A Work in Progress

Our Hearts Were Young and Gay

Since I have started entering my books into an online catalog, I have actually been looking at books that have been sitting on my shelves for a long while (all neglected).  I have decided to read Our hearts Were Young and Gay by Cornelia Otis Skinner and Emily Kimbrough as my next nonfiction read.  It is a Common Reader edition.  They reprint long out of print books.  This was a bestseller in the 40s (apparently it went through more than 20 printings and sold more than two million copies!).  The subtitle is "A comic chronicle of innocents abroad".  I have just started it, but I think I am going to really enjoy it.  It already reminds me of Helene Hanff's books or the Auntie Mame series by Patrick Dennis. I rarely use the word "delightful" for anything, but it could easily be applied to this book.  Skinner and Kimbrough set out for Europe in the 20s when they were about nineteen.  Per the inside book flap, "This nostalgic and innocent book is a marvelous voyage, so bright with life and comedy and an air of happy coincidence that it's very hard to put down, and nearly impossible to forget."  Perfect vacation reading, I'd say!

So Many Books...

Even though I enjoyed (for the most part) reading So Many Books, So Little Time by Sara Nelson, I am glad I have finally finished it.  It is the sort of book you can pick up and put down and not have to worry about losing your train of thought.  The basic premise is that she planned on reading a book a week for a year, and she wrote of her yearlong reading experience.  She tied in the books to what was happening at that particular time in her life, or with her family, so it was all very anecdotal.  I think what I had a hard time with was our very diverging interests in books.  She panned more than one book that I really liked, and would wax poetical on books I don't think that even now (after her shining reviews) I would want to pick up and read.  Also there were a few books that she summarized and gave away endings of books that I do plan on reading (which I find highly irritating in reviews).  I tried to skip those parts as best as I could.  However, she does have an appreciation for reading, and there were times when I could relate very well to these experiences and feelings.  Now I am ready to go search the shelves for another nonfiction title.  I need something really different and really engaging.  I'll let you know what I come up with. 

Library Thing

I fear I have gotten myself into some trouble by starting to catalog my books on Library Thing!  Would you think the first four rows of books on this shelf would amount to 105 books?  I am not very good when it comes to judging quantities.  I foresee spending a lot of time working on this project, so I will have to pace myself, or I won't get anything else done.  If you want to take a peek at what I have listed so far you can click here.  I tend to keep the same sorts of books together, so they will be added in big groupings.  These are in my bedroom upstairs and I have quite a few more to add (I didn't realize there were that many up here), and the rest are in my book room downstairs.  I don't relish the idea of dragging them up and down the stairs.  But it will be fun to see exactly what I have.  I am sure there are books hiding down there that I have not seen for literally years!  Perhaps this really will make me chill out on buying books!  Just the 105 I have worked on would take me two years to read/re-read.  I won't even think about what this means for all the books downstairs....

Chronicle of a Death Foretold (Slaves of Golconda)

When it was suggested over at Necessary Acts of Devotion that a book should be read and discussed, I was all for it.  Especially since the first book chosen was Garbriel Garcia Marquez's A Chronicle of a Death Foretold.  I have read several of Garcia Marquez's books, and it is not surprising that he has won the Nobel prize for literature.  To be honest, however, I really didn't know anything about this particular novel.  As I checked it out from my library, it came without the dust jacket (we remove all dust jackets as they will not hold up to the heavy use our students give them).  Our copy is a first edition cloth that is showing some wear, so I am pleased to think many more eyes have read these words before mine.  I really had no idea what was going to happen.  It is interesting to approach a book this way.  Other than some basic knowledge of the author and some of his other works, I had read no reviews or had any expectations.  The story simply unfolded before my eyes. 

I had no idea when reading  Chronicle exactly who the narrator was.  As it turns out the book is based on true events, which ocurred 27 years earlier where Garcia Marquez grew up.  Quite literally this is a chronicle of the events that lead up to the murder of Santiago Nasar. Everyone in the town had knowledge that the murder was going to happen ("There had never been a death more foretold"), with the exception of his mother.  Few people tried to stop it.  What is somewhat confusing is whether Nasar was even guilty of the crime.  His murder was one of honor--Nasar was accused of having slept with Angela Vicario.  Angela had just wed Bayardo San Roman, who discovers his bride is not a virgin.  He returns her to her father's house, and her brothers now must kill the culprit. 

Garcia Marquez raises some good questions on complicity.  Just who is really guilty here?  Just the bothers who commit the murder?  Everyone knew about it.  Per the review in the New York Times when the book was published, "It emerges that virtually everyone in town knew Santiago Nasar was to be murdered, who would do it, where, when and why. Given so much foreknowledge, the mystery is how the murder could have happened. Some townspeople try to stop the murder. Others are so awed by their foreknowledge that they look upon Santiago Nasar, even as he stands before them, as dead. One person, his father's aging mistress, would like to kill him herself, but the two men who feel obliged to murder him as a matter of honor actually pity him and want to be stopped. They advertise their intention, become spectacularly drunk and flaunt terrible knives."

