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About Us Archives
I have noticed that, within the past week, my server logs have shown quite a few people clicking on my author name at the bottom of posts and doing searches for "marydell." For all those curious, I am none of the search results (on Google, at least) except for those linking back to BookBlog and my Blogger user profile.
In addition, there has been an exponential increase in clicks on "About" and "FAQ" in the above navigation bar. Both of those pages are in severe need of updating since I have done little with them since BookBlog's inception.
I'm not sure what is behind the sudden curiosity. But if you want to know something about me or the site, all you have to do is ask by sending an e-mail or leaving a comment.
I'm also immensely curious about you, too. Why not leave a comment, even if it's just to say hello?
...so rather than attempt to write a real post for this slow-moving blog, you get:
An Autobiographical Poem Explaining What I've Been Up to During the Last Several Days Without Making Excuses for What Might Look to the Outside Observer as Self-Destructive Bad Behavior, Which It Is Not
The cat didn't drag me in last night at four AM.
I dragged myself.
Before crossing the threshold I looked up at the sky.
It was beautiful.
Moon hung low, letting the real stars steal the show.
Oh, my head.
I shouldn't have stayed out so late once again. But,
I didn't want to be in the house. Home is a mess, yet
I can't seem to make it clean.
Avoidance is a lifestyle.
Last night, I could have stayed right where I was.
Passed out cold.
When I unexpectedly woke up, the clock on the wall was a surprise.
Time to flee.
You seem to accept this guest at all hours, but the couch objects.
It's purposefully lumpy.
Distracted by Dirty Laundry
Last week included a Laundry Day. Although I wish I had a washer and dryer at home (someday, someway), I don't mind going to the laundromat. Precision timing allows several loads to be completed within seconds of each other. Ambient whirring and humming doesn't interfere with my concentration, so I'm usually able to get in a couple of solid reading hours in addition to making my whites white.
Laundry Day coincided with World Book Day. I loaded up the car with dirty clothes and authors from the British and Emerald isles, planning for some across the pond reading. Unfortunately—a word that too often accompanies my dreams of happy excursions—Laundry Day and its World Book Day Reading Extravaganza also happened to be Crazy Couple Furlough Day.
Crazy Couple is older, perhaps in their sixties. She has gray, pouffy hair, glasses, and is always decked out in the ultimate comfort of stretch pants. His hair is white and cropped short, and he wears two earrings in his left earlobe. He is named Henry, and I know this because she spends a fair amount of time yelling it. From what I understand, after witnessing many of their loud conversations, her name is What?
I encountered Henry and What? soon after choosing a particular laundromat as my clothing-cleansing venue of choice. The place always smells musty, but is big enough to never get too crowded. I've read many books while sitting on its molded-plastic chairs, which are jammed into every space not occupied by a washer, dryer, or folding table. On that first Crazy Couple Furlough Day, I was engrossed in Wuthering Heights as What? loaded up a washer while Henry dutifully sat in the chair she had designated for him. Upon closing the lid of the machine, What? suddenly shrilled, "They did it again to me!"
"What?" asked Henry, predictably.
"Took their clothes before it finished. Now I gotta wait!"
"How long do you have to wait?"
"Until it's done!"
My life—and there is no better word for it—is a travesty. Whenever bad things happen, I know I am the butt of a cosmic joke, the laughingstock of a higher power. The universe has a sense of humor, and lately Nature, one of its most capricious mob bosses, has been dropping a lot of gag doggie doo on my doorstep. I live steps from a large lake. Each day, I am awed by scenic mountaintops and panoramic valleys. The miles-wide forest, which borders the end of my street, is dense and primordial. I should be one with the natural surroundings, but Nature doesn't seem to like me.
For example, lots of people are plagued with bats in the eaves of their homes. I am, too, but how many fellow bat-landlords have been chased down the street by their unwanted tenants? Have you ever opened a kitchen drawer and saw what you thought was a large rubber band fall to the floor, only to be shocked into stammering baby talk when it moved? And then slithered under a cabinet? Some folks have mice, but I've never met another person who's had a dead baby mouse fall from the attic trapdoor and hit the floor below with a plop. I can't bear to even get started on the shrews (Yes, shrews.) that have been waging a territorial war from the crawlspace.
And, so, if the worst thing ever to happen at the laundromat was having to wait for someone else's spin cycle to finish before inserting my quarters, I would rejoice. That the gods chose to only steal a few minutes of time rather than let loose a hungry bear to tear my unmentionables apart before fleeing with a pair of my soiled granny panties on its head, it would be a relief from the constant terror.
