Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Great Native American Historical book

Black Elk Speaks: Being the Life Story of a Holy Man of the Oglala Sioux - John G. Neihardt
Originally published in hardcover in 1932 - Morrow


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I found the impact of this book far more powerful while reading in tandem with an Edward Curtis book of photographs. 


Black Elk's Lakota story is one of the greats in Native American history, and peripheral to the legendary Crazy Horse. In addition there is the dispiriting history of Native Americans in general woven into Neihardt's tale (which is fascinating in and of itself). The spiritual and the historical come together well in a very powerful and very sad tale.


I by no means wish to denigrate this book, but I still hold Brown's Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee as my polestar in Native American history. 


Amazon descriptionBlack Elk Speaks is the story of the Lakota visionary and healer Nicholas Black Elk (1863-1950) and his people during the momentous twilight years of the nineteenth century. Black Elk met the distinguished poet, writer, and critic John G. Neihardt (1881-1973) in 1930 on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota and chose Neihardt to tell his story. Neihardt understood and conveyed Black Elk’s experiences in this powerful and inspirational message for all humankind.


When Black Elk received his great vision, white settlers were invading the Lakotas’ homeland, decimating buffalo herds, and threatening to extinguish the Lakotas’ way of life. The Lakotas fought fiercely to retain their freedom and way of life, a dogged resistance that resulted in a remarkable victory at the Little Bighorn and an unspeakable tragedy at Wounded Knee. Black Elk Speaks offers much more than a precious glimpse of a vanished time, however. As related by Neihardt, Black Elk’s searing visions of the unity of humanity and the earth have made this book a venerated spiritual classic. Whether appreciated as the poignant tale of a Lakota life, a history of a Native nation, or an enduring spiritual testament, Black Elk Speaks is unforgettable.

This new edition features two additional essays by John G. Neihardt that further illuminate his experience with Black Elk; an essay by Alexis Petri, great-granddaughter of John G. Neihardt, that celebrates Neihardt’s remarkable accomplishments; and a look at the legacy of the special relationship between Neihardt and Black Elk, written by Lori Utecht, editor of Knowledge and Opinion: Essays and Literary Criticism of John G. Neihardt.

For more information on John G. Neihardt, visit www.neihardt.com



Not Mr. Selznick's Best

Wonderstruck - Brian Selznick
2011 - Scholastic Press


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I like what Selznick is doing here in the youngish-adult genre - large, substantial books that are moved along with great illustrations. He does this well in this book but I much prefer The Invention of Hugo Cabret to showcase Selznick's talents and creativity.


Amazon description - From Brian Selznick, the creator of the Caldecott Medal winner The Invention Of Hugo Cabret, comes another breathtaking tour de force.


Playing with the form he created in his trailblazing debut novel, The Invention of Hugo Cabret, Brian Selznick once again sails into uncharted territory and takes readers on an awe-inspiring journey.


Ben and Rose secretly wish their lives were different. Ben longs for the father he has never known. Rose dreams of a mysterious actress whose life she chronicles in a scrapbook. When Ben discovers a puzzling clue in his mother's room and Rose reads an enticing headline in the newspaper, both children set out alone on desperate quests to find what they are missing.


Set fifty years apart, these two independent stories - Ben's told in words, Rose's in pictures - weave back and forth with mesmerizing symmetry. How they unfold and ultimately intertwine will surprise you, challenge you, and leave you breathless with wonder. Rich, complex, affecting, and beautiful - with over 460 pages of original artwork - Wonderstruck is a stunning achievement from a uniquely gifted artist and visionary.



The Invention of Hugo Cabret - Brian Selznick
Originally published in hardcover in 2007 - Scholastic


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I've said this very recently and I once again am urged to say it - there are A LOT of exciting books being published in the young adult genre. Hugo Cabret might be in the genre preceding the "young adult" genre, but I wont split hairs. 


This book is a massive tome yet not intimidating thanks to the enchanting detail in both the dustjacket and the actual boards of the hardcover, along with the drawings. The story itself is quite engaging and is carried quite effectively by the cinematic illustrations that make up a large portion of the book.


A captivating aspect of the plot is an "automaton" - I knew just about nothing beforehand and was quite delighted with this almost magical element.


As of this writing the movie version has just been released though I haven't watched it yet - cant wait. 


Since I've read this Selznick has published at least one other book in the vein of Hugo Cabret, an engaging story bolstered with illustrations - Wonderstruck. (There must be some artistic term for his use of illustrations, sequentially, to show the action of the storyline.)


