it could actually get crossed off! M., in her book snobbery, became elated with the news. The McGill gals felt that if it wasn't on their syllabus now, it would be in the near future. And I, always one to enjoy a good book-movie analysis was looking forward to the read. Thats how Lolita fell into my hands when it did. Ever since I've experienced a complex oil-meets-water response to the book, of relief and regret.

The Story: Our narrator is the sinister and playful Humbert Humbert who tells the tale of his life's obsession and the murder he later commits. The story ingeniously begins with a psychiatrist introducing the work as a madman's confession, being published for morally instructive reasons. During a brief acount of his past, HH tells of the passionate, unfulfilled love he shared with a girl while still a child himself, and in doing so, traces his obsession back to its innocent roots. After an unsuccessful marriage, the European HH moves to America and begins to teach literature classes. Finding a home for room and board he enters the Haze household, which consists of Mrs. Haze, the widow seeking companionship, the housekeeper & Dolores, Mrs. Haze's young daughter and the nymphet that HH begins to call "my Lolita". From here we are taken into the complex web of HH's love affair--"Look at this tangle of thorns"--that goes from the metaphysical to the bedroom with the pre-pubescent girl. Here we discover the sick power that is tied up with 'love' & obsession, and we see with unwilling eyes the destruction done to the girl caught there.

Comments: Nabokov's grasp of the English language is incredible--it's his eloquence and humour and detailed observations that hold the reader in raptures while the story tells of ugliness and pain. However there isn't much story... the plot is slow to say the least. But Humbert Humbert's character is so disturbing, in part, because he is so playful and engaging. During Part 1, it was difficult to forget that he was a pedophile--his sexual descriptions are great, but what is greater are his loving and terrifying descriptions of a "honey-hued shoulder," or "the blond down of her brown limbs". When the novel ends, you are left with a bad aftertaste in your mouth from moral disgust, but the beautiful words, the quick wit will also remain with you. The narrative is framed as a police statement, and therefore our whole reading of the story is immediately tainted with suspicions, but this initial critical feeling is necessary as HH begins to mesmerize us with his story, and while we still feel revulsion, we also feel sympathy

Best Part: "Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul. Lo-lee-ta: the tip of the tongue taking a trip of three steps down the palate to tap, at three, on the teeth. Lo. Lee. Ta." page 9

Worst Part: The end of Part 1 (there are 2 parts to the whole book) where Lolita after discovering that her mother has died must continue the affair she is having to survive. 'After all, she has no where else to go.'

Recommend to: Nobody really. I had nightmares 3 or 5 times! All sexually intense and it made me feel rather dirty, in fact. It was really, really HEAVY to read this. But the language is so beautiful, intense, clear, eloquent, etc. (the list goes on) that it may be worth all the trouble. So i suppose I would recommend this book to people who love language, the dubious memoirs of madmen and terrific, unforgiving humour.

Cool Facts: "EGL or Gothic Lolita for short, is a Japanese teen or young adult who dresses in amazingly elaborate Gothic looking babydoll costumes. On the weekends these women walk the streets of Tokyo and Osaka and fill Yoyogi Park and Harajuku neighborhood where they pose for tourist’s pictures and sit around looking pretty. They are beautiful, glamorous, doll-like" See the article http://www.morbidoutlook.com/fashion/articles/2002_07_gothiclolita.html for more information. You can even check out their magazine, 'Gothic & Lolita Bible'.

The Movie: My Book Club saw the Jeremy Irons version. Though M. was not so enthusiastic about it (with reason for it wasn't such a good film) because "jeremy irons' portrayal of HH was too serious with no trace of the book's disturbing humour and fun"--there were two aspects that made it worth the time & money for me. 1) J. Irons' looks and acting conformed perfectly to the complex emotions we have while reading the text with HH. He is handsome, refined, and articulate and it is difficult to believe that this same individual is such a monster. 2) There is a scene of Lolita in the apartment in which she and HH finally come to stay after their first cross-America road trip. The scene starts off with her carelessly sprawled across the love seat and ends with her yelling, "Kill me then. Why don't you just kill me." And running out. It is the only time, I must confess, that I felt sorry for her. The book Lolita doesn't allow room to sympathize with the brat that HH portrays & the film allows an opportunity for moments of lesser narrative bias.