Of course, What? doesn't live in my world. She didn't praise the powers that be as I would have done. Instead, she kicked the machine lightly more than once, rattled her laundry basket, opened and closed the lid (making the wait even longer), paced, and used an open hand to smack the offending washer. Satisfied with the corporeal punishment, she walked over to me for commiseration not knowing I had long abandoned my reading to watch the show.
"Somebody took their clothes before the machine finished. I can't do nothing."
I was suddenly paralyzed. Rather than respond, I stared mutely over the top of my book. After a brief once-over, What? moved on and experienced her next laundry trauma. She couldn't uncap the lid of her liquid detergent bottle, burped aloud, then called Henry in for the assist.
The above experience was the first, but not only, time Crazy Couple disrupted the reading I usually enjoy at the laundromat. So, as you can imagine, I wasn't too happy when last week's Laundry/World Book Day also turned out to be a Furlough Day. As I furtively tried to tear through the heart-pumping conclusion of The Wasp Factory , What? again ignored the mercy of the gods and freaked out over a blockage preventing her from adding quarters to a dryer.
"Somebody stuck a nickel in the dryer!"
"What?"
"A nickel! There's a nickel in the dryer!"
Unsurprisingly, What? made the rounds seeking a sympathetic ear even though everyone in the room had already heard. She first hit up two women doing wash for a local hospice. She began walking around the folding tables to inform an unaccompanied gentleman at the far end. The first arc of her ellipsis complete, the next victims along the orbit were me, a half-asleep female patron, and Henry. But, very surprisingly, she skipped over me and abruptly jarred awake the woman on my right. She next asked Henry if he had his little screwdriver. Unhappy with his negatory response, What? circled again and skipped me again.
Although I'm glad What? has chosen not to talk to me, I can't help wondering if my previous silence played a part in her decision. That is, what was What? thinking when she deliberately passed me up for someone who was nearly unconscious? Regardless, even if she never speaks directly to me, her nonstop jibber jabber still disturbs my peaceful reading time. I'd do my laundry on days when Crazy Couple stays home, but I haven't been able to discern a pattern to their outings. A problem with the insane, as you must well know, is that they are unpredictable.
Since the middle of last week, I have been attempting to write a post about the cost of hardcover books. For reasons unknown, I can't finish the damn thing. My thoughts are so scattered that I can't construct an argument or organize sentences to form paragraphs. Distractions are everywhere:
- The wood stove needs feeding.
- Hundreds of unread books beg me to finish The Wasp Factory.
- Piles of old newspapers threaten to topple.
- The vacuum and dirty dishes accuse me of living in squalor.
- A box of cookies screams to be let out of a dark cabinet.
- It snows. The walk and driveway want shoveling.
- Family and friends harass me to update the resume.
- The cat meows endlessly and I think I'm starting to understand his language.
Is this writer's block? Can I suffer from it even if I'm not a writer?
As a first step toward making life easier, I'm tossing what I've written. I'd simply like to declare:
Hardcover books cost a lot of money.
 We had our first real winter storm today, so I used up the better part of it doing winter things at Casa BookBlog: tending the wood stove, periodically making sure the roof was still on, shoveling the walk, etc. Thus snowbound, my Valentine was my cat who spent our quality time together either napping or stealing the warm chair by the fire or doing both at the same time. I love him anyway.
Le Chat
de Charles Baudelaire
Viens, mon beau chat, sur mon coeur amoureux;
Retiens les griffes de ta patte,
Et laisse-moi plonger dans tes beaux yeux,
Mêlés de métal et d'agate.
Lorsque mes doigts caressent à loisir
Ta tête et ton dos élastique,
Et que ma main s'enivre du plaisir
De palper ton corps électrique,
Je vois ma femme en esprit. Son regard,
Comme la tien, aimable bête,
Profond et froid, coupe et fend comme un dard,
Et, des pieds jusques à la tête,
Un air subtil, un dangereux parfum,
Nagent autour de son crops brun.
The Cat
by Charles Baudelaire
translated (badly, thereby losing all rhyme and meter) by MaryDell
Come, my handsome cat, upon my loving breast;
Pull in the claws from your legs,
And let me plunge into your beautiful eyes,
Forged of metal and agate.
While my fingers leisurely caress
Your head and your elastic spine,
And my hand becomes drunk with the pleasure
of stroking your electric body,
I see my mistress in spirit. Her gaze,
like yours, pleasant beast,
Profound and cold, cuts and splits like a dart,
And, from her feet to her head,
A subtle air, a dangerous perfume,
Swims around her dark body.