Amazon description - Orphan, clock keeper, and thief, Hugo lives in the walls of a busy Paris train station, where his survival depends on secrets and anonymity. But when his world suddenly interlocks with an eccentric, bookish girl and a bitter old man who runs a toy booth in the station, Hugo's undercover life, and his most precious secret, are put in jeopardy. A cryptic drawing, a treasured notebook, a stolen key, a mechanical man, and a hidden message from Hugo's dead father form the backbone of this intricate, tender, and spellbinding mystery.


Tuesday, November 29, 2011

The Game is Afoot!

The House of Silk: A Sherlock Holmes Novel - Anthony Horowitz
2011 - Mulholland Books


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I somewhat recently went through a couple Sherlock Holmes novels and realized I should take my doses in smaller increments as the writing became almost predictable and formulaic. And then a couple years went by and I stumbled upon this new release. A new Sherlock Holmes book?


I do still enjoy me an adventure and mystery though! And this book certainly fits the bill. A game of intrigue. A bit more Watson and a bit less Sherlock seemed to work just fine in this book. Recommended for Sherlock fans for sure.


Amazon descriptionFor the first time in its one-hundred-and-twenty-five-year history, the Arthur Conan Doyle Estate has authorized a new Sherlock Holmes novel.

Once again, THE GAME'S AFOOT...

London, 1890. 221B Baker St. A fine art dealer named Edmund Carstairs visits Sherlock Holmes and Dr John Watson to beg for their help. He is being menaced by a strange man in a flat cap - a wanted criminal who seems to have followed him all the way from America. In the days that follow, his home is robbed, his family is threatened. And then the first murder takes place.

Almost unwillingly, Holmes and Watson find themselves being drawn ever deeper into an international conspiracy connected to the teeming criminal underworld of Boston, the gaslit streets of London, opium dens and much, much more. And as they dig, they begin to hear the whispered phrase-the House of Silk-a mysterious entity that connects the highest levels of government to the deepest depths of criminality. Holmes begins to fear that he has uncovered a conspiracy that threatens to tear apart the very fabric of society.

The Arthur Conan Doyle Estate chose the celebrated, #1 New York Times bestselling author Anthony Horowitz to write The House of Silk because of his proven ability to tell a transfixing story and for his passion for all things Holmes. Destined to become an instant classic, The House of Silk brings Sherlock Holmes back with all the nuance, pacing, and almost superhuman powers of analysis and deduction that made him the world's greatest detective, in a case depicting events too shocking, too monstrous to ever appear in print...until now.

All The Right Fantasy Ingredients

The Dragon's Path - Daniel Abraham
2011 - Orbit


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This is book 1 in The Dagger and The Coin trilogy, a very good start to an epic fantasy series. In fact, this is probably in my top three of fantasy published in 2011 (Patrick Rothfuss' Wise Man's Fear is on that list. Not quite sure what the third book might be.)


Anyway, as I mentioned in the title of this post, this book has all the right ingredients for a great epic fantasy: court intrigue, strong characters, blurred lines of good and bad. I love that Abraham studied ancient banking which added some very interesting depth to the plot line.


Amazon descriptionAll paths lead to war...


Marcus' hero days are behind him. He knows too well that even the smallest war still means somebody's death. When his men are impressed into a doomed army, staying out of a battle he wants no part of requires some unorthodox steps.


Cithrin is an orphan, ward of a banking house. Her job is to smuggle a nation's wealth across a war zone, hiding the gold from both sides. She knows the secret life of commerce like a second language, but the strategies of trade will not defend her from swords.


Geder, sole scion of a noble house, has more interest in philosophy than in swordplay. A poor excuse for a soldier, he is a pawn in these games. No one can predict what he will become.


Falling pebbles can start a landslide. A spat between the Free Cities and the Severed Throne is spiraling out of control. A new player rises from the depths of history, fanning the flames that will sweep the entire region onto The Dragon's Path-the path to war.


Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Japanese Art

Japanese Prints - Gabriele Fahr-Becker
2007 – Taschen


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There seems to be a ton of recent releases on this subject, most of which can be found on any clearance table. Including perhaps this title. I do think the Taschen edition is the best of them though, a very well done survey of the ukiyo-e masters.

I LOVE the Taschen!