The Issue at Hand: The big debate, at our Book Club Meeting at least, was the relativism of his crime. If he was in another country other than America during his time or if they had been married in the Catholic church, then it would have been legal. It would have been 'fine'. The possibility that Nabokov is criticizing North American law seems dim... Is it the idea of power? Is it less about who HH is fucking and more about how he manipulates the opportunities Fate presents to him at the sacrifice of another? Is Nabokov simply delighting in abusing his artistic powers and telling us a story that is aesthetically beautiful but morally repulsive? Or is it about a madman, the way in which he depicts a bent knee or "the gooseberry fuzz" of a leg, or the power and the dangers of narrative?

Many thank to M - who helped spice this entry up. For the Love of VN of course ~

Chocolate Can Be Good For You

2006-11-22T10:28:00.000-05:00

Title: Charlie & The Chocolate Factory
Author: Ronald Dahl
Illustrator: Quentin Blake

ISBN: 0141301155
Page #s: 155
Published: Originally 1964; 1998 Penguin Books

Began Reading: Nov. 8th '06
Finished Reading: Nov. 8th '06

The Guided Tour: One of Dahl's better known books, this Young Adults book is creepy and haunting - no wonder considering Tim Burten decided to make a film adaptation of it. For years teh willie Wonka Chocolate Factory has been closed to the public... until now. Now Mr. Willie Wonka himself is giving a tour plus candy for life to the five children that find a Golden ticket hidden in one of his chocolate bars (talk about marketing scheme!). Of the 5, our story focus' on Charlie - the poor boy who loves to listen to his grandfather speak of the days when the factory was open to everyone & walks by it every day. We follow him and the others through the chocolate waterfall, tv cholate transmitter room and 'meal in a gum' as we discover how a ordinary item becomes the centre of genius and imagination. Wonka's character portrayed through the eyes of the young boy is teasing, critical, witty and unpredictable. He more than anything makes this work a feast for the creative mind.

Comments: Dahl's innocent cruelty holds a ring of truth that strikes an inner cord - so suprising considering the size & nature of the text. Dahl is a STORYTELLER more so than a writer but his readers love him still & all the more for it. At first the idea of a 'candy factory' wasn't appealing. After all do we really need more contect such as this for our all-to-fat North American children. But it soon becomes clear that Wonka's imagination & intellect converts treat into a constructive populous tool - meal gum, hair canady, etc. The Yin/Yang of Charlie & his Grandpa Joe provides an interesting window of love and lineage. Wonka's empire is passed to the best suited individual not his protige yet we never lose the sense of family. Though not that of unconditional love but of un-ending responsability to each other.

Recommend to: Great for reading outload to your children & class. The 'Oompas 'do a wonderful job at fables & morality themselves. Interesting continuationwould be to explore a comparioson between Marquez & Dahl & their fantastic realilizim that goes well beyond the fictional norm yet still catagorized as such.

Best Part: OOMPAA READING SONG

Cool Fact: - In Dahl's 1964 original work, the Oompa-loompas were 'a tribe of 3,000 amiable black pygmies who have been imported by Mr. Willy Wonka from the very deepest and darkest part of the African jungle where no white man had been before.' 10 years later, after much back and forth with individuals (notably Canadian writer E. Cameron) that protested this 'slave' imagery, Dahl released a new version of the OLs with the release of his sequal, Charlie and the Glass Elavator.

See http://www.hbook.com/exhibit/cameronvdahl.html for the letters Dahl exchanged with these protestors.

- Dahl worked at the Cadbury factory in his youth which was the basis of Wonka's 'business' behavior.

