Reading aloud in the modern age

Verlyn Klinkenborg wrote an interesting piece in The New York Times last month about the joys of reading aloud. Read it here.
His last sentence struck me, "But what I would suggest is that our idea of reading is incomplete, impoverished, unless we are also taking the time to read aloud." This is more than readily apparent when we are children and we are learning and acquiring language, but it seems a lost art as we grow older. I remember some of my favorite moments in English class when I was called on by my English teacher to read out loud. It was the art of being to connect with the words and their intentionality, to bring life to the meaning of the author's written work. There is a beauty in that when you hear someone get the book, to bring life to it by reading it aloud.

David Foster Wallace, 1962-2008

I never read anything by DFW, but I have heard him lauded by people I admire and respect, so he is one of those authors whom I'm always meaning to pick up at some future point. He died in his home, on September 12th, apparently of a self-inflicted gunshot. Very sad...

What not to read

Hilarious excerpt from Brit Richard Wilson's new book, Can’t Be Arsed: 101 Things Not to Do Before You Die and smack dead-on with some of them!

Being Laura Bush

This week, Curtis Sittenfeld's new novel entitled American Wife is being unveiled to the public - just in time for the Republican National Convention. The novel is an imagining of what it would be like to be inside the head and persona of the First Lady, in this case, a fictionalized Laura Bush called Alice Maxwell. It is a roman-a-clef in which are some are claiming people will confuse with the real thing. First of all, people -- it is F-I-C-T-I-O-N and even if some people do, would it be so wrong? The arguments claim that the oafish, incompetent President in the novel, Charlie Maxwell, might be too hard for some people to distinguish between him and the real President. Hmmm...

The New York Times Book Review here...
USA Today here...

2008 Books read (as of August)

It might be better to start keeping my lists of books read online. I've traditionally kept my list in a notebook, which works perfectly fine, but thought it might be interesting to share what I've read with others.
The list is chronological, starting with most recent first:

1. Isaac's Storm: a man, a time, and the deadliest hurricane in history, Erik Larson
2. When You are Engulfed in Flames, David Sedaris
3. Survival of the Sickest: the surprising connections between disease and longevity, Dr. Sharon Moalem with Jonathan Prince
4. The Mistress's Daughter: a memoir, A.M. Homes
5. The Size of the World, Joan Sibber
6. The Robber Bride, Margaret Atwood
7. In Sunlight, in a Beautiful Garden, Kathleen Cambor
8. In a Country of Mothers, A.M. Homes
9. Jack, A.M. Homes
10. Harley, like a person, Cat Bauer (YA novel)
11. Homeless Bird, Gloria Whelan (YA novel)
12. Godless, Pete Hautman (YA novel)
13. One Good Turn, Kate Atkinson
14. Jessica Farm, vol. I, Josh Simmons (graphic novel)
15. Y: The Last Man, vol. II: Cycles, Brian Vaughan (graphic novel)
16. Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade, Diana Gabaldon
17. Daddy's Girl, Debbie Drechsler (graphic novel)
18. The Amber Spyglass, Phillip Pullman
19. Fables: Legends in Exile (vol. I), Bill Willingham
20. Y: The Last Man, vol. I: Unmanned, Brian Vaughan
21. The Subtle Knife, Phillip Pullman
22. Plum Wine, Angela Davis-Gardner
23. The Golden Compass, Phillip Pullman
24. This Book Will Save Your Life, A.M. Homes

Since I've joined the 50 Book Challenge on LibraryThing, I'm falling a little behind, since I should be at around 30-35 books read if I want to make the 50 books by December 31st. Reading 5-10 graphic novels or YA novels should meet that goal!

old grocery lists

Not sure its book-worthy, but this is a great idea. A performance artist took old discarded grocery lists and imagined their authors' lives through items on the list, handwriting, etc. Now I finally know what to do with all those old grocery lists I throw out!

Booker Prize longlist is announced

No surprises really, but the 2008 nominees on the Booker Prize's longlist are overwhelmingly male. However, 5 first-time novelists are in the running this year...

'Tin Lizzie' illustrates our car-loving culture

From USATODAY.com...

Lorrie Moore's new collection

Lorrie Moore is one of the best short-story writers around. Its good to see she has a new collection of short stories out - her last book was 1998's Birds of America. The new collection of short stories is called simply, The Collected Stories.

Summer Books to Feed Your Literary Addiction : NPR

Summer Books to Feed Your Literary Addiction : NPR

Rose Tremain wins Orange prize - USATODAY.com

Rose Tremain wins Orange prize - USATODAY.com

Why do they lie?

Arguably a favorite topic of book blogs and news outlets, plagiarism and lying about one's past are in the news again; this time in the guise of a former gang member's memoir and eventual unveiling as a fraud by her sister. She actually grew up in swanky Sherman Oaks, CA.

Fake Memoirs and the New Racial "Passing"
(Bookslut)

The Advent of Podcast Novels : NPR

The Advent of Podcast Novels : NPR

The comic book purge of the 1950s

Review of a new book by David Hajdu about the comic-book panic of the 1950s, when parents and people in charge believed comics were destroying America. Hard to believe, but artists and writers were blacklisted from the industry, similar to the Red Scare and the movie industry during the same time period. Nowadays, comic books may be the least of parents' worries about their overexposed children...

Interview with Jhumpa Lahiri

After watching the recent film, The Namesake, this weekend, I was happy to see this article pop up in my newsreader. Jhumpa Lahiri is a beautiful writer, which is why I was so disappointed with the movie version of her second book. After reading The Interpreter of Maladies when I worked for The New York Public Library, I couldn't wait for the next book by Lahiri. Her second book (first novel), The Namesake, was an evocative moving tale of the collision of cultures -- brilliantly described by Ms. Lahiri. The movie, to put it plainly, was bad. It reinforces my opinion that the book is always better ...

Arthur Charles Clarke, 1917-2008

It was a sad day for science fiction fans yesterday. Sir Arthur C. Clarke, writer and thinker, died at age 90. Probably best known for his book, 2001: a Space Odyssey, Clarke also wrote over 100 other books on space, science and the future of humankind.
Read the obituary from The Guardian here.

The One-day-ness of History: Questions for Nicholson Baker

Good interview with Nicholson Baker; writer, archivist, satirist.
OMNIVORACIOUS: The One-day-ness of History: Questions for Nicholson Baker

The murky demimonde of Amazon's Top Reviewers

The murky demimonde of Amazon's Top Reviewers. - By Garth Risk Hallberg - Slate Magazine

Novel about painter wins PEN/Faulkner

Kate Christensen wins the PEN/Faulkner award for her novel, The Great Man. What a coup for Christensen! She wins $15,000 and the admiration of her writing peers. Her first novel, In the Drink, was considered to be chick lit (at best) and a trashy novel (at worst). I just finished reading her second novel, Jeremy Thrane, a few months ago and was impressed by her writing, although I did like In the Drink much better. She writes convincingly of celebrity, life in the city, and contemporary youth, but was able to connect with the reader more effectively in her first novel.
This promises more "great" things come from Christensen!

The designer library consultant

This article about using books as a design element in L.A. homes also features an interesting new trend in affluent Southern California - a paid "library consultant", who will come into your home, catalog your library collection, organize it, and create bibliographies based on your reading passion. Hmmm, southern California, rich people, beaches? Who wouldn't want that job!