Amazon description - This volume reproduces 139 Japanese woodblock colour prints by 43 famous masters of ukiyo-e, the popular art of the 17th to the 19th century. The originals are in the Riccar Art Museum in Tokyo, the world's largest and most celebrated collection of such prints. On account of their rarity and value, 87 of them have been designated Japanese National Treasures or Major National Cultural Heritage Items. The introductory essay, "Ukiyo-e - Origins and History", by the Curator of the Riccar Art Museum, Mitsunobu Sato, familiarizes the reader with the history of this art form. This is followed by the chapter "Cherry - Wood - Blossom", in which Thomas Zacharias, Professor at the Munich Academy of Art examines the technique, content and style of Japanese prints and their influence on European art at the turn of the century. The major section of the book consists of the 139 reproductions, grouped by artist, each accompanied by a detailed, sensitive commentary. Street scenes, lovers' trysts, festivals, portraits of courtesans and actors, landscapes and travelogues - these are the motifs of the ukiyo-e print. The dominant theme, however, is woman's beauty, the grace of her posture and attitudes, and the decorative aesthetics of her flowing garments. Amongst the most celebrated of the artists featured here are Utamaro, with his beautiful courtesans and geishas; Sharaku, with his portraits of actors on the kabuki stage; Hokusai, with his landscapes, among them the "36 Views of Mount Fuji"; and Hiroshige, with his "53 Stations on the Tokaido" and his "100 Views of Famous Places in and around Edo". The ten-page appendix includes a glossary of technical terms and biographies of all 43 artists.

Yet Another Great Young Adult Series

Magyk (Septimus Heap #1) – Angie Sage
Originally published in hardcover in 2005 - Katherine Tegen Books


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I am continually surprised by this genre. There is a lot more to this YA book than meets the eye. A very delightful beginning to the series. Highly recommended book in the young adult fantasy genre.

Amazon description - The seventh son of the seventh son, aptly named Septimus Heap, is stolen the night he is born by a midwife who pronounces him dead. That same night, the baby's father, Silas Heap, comes across a bundle in the snow containing a new born girl with violet eyes. The Heaps take this helpless newborn into their home, name her Jenna, and raise her as their own. But who is this myster ious baby girl, and what really happened to their beloved son Septimus?
The first book in this enthralling new series by Angie Sage leads readers on a fantastic journey filled with quirky characters and magykal charms, potions, and spells. magyk is an original story of lost and rediscovered identities, rich with humor and heart.

I Almost Missed This One

Man Gone Down – Michael Thomas
2006 – Grove Press


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A close friend recommended the book, imagining that if I were a writer, I would write a book that sounded like this. Now THAT is a juicy recommend.

I did enjoy the book and I do like the way Thomas writes. I appreciate the unnamed narrator's struggle and thought the ending was very tight.

Apparently there was a lot of hype when this came out five years ago, I just seem to have somehow missed it all. Glad to have read this though.

Amazon description - Evoking the work of great American masters such as Ralph Ellison, but distinctly original, Michael Thomas’ first novel is a beautifully written, insightful, and devastating account of a young black father of three in a biracial marriage trying to claim a piece of the American Dream. On the eve of the unnamed narrator’s thirty-fifth birthday, he finds himself broke, estranged from his white Boston Brahmin wife and three children, and living in the bedroom of a friend’s six-year-old child. With only four days before he’s due in to pick up his family, he must make some sense out of his life. Alternating between his past—as an inner city child bused to the suburbs in the 1970’s—and a present where he is trying mightily to keep his children in private schools, we learn of his mother’s abuses, his father’s abandonment, and the best and worst intentions of a supposedly integrated America. This is an extraordinary debut about what it feels like to be pre-programmed to fail in life—and the urge to escape that sentence.

A Contemporary Classic

The Handmaid’s Tale – Margaret Atwood
Originally published in hardcover in the US in 1986 – Houghton Mifflin


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What a haunting and depressing book ... no wonder women hate men ...


Amazon description - A gripping vision of our society radically overturned by a theocratic revolution, Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid's Tale has become one of the most powerful and most widely read novels of our time.


Offred is a Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead, serving in the household of the enigmatic Commander and his bitter wife. She may go out once a day to markets whose signs are now pictures because women are not allowed to read. She must pray that the Commander makes her pregnant, for in a time of declining birthrates her value lies in her fertility, and failure means exile to the dangerously polluted Colonies. Offred can remember a time when she lived with her husband and daughter and had a job, before she lost even her own name. Now she navigates the intimate secrets of those who control her every move, risking her life in breaking the rules.