-There is a Lost Chapter that was recently brought to the publics attention. Another child was added to the group of visitors: Miranda the Tattle-Tale with her Father the school headmster. They were removed because Wonka's disposal of them was the most violent/harshest. Read on the chapter here: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,923-1703206,00.html

Better Late then Never

2006-11-21T15:31:00.000-05:00

Title: Anansi Boys

ISBN: 9780060515195

Page #: 384

Author: Neil Gaimon

Published: 2005 HarperTorch

Began reading: Nov 15th '06

Finished Reading: Nov. 16th '06

My 2nd Year at McGill I took a Japanese Literature class with Anne McKnight. The first day we all had to introduce ourselves and tell us our favorite book. Cecilia - someone who had been to the same cegep as myself but a year older - was there and she said that she was a hudge Neil Gaimon fan. This was really suprising for me because she had always seemed to be the type that would only read classics and Nobel Prize winners (not that thats bad at all unless your like this girl I known M.) Anwyays since then I have been meaning to pick up a copy of something by him - American Gods is what he is better known for - which I finally did... 3 & 1/2 Years later.

The Parable: Jesus wasn't the only one who knew how to make every word count! Gaimen is drawing on the 'tale' - the ones we are all familiar with: the lion & the mouse, the turtle and the hare... all those animal stories that spoke true and taught us a lesson that Muggles often cannot express quiet as well. His hybrid of characters- Fat Charlie, Daisy the one-nightstand-turned-dective, Maeve the ghost & Her Husband Morty, Graham the psycho boss, Heaven's New Tourist Guide, Spider the brother-turns-God with a lot of sibling history (little of it good), Rosie the virginal fiancee soon to become permiscuous adulteress, and her mother who manifests all the steryotypes of the in-laws - makes for an incredible adventure that explores the oral tradition in all of its possibilities.

Comments: Satire isn't really being done these days (or perhaps its just that nothing is as good as Seinfeld). This is my first Gaimen - definitly not going to be my last. His ideas on storytelling & song merged with mythology was not what I expected. Rather for some reason my expectation was a sci-fi twist but if anything there is more fantasical elements. Here you find amazing characters & fast paced unpredictable plot making it a WONDERFUL read. My favorite character was Daisy for being both real & sur-real (its possible?!) Overall though it's the mythology element that sets this work apart - it presents this ingrediant as a penetrator of our cultures and daily detials. I wonder why only animal gods though - why not a combination of?

Best Part: The Chapter Headings!!! Such as: 'In Which Fat Charlie Answers The Door & Spider Encounters Flamingos' and ' In Which Rosie Learns to Say No to Strangers & Fat Charlie Acquires A Lime'.

Recommend To: Not sure... perhaps... Well, it seems to be more the kind of book that would recommend when/if the topic(s) ever came up. Not necessarily the perfect fit for anyone in particular - of my small and humble circle of aquantanecs that is.

Cool Fact: theres a movie on Neil Gaimen's thoughts on his new success at http://www.neilgaiman.com/exclusive/Video/ . You'll also find his online journal, bio, and other cool facts about the author.

No Not Another Movie Review

2006-11-21T13:51:00.000-05:00

Title: Casino Royale 007

Author: Ian Fleming

Published: Originally 1953; ed. 2006 Peguin Books

ISBN: 0143037668 Page#s: 213

Began reading: November 11th 2006 Finished Reading: November 12th, 2006

The Buzz: Yes so the movie is out but I always wanted to read Fleming ever since my friend Tammy complained of having Casino Royal as required reading for her literature class at McGill. Her suprise in enjoying the novel intrigued me and it remained in the back of my mind for some time - a good 3 years before I got around to it!

The Content: Bond is the Good Guy. Handsome, aweful blue eyed agent fights evil high roller Russian bad man Le Chiffre... at a casino! Bond is chosen not because he aims well or has some great skill at constructing home bombs. Oh No! JB is chosen because he is the best 'gambler in the agency'. What follows in this volume that introduces the Bond series is not as much a series of adventures but more schemes where the less physically capable but oh-so-witty Bond tries to get away from alive.