Although I wasn't going to enter The Litblog Co-Op's Demon Theory contest, I was hit by a moment of inspiration last night. Here's my entry for your psychoanalysis:
I'm no stranger to embarrassing moments, so it's not difficult admitting to a fear that continues to plague me. As a child, my parents would absentmindedly set me in front of the television. It was their way of keeping me entertained and out of their hair. When mom and dad turned the dial to PBS, they thought their daughter would be exposed to quality educational programming. How wrong they were. PBS carried a program so horrifying that more than 30 years later, I still cannot banish the images from my head. That show, friends, is Sesame Street.
You may scoff. You may ask, "What could be so frightening about the letter 'D,' happily singing Muppets, and one thing not being like the other?" You may wonder why I haven't yet worked this out in therapy. Friends, despite your quizzical looks, I assure you; my enduring horror is real.
The defining moment that forever ruined Sesame Street occurred upon first seeing a particular stop-action cartoon. It was a filler, meant to take up space between Muppet segments. The characters were styled like decoupage cutouts from a Victorian nightmare. The eerie music had lyrics narrating the action. Action which included Dandelions with lion faces and human feet. Feet in a clear glass vase. Toes dangling in water.
Before this moment, I had delighted in picking Dandelions. Their bright yellow flower heads seemed to shine and dance against fields of green. After the petals dropped and the Dandelions turned into snowballs, I never could resist plucking a stem from the ground. A hearty exhalation of air through pursed lips would send the seeds adrift on a breeze. In my own way, with the force from my little lungs, I contributed to perpetuating the life cycle.
But no longer. Friends, I do not have words to describe the sheer terror that filled my body upon seeing this cartoon. Dandelions, which were once so delightful, had faces. And teeth. Sharp fangs that might shred an innocent into hamburger. If the abomination weren't enough, these fierce blooms could walk. Nay, run. The idea that a flower might suddenly leap from a vase to chase me down and eat me was simply too much. I ran shrieking from the room.
To this day, I wage war on Dandelions. When a menace attempts to punch through the lush carpet of my lawn, I vehemently rip it out. I tear its bulbs and leaves to shreds. And I make sure I get its entire tap root. Although I haven't yet found one with feet, I check anyway. You never know when an aberrant flower might try to escape.
We'll see what happens. LBC's two contest categories close later tonight, so there's still time for you to submit your horror and metal hair band stories.
And don't forget to also enter Magnificent Octopus's Un-place contest, which will be open until tomorrow night.
New Jersey now has a hall of fame that is accepting votes for its first inaugural class. As a resident and book lover, the whole thing bothers me.
I love it here. I really do. Contained within a tiny plot of land is the best and worst of everything. We have big cities, manicured suburbs, rural towns, great food, culture, museums, the arts, sports, industry, etc. We also have the ugliest stretch of highway in the country, chemical plants spewing a whole lot of pollution, and really stinky swampland. If the best isn't enough or the bad gets to be too much, we have easy access to the biggest city in the world yet can sleep securely in the comfort of knowing we don't have to live there. Other people love it here, too. Jim of Parkway Rest Stop recently linked to a video homage to famous Garden Staters. A lot of us have gone on to do great things.
But here's what bothers the resident in me. The New Jersey Hall of Fame has good intentions and is designed to celebrate our achievements. However, it still subtly perpetuates the inferiority complex that has plagued us since the dawn of the United States. The web site claims "voters enter to win Ultimate New Jersey Fantasy Package." And what is the first prize in an Ultimate New Jersey Fantasy Package? Meeting Joe Torre and four tickets to a Yankee game. Huh? Last I heard, Torre is a New Yorker, born and raised, while Yankee Stadium is in the Bronx. Second prize is a concert in the Meadowlands and third prize is a night down the shore. Garden State-y, yes, but they don't make up for the fact that the best of an Ultimate New Jersey Fantasy Package is a trip to New York.
And here's what annoys me as a book lover. Nominees are sorted into five categories: historical, general, sports, arts & entertainment, and enterprise. All are very fine areas of excellence. Arts & entertainment, though, includes only TV, film, music, art, and dance. Where are the writers and poets? In the general category. Despite writing being both a form of art and entertainment, F. Scott Fitzgerald and Toni Morrison are lumped in with William J. Brennan (U.S. Supreme Court Justice), Norman Schwarzkopf (Military Leader), and Harriet Tubman (Underground Railroad). Walt Whitman, on the other hand, is grouped with the historical nominees. What a hodgepodge of mis-categorization.