Like Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World and George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four, The Handmaid's Tale has endured not only as a literary landmark but as a warning of a possible future that is still chillingly relevant.

Monday, November 21, 2011

Another Fantastic Character

Among Others - Jo Walton
2011 - Tor


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Morwenna, the heroine in Walton's Among Others, is one of the most thoroughly enjoyable protagonists I've come across in a while. The strengths of this book are two-fold, in my humble opinion. First, we have our main character, Morwenna Phelps, a bright young lady, struggling literally and figuratively in a fantasy world. Morwenna's world and the way she perceives life is fascinating and engaging and a real treat to read. 


The other compelling element of this book is its referential nature, specifically to the world of fantasy. Perhaps the English use "SF" to refer to science fiction and fantasy fiction or maybe they just use the term to refer to the fantasy genre. Regardless, Morwenna's "SF" references are so adorable. 


If you loved the characters in Pessl's Special Topics in Calamity Physics, Cline's Ready Player One, and/or Diaz's Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, then you will certainly enjoy Walton's newest book. Quite a fun romp through the science-fiction/fantasy genre.


My favorite passage from the book:
"The librarian, the man, was a little startled at how many books I wanted to order, but he just gave me a pile of blanks and had me fill them in myself. Lots of books were waiting for me! Then I went down to the bookshop and bought Four Quartets, Ted Hughes's Crow and Anne McCaffrey's Dragonsinger. I also bought a box of matches.


I did not buy a book called Lord Foul's Bane by Stephen Donaldson, which has the temerity to compare itself, on the front cover, to "Tolkien at his best." The back cover attributes the quote to the Washington Post, a newspaper whose quoptations will always damn a book for me from now on. How dare they? And how dare the publishers? It isn't a comparison anyone could make, except to say "Compared to Tolkien at his best, this is dross." I mean you could say that even about really brilliant books like A Wizard of Earthsea. I expect Lord Foul's Bane (horrible title, sounds like a Conan book) is more like Tolkien at his worst, which would be the beginning of The Silmarillion.


The thing about Tolkien, about The Lord of the Rings, is that it's perfect. It's the whole world, this whole process of immersion, this journey. It's not, I'm pretty sure, actually true, but that makes it more amazing, that someone could make it all up. Reading it changes everything. I remember finishing The Hobbit and handing it to Mor and saying "Read it. It's pretty good. Isn't there another one of these around here somewhere?" And I remember finding it - stealing it from my mother's room. When the door was open, the light from the corridor fell on the shelves R and S and T. We were always afraid to go further in, in case she was hiding in the darkness and grabbed us. She did that once, when Mor was putting back The Crystal Cave. When we took one of her books, usually, we ruffled the shelf so it wouldn't show. But the one-volume Lord of the Rings was so fat that it didn't work. I was terrified she'd see. I almost didn't take it. But either she didn't notice or she didn't care - I think she might have been away with one of her boyfriends. 


I haven't said what I wanted to about the thing about it.


Reading it is like being there. It's like finding a magic spring in a desert. It has everything. (except lust, Daniel said. But it has Wormtongue.)


It is an oasis for the soul. Even now I can always retreat into Middle Earth and be happy.


How can you compare anything to that? I can't believe Stephen Donaldson's hubris."


Brilliant.


Amazon desciptionStartling, unusual, and yet irresistably readable, Among Others is at once the compelling story of a young woman struggling to escape a troubled childhood, a brilliant diary of first encounters with the great novels of modern fantasy and SF, and a spellbinding tale of escape from ancient enchantment.


Raised by a half-mad mother who dabbled in magic, Morwenna Phelps found refuge in two worlds. As a child growing up in Wales, she played among the spirits who made their homes in industrial ruins. But her mind found freedom and promise in the science fiction novels that were her closest companions. Then her mother tried to bend the spirits to dark ends, and Mori was forced to confront her in a magical battle that left her crippled--and her twin sister dead.


Fleeing to her father whom she barely knew, Mori was sent to boarding school in England–a place all but devoid of true magic. There, outcast and alone, she tempted fate by doing magic herself, in an attempt to find a circle of like-minded friends. But her magic also drew the attention of her mother, bringing about a reckoning that could no longer be put off…


Combining elements of autobiography with flights of imagination in the manner of novels like Jonathan Lethem’s The Fortress of Solitude, this is potentially a breakout book for an author whose genius has already been hailed by peers like Kelly Link, Sarah Weinman, and Ursula K. Le Guin.