Comments: Bond's character is more 3-dimensional then what is witnessed in his films. Regret, error, helplessness, self-conscious, doubt - all these he expresses behind a well trained though far from perfect mask. There are 2 passages of extreme accuracy and truth - one of lust and the other one evil (the entire Chapter 20) - which makes Flemings extra ordinary Bond character take on more of a Batman feel then a Tech guru he is made out to be in visual media. The female character is severely lacking though Bond's views of women provide an interesting perspective on the male psyche. Worthy of note is the lack of side-kick James Bond has in comparison to other known protagonists in similar genres. We the audience relate to this often imperfect human that remains in the sidelines yet has intimate dealings with the larger then life hero/heroine. Think of Nero Wolfe's Archie or Sherlocke Holmes' Watson.

Best Line: " He wanted her cold and arrogant body. He wanted to see tears and desire in her remote blue eyes and take the ropes of her black hair in his hands and bend her long body back under his." Page 17-108

Worst Part: At times, Bond's analysis of the female sexe is just so off its revolting. Also, the whole Russia thing seems so over done but one must keep in mind he wrote this in the 50's. The first Bond movie - Dr. No - was filmed in '64.

Not a Movie Review But... I loved the movie though it was long by most peoples standards. Everything was better. There was acacting and a storyline. The means in which they integrated it into the present were supereb and the story integration accurate. They left the 'chesseness' that is Fleming (Le Chiffre's name remains, the cut & corny humour) but removed/ added some essentials to make it entertaining for us - namely making the principal game of choice Poker and not Bakerat. Finally, the torture scene was AMAZING! The villian accurate. My only regret is the integration of the 'rescue' at the end. Events remain the same its some small - but pivotal from my perspective - dialogue that is changed.

Progress Report

2006-11-21T13:50:00.000-05:00

Turns out we have failed yet again my fellow huminoids!

Title: A Short History of Progress

By: Ronald Wright

ISBN: 0887847064 Page#: 132 + endnotes... & there are many!

Published: 2004 House of Anansi Press Inc.

Began Reading: November 13th Finished Reading: November 14th 2006

Da Jazz: Wright is trying to give us a general prediction about the future by investigating humanity's (depressing? sorry? pathetic? violent?...) past. His conclusions of course can be summed up in the fact that there is little hope that we can really recooperate. Not becauase its impossible or beyond our capability. Oh no! Just that historically it seems as if mankind is waaaaaaaaay to preoccupied with the NOW! in every sense of the word. A little too much Niezche education there guys! Wright examines the development of tools, the 'progress' of civilization, development of hierarchy... You know, the usual.

Comments: Well written - simplistic but not overly so. For such a wide topic the choice of points & issues were excellent. I do hate having the footnotes at the end (aka endnotes) which by the 2nd chapter just gave up on. The most entertaining element is the way the arts and literature along with political speaches, radio, stats, etc. are integrated as valid, solid points in their right. What Wright is really covering and addressing is our pereptions of what progress is and how superficial that is. there is an obligation to the future to invest in long term and he brings forth and attacks those arguments that say otehrwise.

Recommend to: A great intro to fiction readers to join the other side. Those looking for a present of general interest. Dad & Harry I think would love this especially the former.

Not For: Anthropology student. Way too 'been there done that'. Wright isn't bringing anything new to the table. Rather it's in his style and the WAY he presents the old hat material that makes this book worth while.

The Reader in Us All

2006-11-21T13:49:00.000-05:00

Once upon a time, I worked in this bookstore called Indigo. It had three floors and was blessed with being employed in the FICTION section of the store. No alchoholic single mothers asking for the self-help section or young grooms demanding for the New Age Section. Well, I did get them but it was an easy, "... not my section... sorry... ask at the Home counter...sorry, can't leave my post...Yeah, ok good luck." (not)

One day a stressed mother did come up to me. She was tiny - about 5 feet - with blonde hair that was dyed one too many times and dressed in black slacks, blazer and striped shirt. She looked like she had just finished work. Behind her was a young jock, 6'2" at least - for lack of a better word - HUDGE. "Hi, they said you were the one to come to. I have a big problem." She was out of breath and the look of stress almost made me pity her.