Garcia Marquez's writing is exceptional.  I think when reading his fiction, it is always a good idea to read critiques and reviews as there is always more going on than what you see on the surface.  Jeff has posted a wonderful review of this book, and he links to the other blogs of the Slaves of Golconda, so you can get a variety of information and takes on Chronicle.  I urge you to go and check them out!  I also urge you to read Garcia Marquez's work if you have not done so, as it is truly first rate literature. 

Christmas Classics

 

It's time to pull out a few of my favorite holiday movies!  Perhaps it is a bit on the hokey side, but I really love Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire in Holiday Inn.  It is a nice holiday romance with lots of singing and dancing.  And Bing even sings the classic song "White Christmas".   And of course no Christmas is complete without watching A Charlie Brown Christmas.  I even own the CD from this one and enjoy listening to the music every year.  I realize this one is regularly on TV, but I never seem to be able to see it when it is shown.  So I am off to watch movies and adress Christmas cards!

Adopt a Book from Edith Wharton's Library!

There was an interesting story in today's New York Times.  Edith Wharton's 2,600 volume library is returning home to America.  The library will return to the Mount, which is the home she built in Lenox, MA.  She left it in 1911 to live in France.  The collection was purchased from a British bookseller for a mere $2.6 million!  And you can "adopt" one of her books (prices range from as "little" as $1000 to $1 million).  Apparently the folks who are in charge of the Mount have wanted to buy back the collection, but they had not been able to raise the money until a private donor stepped forward.  Wouldn't you love to take a peek at Edith Wharton's library?  The article said there are "annotations in the volumes that offer a window into her world."  Her interests ranged from classical French Theater to German drama, to novels of her peers.  I have had a fascination with Wharton for some time.  As soon as I finish The Awakening, I already have The House of Mirth lined up as my next read.  The Age of Innocence is one of my favorite books, so that may call for a re-read soon, too.  I wonder if they have any "adoptable" books in the $25 range?

For Readers and Writers

In one of my recent Christmas shopping excursions, where once again I purchase things for myself instead of those on my list, I came across this cool stationary pad.  It is Nancy Drew Fold and Mail Stationary.  As a matter of fact, I am a big fan of many, many Chronicle Books products.  I like a company whose motto is "we see things differently".  I used to be a very big letter writer in my more youthful days.  Sadly it is mostly email these days.  Reading a book of emails simply doesn't have the same literary feel as reading a book of written correspondence, but I am probably biased.  And who even saves emails?  It is depressing to think of what is going to be lost.  I think letter writing is an art form that has pretty much been lost.  Sigh.   Perhaps Nancy will inspire a new generation of letter writers (or an old generation to pick up their pens once again).

Kate Chopin and Local Color

I have been slowly working my way through Kate Chopin's stories that are included in the Modern Library edition of The Awakening.  I had originally planned on just going straight for the novel, but after reading the introduction by Kaye Gibbons, she sold me on her short stories.  It has been interesting watching how each story becomes more and more sophisticated.  Per Gibbons, "Chopin began by writing in a highly stylized regional tradition, but with each story she kicked aside stifling conventions until the composition of such a deeply complex psychological and powerful novel seemed the next surefooted but brave consequence of her artistic development."  I had not realized she wrote so many short stories until I started Google-ing to learn more about her.  There are about a dozen short stories in the ML edition. 

There have been moments while reading that I have felt like I needed some sort of translation.  For example:

"Are you asleep, Ma'zelle Titite?"

"No, I am not asleep; I was thinking. Ah, the poor little one.  Man Loulou, the poor little one!  better had she died."

But this is the way Madame Delisle and Mama Loulou really talked to each other:

"Vou pre droumi, Ma'zelle Titite?"

"Non, pa pre droumi; mo yapre zongler.  Ah, la pauv' piti, Man Loulou.  La Pauv' piti!  Mieux li mouri."

--La Belle Zoraide

Okay, luckily I am going to just assume that the Creole (?) is just a repetition of the phrases that were in English.  However, quite a few of the stories, particularly the first ones, are peppered with this sort of dialog or phraseology.  "Local color writing generally emphasized the particularities of a region and its inhabitants, their certain manners and habits, their particular way of speaking and acting, any eccentricities or oddities, their history and ambitions, the rhythm of life, the condition of the landscape," Gibbons says in the introduction.  For someone who lives in the (relatively) flat state of Nebraska, the Bayou seems quite exotic to me.  In case you are curious you can take a look at Kate Chopin's home.  She was an interesting person and her writing was well ahead of the times.  It is a pity that she is not studied in greater depth anymore, which is what Gibbons has implied.  I will do my part and continue on with her short stories (and make use of that glossary in the back of the book when I get to The Awakening!).   