Friday, November 18, 2011

For Castle Fans

Castles - Alan Lee
Originally published in hardcover in 1986 - McGraw Hill


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Yes, this is the Alan Lee of Tolkien illustrations fame. This is also the Alan Lee who collaborates with Brian Froud of mythical creatures fame. BUT, I would actually recommend this book more for castle fans than anything else. The author and Lee tie together stories and castles of folklore quite nicely.


A Fine Photography Monograph

Henri Cartier-Bresson: The Man, the Image and the World - Philippe Arbaizar
Originally published in hardcover in 2003 - Thames and Hudson


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I am unabashedly not well versed in photography -- so take that for what it's worth.


This book was a recommendation by a Goodreader who knows I at least appreciate art and so I bought the book.


From what I can tell Cartier-Bresson is a master. The early 20th century should thank him for his work.


As I went through this book, I felt a pang of sadness at the first groupings of photos, wishing this artist had only captured my country. And so what a delight when I came to the second half of the book and saw his American work. Cartier-Bresson has the gift of capturing those human moments that define both a time and a place. 


I love the arrangement of the photos by their sections and the life of Cartier-Bresson is well documented in this tome. My favorite is his French idyllic photographs and my absolute favorite is still Rue Mouffetard.


This is a treat.


Amazon descriptionHenri Cartier-Bresson is one of the finest image makers of our time. Born in 1908, he studied painting before embarking on a career in photography in the 1930s. In 1940 he was captured by the Germans and spent three years in prisoner-of-war camps before escaping to join the Paris underground. With Robert Capa, David Seymour and others, he founded the photographic agency Magnum in 1947. Since then his work has taken him all over the world - from Europe to India, Burma, Pakistan, China, Japan, Indonesia, Bali, Russia, the Middle East, Cuba, Mexico, the United States and Canada. This new collection of work by Cartier-Bresson, created on the occasion of his ninety-fifth birthday, provides the ultimate retrospective look at a lifetime's achievement. It includes the first photographs taken by him, a significant number of which have never been published, rarely seen work from all periods of his life, classic photographs that have become icons of the medium, and a generous selection of drawings, paintings and film stills. The book also features personal souvenirs of Cartier-Bresson's youth, his family and the founding of Magnum. Cartier-Bresson's extraordinary images are shaped by an eye and a mind legendary for their intelligent empathy and for going to the heart of the matter. This definitive collection of a master photographer's work will be an essential book for anyone interested in photography - indeed, for anyone interested in the people, places and events of the last century.



Golem's Everywhere

The Golem's Eye - Jonathan Stroud
Originally published in hardcover in 2004 - Miramax


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This book was the third in a series of "golem" coincidences at a particular point in my life a couple years ago - don't know what to make of it. One summer I picked up a copy of Meyrink's The Golem at a used book sale. Then that fall I listened to Michael Chabon talk to a spellbound audience about the Golem of Prague (and I read the Adventures of Kavalier and Clay). And then I finished this book, which also peripherally uses the Golem of Prague in the story. What does this all mean? Golem's everywhere.


Anyway, this particular book is the second in an absolutely brilliant trilogy. The main characters employ such subtle wit and sarcasm ... amazing.


Amazon descriptionThe second adventure in the Bartimaeus trilogy finds our young apprentice magician Nathaniel working his way up the ranks of the government, when crisis hits. A seemingly invulnerable clay golem is making random attacks on London. Nathaniel and the all-powerful, totally irreverent djinni, Bartimaeus, must travel to Prague to discover the source of the golem's power. In the ensuing chaos, readers will chase a dancing skeleton across London's skyline, encounter the horror of the dreaded Night Police, witness a daring kidnapping, and enter the Machiavellian world of the magician's government. Eventually, Nathaniel and Bartimaeus have to go head to head with the fearsome golem before the surprise identity of his master is finally revealed.




Thursday, November 17, 2011

And the Winner Is....?

2011 National Book Award winners
Last night, Wednesday, November 16, 2011

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FICTIONJesmyn WardSalvage the Bones (Bloomsbury USA) Amazon description - A hurricane is building over the Gulf of Mexico, threatening the coastal town of Bois Sauvage, Mississippi, and Esch's father is growing concerned. A hard drinker, largely absent, he doesn't show concern for much else. Esch and her three brothers are stocking food, but there isn't much to save. Lately, Esch can't keep down what food she gets; she's fourteen and pregnant. Her brother Skeetah is sneaking scraps for his prized pitbull's new litter, dying one by one in the dirt. Meanwhile, brothers Randall and Junior try to stake their claim in a family long on child's play and short on parenting.
As the twelve days that make up the novel's framework yield to their dramatic conclusion, this unforgettable family-motherless children sacrificing for one another as they can, protecting and nurturing where love is scarce-pulls itself up to face another day. A big-hearted novel about familial love and community against all odds, and a wrenching look at the lonesome, brutal, and restrictive realities of rural poverty, Salvage the Bones is muscled with poetry, revelatory, and real.