"I'm, sorry m'am but I work in the Fiction section not Self-Help. You will find that at the end of the 2nd floor..." Now that I write this I realize just how mean it was.

"No, I need the fiction section. You see my son-," she pointed to the giant behind her, "he doesn't read. I buy him books, magazines, newspapers, everything! and he just won't pick anything up. I'll do anything to find him something... they said that if anyone you would be able to maybe push him." She reached into her wallet and gave me 30$. "Here, buy him whatever he wants just buy him SOMETHING. I'll wait in the cafe." And with that she turned and left.

And there it was the cash, the dude, and me. To say the least it was uncomfertable.

We went from A to Z and beyond. We did the classics, sci-fi, fantasy, horror, even EROTICA the guy didn't spark. Nothing. nada. Niendo.

Finally he gruffled, "Just pick anything." And I did.

2 weeks later as I am shelfing books in my usual little corner which is the junction between sci-fi & fantasy (you will often find me there even now though I don't work there anymore). Suddenly, there was a strong tap on my shoulder. "Sorry, 'Nessa?"

I turned to see the big guy in front of me. He was blushing and holding a thick copy of The Count of Monte Crisco. "Hi!"

"Hi - I just wanted to say that well ... I just finished the Power of One and it was - it was good. And I remembered that this was one of your favorite books," he held up Dumas' tome, " and... I just wanted to say thanks."

The Beef: When Peekey's mom goes wako, the brit boy is forced to be sent to private school even though he prefers remaining with his Zulu nanny. Too bad for Pee cause no one at school likes him and this leads to events that would normally be the begining of a delinquent. Which Pee eventually becomes but not the Rebel Without a Cause kind. More like the Harry Potter type i.e. even when Peekey really fucks up he succeeds (ass!). From there we journey with him through Africa and witness all the hills, Mountains and Olympus' out there - and there are many. I am talking prison, boxing ring, train rides here and there, high school dorms for boys (bring out the vodka girls!), mines, caves, Oxford University. Sound like too much? Yup - but thats what makes this book so incredible~!

Best Part: Peekey of course! His character is undescrible. Imagine Jeremy Irons young but built up like Arnold though not as thick. He is REAL and HUMAN. 4-dimensional... he is as self-critical as he is observant. And he becomes a magnet for all these eccentric characters that love or loath the younster. For example, Morrie becomes Peekay's best friend in high school. He ends up opening a bank. Morrie uses the logic of using the Jewish steryotypes that are normally against him in his favour. hahaha...

Worst Part: Especially towards the end there is such long long passages. I didn't notice because I literally ATE this book (twice!) but the members of my book club said that the last 100 pages were hard to get through - especially the Morrie speeches.
My bf has oft made the complaint that the dialogue is lacking in this piece which baffeled moi. The dialogue is not always sharp but it is very secondary. The majority of this piece is all about the narration really and the strong character who tells it.

User Friendly To: the reader's who like to squeal and yell during a read. For all the character emphasise there is a strong plot here. Also for the sports fan - especially boxing because the kick ass scenes of blood, snot and guts rocks.

Warning: Ummm yeah so like I said 2 days to read 600 pages means there was little else done during those 48 hours other then read, piss and eat (occationally).

Cool Facts: He started writing when he was 55 years old. Most of Bryce's books are not in print in the USA because they don't want to deal with Austrian writers (prefer to promote their own). Check out his explaination at his website www.brycecourtney.com

Romance with the Fat and Ugly

2006-11-21T13:48:00.000-05:00

It was literally forced upon me.

I bought Saving Grace in high school. As I walked the aisles of the trashy romance section, I got all these evil looks from fat, ugly chicks. Doesn't mean I'm a skinny model but christ! nothing that bad. Plus I was about 20 years younger. The fattest and ugliest of them all came up to me: "Have you read any Woodiwiss?". "Are you kidding me! What havent I read by her? She is like..." Suddenly, (my loud voice has a habit of carrying easily) there was a crowd! The very hens that hated my guts for being a illegal alien were clucking like mama hens. They almost fainted when they found out I never read Garwood (I know the shame and horror!).