Good Reads of 2005

The year is not over yet, but here is my list of favorite reads of the past year.  I usually average about a book a week or so, but so far I have only read 47 books.  Do you think I can squeeze in another five books before the end of the year?  It is possible--remember those 17 vacation days!  Book Girl listed her reading stats today as part of a meme.  She is a speedy reader!  I think this is the first year in quite a while that I have read this few books.  I have been keeping a reading journal since 1995. In the past I read closer to 60-ish and even a few years close to 80 (though one of those years I took a Young Adult Lit Class, and we read lots of books!).  I think my decline is due to working a lot on my needlework projects this past year, and sorry, blogging!  This really isn't good news as I am sure I am buying at just the same rate (or even more) as always.  Scary thought....I will never get them all read! 

I will limit my favorites to just ten, since I don't have that many (finishes) to begin with!  I tend to like most things.  Although I am only listing ten, many of the others were quite good as well!  I guess I need to be more of a critical reader.  Perhaps I need to read the book, How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster (which my library owns, so maybe I will check it out and read it over my break from work).  If I really dislike a book I probably will just not finish it, but there are a lot of so-so books that I will read and like, though they may not be spectacular examples of "literature".  And then there is the whole question of what is "literature"?  I probably don't read a lot of it as defined by those who know it.  But I like to think I read reasonably good books.  Mostly I read because I enjoy really good stories, but I also want to learn and challenge myself as well.  So you will see here a mishmash of books, and each one I personally greatly enjoyed.

In no particular order:

The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins: I *loved* this book.  It is considered the first detective story in English.  It was a great read.  Victorian literature at its finest--a heroine you cheered on, evil villains you detested, foppish uncles that exasperated you!  Everything you need to keep you turning those pages!

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls: Okay this was slightly depressing--could this story possibly be true?  But there were parts that were funny, too.  And happily the author pulls herself out of poverty to become a successful author.  Rarely do I read nonfiction as quickly as I read this book!

The Painted Kiss by Elizabeth Hickey: Vienna ca. 1900.  This is the fictional life story of Emilie Floge, Klimt's muse and friend.  She was an artist in her own right--a clothes designer.  It has been compared with Girl With a Pearl Earring.  A very good example of historical fiction that is well done. 

Chocolat by Joanne Harris: I have read this one before. And I will read it again! I just love this book.  It is a wonderful story (France in the fifties) of Vianne who opens a Chocolaterie in a small town during Lent.  The movie is good, too (and I sort of even like the ending a bit better than the book). 

Sudden Rain by Maritta Wolff: The author stowed the manuscript for this book in her refrigerator for something like 30 years (due to a tiff she had with her publisher). Set in California in the 70s it is a sort of social commentary of the times.  I do admit, this has a slightly dated feel to it.  Irregardless I enjoyed it--maybe for exactly that reason--it really felt like the 70s. 

Eve Green by Susan Fletcher: If I remember correctly she won the Whitbread prize for this one.  This is a sort of coming of age story.  Eve loses her Mother, and is sent to live with grandparents in Wales.  It is a story of secrets, which are slowly revealed to the reader as the story progresses.

Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson:  The writing in the novel is really lovely.  A story of two sisters whose mother commits suicide.  They go to live with their unusual aunt.  She is essentially a homeless person stuck trying to raise two young girls.  This is a gross oversimplification of the story--it is considered a modern classic and one I would highly recommend.

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte: I like this one better than  Charlotte's "Jane Eyre" (Though Jane is wonderful, too, don't get me wrong).  I loved the parallel of the wild, windswept Moors and Cathy and Heathcliff's relationship.  I can't believe I had never read this! Eek.  Better late than never!

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro: I pretty much love anything by Ishiguro.  This is a story for the times--without giving too much away--the possibilities of science, both beneficial (well, beneficial to some?) and frightening.  The story is peeled away like layers of an onion, but it seems like when you get to the end, you knew all along what was happening.

Tale of Murasaki by Liza Dalby: This was not a quick read, but it was a good one.  This was a lush story of the woman who wrote The Tale of Genji.  Set in 11th century Japan--imagine a world where women painted their teeth black to be fashionable. 

I wonder what great reads are waiting for me in 2006!

A Little Christmas Village

"Happy, happy Christmas, that can win us back to the delusions of our childish days; that can recall to the old man the pleasures of his youth; that can transport the sailor and the traveller, thousands of miles away, back to his own fire-side and his quiet home!"  ~Charles Dickens, The Pickwick Papers, 1836