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NONFICTIONStephen Greenblatt, The Swerve: How the World Became Modern (W. W. Norton & Company) Amazon description - A riveting tale of the great cultural "swerve" known as the Renaissance.

One of the world's most celebrated scholars, Stephen Greenblatt has crafted both an innovative work of history and a thrilling story of discovery, in which one manuscript, plucked from a thousand years of neglect, changed the course of human thought and made possible the world as we know it.


Nearly six hundred years ago, a short, genial, cannily alert man in his late thirties took a very old manuscript off a library shelf, saw with excitement what he had discovered, and ordered that it be copied. That book was the last surviving manuscript of an ancient Roman philosophical epic, On the Nature of Things, by Lucretius—a beautiful poem of the most dangerous ideas: that the universe functioned without the aid of gods, that religious fear was damaging to human life, and that matter was made up of very small particles in eternal motion, colliding and swerving in new directions. 


The copying and translation of this ancient book-the greatest discovery of the greatest book-hunter of his age-fueled the Renaissance, inspiring artists such as Botticelli and thinkers such as Giordano Bruno; shaped the thought of Galileo and Freud, Darwin and Einstein; and had a revolutionary influence on writers such as Montaigne and Shakespeare and even Thomas Jefferson. 

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POETRYNikky FinneyHead Off & Split (TriQuarterly, an imprint of Northwestern University Press)


Amazon description -  The poems in Nikky Finney's breathtaking new collection Head Off & Split sustain a sensitive and intense dialogue with emblematic figures and events in African American life: from civil rights matriarch Rosa Parks to former secretary of state Condoleezza Rice, from a brazen girl strung out on lightning to a terrified woman abandoned on a rooftop during Hurricane Katrina. Finney s poetic voice is defined by an intimacy that holds a soft yet exacting eye on the erotic, on uncanny political and family events, like her mother s wedding waltz with South Carolina senator Strom Thurmond, and then again on the heartbreaking hilarity of an American president s final State of the Union address.

Artful and intense, Finney's poems ask us to be mindful of what we fraction, fragment, cut off, dice, dishonor, or throw away, powerfully evoking both the lawless and the sublime.


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YOUNG PEOPLE'S LITERATURE: Thanhha LaiInside Out & Back Again (Harper, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers) Amazon description - No one would believe me but at times I would choose wartime in Saigon over peacetime in Alabama.
For all the ten years of her life, HÀ has only known Saigon: the thrills of its markets, the joy of its traditions, the warmth of her friends close by . . . and the beauty of her very own papaya tree.


But now the Vietnam War has reached her home. HÀ and her family are forced to flee as Saigon falls, and they board a ship headed toward hope. In America, HÀ discovers the foreign world of Alabama: the coldness of its strangers, the dullness of its food, the strange shape of its landscape . . . and the strength of her very own family.
This is the moving story of one girl's year of change, dreams, grief, and healing as she journeys from one country to another, one life to the next.


To eRead or Not to eRead?

Is it Time to Buy an eReader?

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As a seller of rare books and first editions, as a lover of the tactile experience of the book (hardcovers, preferably), as a collector of the first printings and the like - one would be led to believe that I am against the eReader (the Nook, the iPad, the Kindle, etc.). But I'm not. Not by a long shot. I actually am a bit excited to buy one. But I'm not quite ready yet.

First, which to buy. I wont digress into the merits of the Top 3 - they one up each other too frequently for me to keep track. But if I were to buy one right this minute, I assume I would lean towards the Kindle Fire (the device at left). The iPad is the coolest, but it's cost is too prohibitive. The Nook was the reigning champ in my little world for a bit when it came out with great functionality, a color screen  and an inexpensive price (relative to the Apple product). But with the very recent introduction of the Kindle Fire, Amazon sits at the top spot. And yes, I am aware that the iPad is not solely an eReader, but then again, neither are the Barnes and Noble and Amazon offerings. Lots of functionality in all devices, so in a way, price point is the winning factor.