I am forever greatful.

Da Biz: It's 1206, Evil King John is forcing Lady Johanna to marry again even though her last husband not only beat the shit out of her but would fuck so many other women... lets just say she had just cause for it. Her bro, who is super hot!!, butts in and marries her to this giant beef guy. Jo agrees when she finds out the warriors name is Gabriel like the angel. After lots of blood, violence, sex, and rescue misions they both live (kinda) happily ever after.

Best Part: no joke, like I laugh the entire way through. Here's an exerpt: End of Chap6: 'Lord, Jo was happyy. Aye, she'd done the right thing. She'd married a good-hearted man.' First Line of Chap7: ''Twas the truth she was married to a gargoyle.' + saving the wolfhound and performing surgery, inventing the game of golf, Jo telling Gab that he should seek out other women, the entire wedding ceremony! (hahaha it is SO funny guys),... it goes on for a while.

Worst Part: she was not as accurate with her Scots accent in this one though overall Garwood is known for that. & the love scenes are all bunched together BORING. Its better when theres one. Trashy Romance Golden Rule ~ love scene every 123 pages (Duh!)

User Friendly to: mama hens as mentioned above, anyone who want sto laugh till they cry, going on a trip and want something light to read. WAY better then Shopaholic (and I love Kinsella!) Garwoods Scotland books are WAY better than her British story lines. If your looking to read more, stick with that vein gals. (ex: The Wedding, The Secret)

Warning: I read this book about twice a year and I cant go to sleep or do anything else once I pick it up.

Cool Fact: Unlike other Romance Writers Garwood isnt scary looking and she has as much of a public presence as Nora Roberts does (and thats a lot) you can always catch her online updating her website. Click the link to send her some juice

Thanks to me again! http://brainwashcafe.blogspot.com/2006/06/romance-with-fat-ugly.html

Here's All the Dirt on My First

2006-09-10T11:42:00.000-05:00

they say you never forget the first one... It's so true.

do you all remember the first book you ever read?
(well now what were you expecting from a lifelong bibliophile?!)
not only was G.C. Warner's The Boxcar Children my very first, its definitely in my top 10.

The Sum Up: 4 sibs run away from the orphange because they're about to be adopted seperatly. lucky for them, a boxcar just happens to be in forest, empty, clean and resourceful. after a few weeks in the boxcar they are discovered by their richass granddad who brings the boxcar home with them where they get to play in the backyard .

Favorite Part: I've had 'boxcar' on the top of my xmas list since grade two. these guys make a swimming pool, scavage for the coolest stuff in a near by dump AND end up adopting a lost soul for themselves - a doggy!!!

Worst Part: When they leave the boxcar & when Violet gets sick - pretty harsh.

Perfect Read: for anyone starting out, looking for something that suprisingly amazing and portable.

Warning: no sex or drugs in this one guys BUT its very very dfficult to get a copy of. Its been in print since forever (1942)

Cool Fact: there is a BoxCar Children's Museum. Where have I been?!?

Tell me what you think...

Thanks to me http://brainwashcafe.blogspot.com/2006/06/heres-all-dirt-on-my-very-first.html

Political Science

2006-02-01T00:32:00.000-05:00

List Coming Very Very Soon!!!!!

Erotica

2006-02-01T00:31:00.000-05:00

List is On its Way Guys!!!!

Romance

2006-02-01T00:29:00.000-05:00

List Coming Soon~~~!!!!

Mystery

2006-02-01T00:17:00.001-05:00

List Coming Soon!!!

Travel

2006-02-01T00:17:00.000-05:00

List Coming Soon!!!

Fantasy

2006-02-01T00:16:00.000-05:00

List Coming Soon!!!

Thrillers

2006-02-01T00:15:00.000-05:00

List Coming Very Very Soon!!!!