So what am I waiting for? I am waiting for two things. First, I want an electronic version of the book I buy in hardcover. For free. Why not? I bought the book, in it's most expensive form, why not give me an electronic copy? While in my mind this is not a huge demand, I cant see publishers giving an inch here. So I wont hold my breath. And my second desire has already rounded the corner, but has not yet fully arrived. I want to read magazines and newspapers on my eReader device. Yes, I know that the selection is larger and larger - but it's not fully fleshed out yet. That's what I'm waiting for. (And while I'm on this point, I dont see why an electronic subscription to a magazine should be more than a print subscription. I dont think the consumer should foot the bill for the publishing houses transition to the new era.)

As I mentioned, I am excited about eReading. While I do think the technology could dampen the used and rare book industry (I can also see the argument where it could enhance that very same industry), I laud the eReader for it's ability, in my perception, to increase the amount we collectively read.

Do NOT Tell Anyone About This

Twilight - Stephanie Meyer
Originally published in hardcover in 2005 - Little, Brown and Co


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I was challenged to read this. (By whom I don't remember now, but let's go with this premise.) And now I've read it. And unlike my other reviews, I am "starring" this review based not entirely on how the book affected me, but more as how I think of the book based on its genre. I have heard complaints of the writing being poor or the story being shallow or the plot being just for girls, but I have no complaints there. Or anywhere really. I absolutely love a book that can inspire those to read who normally wouldn't, and/or inspire those who read to read more.


I also like how Meyer came to writing and how she wrote this book (stuff I usually don't care about). I like that she really had no concept of vampires and subsequently I like how she defined her vampires. I like that her background was reading fantasy, a genre I do not typically associate with female readers. The story itself is decent. Kudos to Mrs. Meyer.


Amazon description"Softly he brushed my cheek, then held my face between his marble hands. 'Be very still,' he whispered, as if I wasn't already frozen. Slowly, never moving his eyes from mine, he leaned toward me. Then abruptly, but very gently, he rested his cold cheek against the hollow at the base of my throat."
As Shakespeare knew, love burns high when thwarted by obstacles. In Twilight, an exquisite fantasy by Stephenie Meyer, readers discover a pair of lovers who are supremely star-crossed. Bella adores beautiful Edward, and he returns her love. But Edward is having a hard time controlling the blood lust she arouses in him, because--he's a vampire. At any moment, the intensity of their passion could drive him to kill her, and he agonizes over the danger. But, Bella would rather be dead than part from Edward, so she risks her life to stay near him, and the novel burns with the erotic tension of their dangerous and necessarily chaste relationship.
Meyer has achieved quite a feat by making this scenario completely human and believable. She begins with a familiar YA premise (the new kid in school), and lulls us into thinking this will be just another realistic young adult novel. Bella has come to the small town of Forks on the gloomy Olympic Peninsula to be with her father. At school, she wonders about a group of five remarkably beautiful teens, who sit together in the cafeteria but never eat. As she grows to know, and then love, Edward, she learns their secret. They are all rescued vampires, part of a family headed by saintly Carlisle, who has inspired them to renounce human prey. For Edward's sake they welcome Bella, but when a roving group of tracker vampires fixates on her, the family is drawn into a desperate pursuit to protect the fragile human in their midst. The precision and delicacy of Meyer's writing lifts this wonderful novel beyond the limitations of the horror genre to a place among the best of YA fiction. (Ages 12 and up) --Patty Campbell



Great LowBrow Art Collections

BLK/MRKT One and Two - Kinsey Desforges
2006/2007 - Die Gestalten Verlag



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This is the formal publication of artists you might find in Juxtapoz or Hi-Fructose, two fantastic "low brow" contemporary art magazines. A beautiful collection of hyper-modern artists. I love the attention to detail on books when even the endpapers are thoughtfully done, in this case, artistically.


Amazon descriptionIn 2001 the BLK/MRKT Gallery was created as a way present emerging design talent as well as compelling urban art and fine art. BLK/MRKT’s remarkable selection of artists and its professional approach have largely contributed to the increased reputation of Street Art, its transition into museums and galleries and the global acceptance of Urban Art as a leading contemporary art form. BLK/MRKT ONE presents the gallery’s artists and their work, including both up and coming and established urban and contemporary artists such as Deanne Cheuk, WK Interact, Dave Kinsey, Bask, Evan Hecox, Marioni Lane and many more. This book is a "who’s who" of the scene and is characterized by the rich variety of styles and visual idioms, its celebration of rising masters and the promise of discovery. BLK/MRKT Gallery branched out from BLK/MRKT which was founded by contemporary artist and accomplished designer Dave Kinsey in 1996 in order to bring alternative art to the public and to help close the gap between visual communication, marketing and youth culture. Both BLK/MRKT and BLK/MRKT Gallery’s strength and success lie in their understanding and dedication in continuing to bring alternative works of art to the public.

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Great Cover, Great Collection

My Mistress's Sparrow is Dead - Jeffrey Eugenides editor
Originally published in hardcover in 2008 - Harper


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Disclaimer: I've only read 3 of the stories in this collection. I am putting this book down, indefinitely, love is far too heavy a topic for me. (Which is not to say that I was hoping for a collection of Harlequin-esque bodice-rippers.) What I read I liked. And oddly enough, though the paperback at left is a nice book, the hardback cover is a far nice tome. 


Amazon description"When it comes to love, there are a million theories to explain it. But when it comes to love stories, things are simpler. A love story can never be about full possession. Love stories depend on disappointment, on unequal births and feuding families, on matrimonial boredom and at least one cold heart. Love stories, nearly without exception, give love a bad name . . . .
It is perhaps only in reading a love story (or in writing one) that we can simultaneously partake of the ecstasy and agony of being in love without paying a crippling emotional price. I offer this book, then, as a cure for lovesickness and an antidote to adultery. Read these love stories in the safety of your single bed. Let everybody else suffer."—Jeffrey Eugenides, from the introduction to My Mistress's Sparrow Is Dead
All proceeds from My Mistress's Sparrow is Dead will go directly to fund the free youth writing programs offered by 826 Chicago. 826 Chicago is part of the network of seven writing centers across the United States affiliated with 826 National, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting students ages 6 to 18 with their creative and expository writing skills, and to helping teachers inspire their students to write.

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

A Beautiful Book

1Q84 (Limited Edition) - Haruki Murakami
2011- Harvill Secker

I recently finished Haruki Murakami's 1Q84. While reading the book I took a stroll out on the internet, just to catch a little of the buzz on the release. And believe me, there was and is a lot of hype. Quite expectedly I found a lot of varying editions of the world renown author's works, but the one that caught my eye is reviewed here at one of my favorite book collecting blogs, Books to Furnish a Room.

After reading this review I did a light scouring of the internet to see this book for sale -- I found only two copies, the most in-expensive going for just over $4,800.

The Intellect's Bathroom Reader

Schott's Miscellany 2008 - Ben Schott
2007 - Bloomsbury


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Despite the Bathroom Reader-esque nature of its content, I love the presentation and earnest attempt at respectability of the Schott's Miscellany series. Always a joy to read. Below are some of my high points from the 2008 volume:


Most men lie about their height online while most women lie about their weight.


The world's worst sound is the sound of vomitting followed by microphone feedback and wailing babies.


New York's Metropolitan Museum spent over $99 million in acquisitions during FY2004-05, the most of any museum in the world.


Number one on the FBI's list of top art crimes in the world is the theft of Iraqi artifacts in 2003, deemed priceless. The next biggest crime is the theft of 12 Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum paintings in the USA valued at $300 million.


The most visited national park is the Great Smoky Mountains, with more than twice the visitors of the Grand Canyon.


San Jose has the worst roads in the country.


Owning a dog has greater health benefits than owning a cat.


I grew up in a state that is 41% asian and now live in a state that is less than 1% asian. I grew up in a state that is the 19th most livable and now live in a state that is the 3rd most livable. I grew up in a state with the least amount of mobile homes per capita and now live in a state with the 6th most mobile homes per capita.


18% of the population believe that the cryptozoological allstars Bigfoot and Loch Ness Monster will someday be discovered.

Amazon descriptionIn the modern age, where information is plentiful but selection and analysis elusive, Schott's Almanac presents a unique biography of the year: from Hillary Clinton's and Barack Obama's historic presidential runs to George Bush's continued infatuation with "the Google," from marriage and crime statistics to the incidence of shark bites worldwide, and from the Nobel Prize for Literature to the Bad Sex in Fiction award, Schott's Almanac distills information and opinions critically, giving readers an accurate biography of the year past.

Practical, entertaining, and utterly compulsive, Schott's Almanac eschews endless lists and tiny type to present an elegantly designed and utterly compulsive selection of the year's events.