When Bud Parr announced the MetaxuCafé Holiday Gathering, I thought, "I'm in the area and I'm a bookblogger; I should go and meet some of the faces behind the blogs." Both Eddie and my sister agreed to accompany me, since there's safety in familiar numbers, and travel routes and meeting times were arranged. By Tuesday afternoon, my sister was forced to drop out due to an oncoming cold. Eddie was still game, so I met him at his apartment and a new route was mapped.
Neither of us is prompt, but it was Eddie who took the initiative and got us out the door. During the walk to the bus stop, I complained of being cold, missed the relative comfort of my car, and said I didn't want to go. He bears my eccentricities with unrivaled tolerance and kindly mentioned several times that it wasn't too late to turn around. Although I persisted in complaining, I didn't accept the out.
Despite initial enthusiasm, why did I suddenly not want to go? To be honest, I am a coward and suffer from a critical personality flaw that causes me to second guess myself into cringing inaction.
If Eddie was okay with returning home, why did we plod grudgingly on? I had already left a comment on Chekhov's Mistress saying I was going, in the mistaken belief that I am not a coward.
I've been to two blogmeets before. I went to both with Kate of KateSpot, who helped organize them and held my hand through the initial meeting of each attendee. If it wasn't for her, I would never have gotten to know two bloggers who are also fine people: Jim of Parkway Rest Stop (Congrats on your 2006 Weblog Award!) and Zonker of Thunder and Roses. So, as you can see, I am not a stranger to meeting strangers.
Yet, something happened upon stepping across the threshold of Verlaine. Panic, in the form of questions swirling through my head like sand in a windstorm, pushed all other thoughts aside. Do I know what anyone looks like? Where in this bar are they? The front or the back? Do I just walk up to someone and say I'm here for the MetaxuCafé thing and what do I do if that someone isn't? How is "MetaxuCafé" pronounced anyway? Does anyone even know what BookBlog is? What do I say if I meet someone and have no idea what their blog is? Where's the bathroom?
Not knowing what else to do, Eddie and I sidled up to the bar and ordered drinks. As we sat there, we overheard a conversation taking place behind us. A small group talked about authors, but not authors they had read, authors they actually knew. We realized we were sitting at the edge of the MetaxuCafé group, and I realized I was under-equipped for conversation regarding authors and books and literariness.
I used to work for a publisher. I've been to BEA, BEC, LBF, FBF, and dozens of other book fairs multiple times each. I've seen The Rock Bottom Remainders perform at ABA—before it became BEA—and have shaken hands with many authors. Once, I even almost managed to get myself thrown out of a BBC launch party when I dissed the Teletubbies within earshot of the man responsible for the companion publishing program. I run a web log that is the number one Google result for "book blog" and seems to post decent traffic numbers. I love to read and talk about books.
Somehow, though, I still can't shake the feeling of being a literary poseur. It's the personality flaw mentioned above. Eddie offered to make the first move and introduce us around. But I suggested that we leave, and we did, with him being ever tolerant and not holding me against myself.
We ended up at Katz's Delicatessen (of fake orgasmic When Harry Met Sally fame) eating knishes and sharing a pastrami sandwich. During the bus ride home, which happened after much walking back and forth inside the Port Authority Bus Terminal searching for the correct gate, it was decided that the outing was an adventure rather than a total loss due to my paralyzing cowardice.
And we got to eat one hell of a tasty pastrami sandwich.
Although I've had a lot of jobs, the three I've held the longest sort of define a career path within education. I spent eight years at an educational publisher attempting to hawk English-learning books in foreign countries. Within the same corporation, I transferred to a dotcom targeted at college students. Of course, that bomb no longer exists, but I am sure that if it did I'd still be sitting in my Aeron chair looking at the Chicago River through floor-to-ceiling windows. (By the way, I'm in that Aeron chair right now since I negotiated for it as part of the severance package. The current view is of my neighbor's yard in a decrepit New Jersey town.) Most recently, I spent four years teaching third and fourth grade in way, way upper Manhattan.
Teaching is hard. It's a lot of work for little immediate gratification from a mostly disinterested audience. Luckily, I had two things on my side. The kids thought I was funny when I was in a good mood and scarier than their scariest nightmares when something interfered with that good mood. I could turn it on and off like a light switch, and the kids would scramble—to get their work done or to peer pressure the naughty into good behavior—whenever they found themselves in the dark. As a result, I didn't have too many distractions from my teaching.
There were a lot of things I could have done better, but the one subject I knew I taught well was reading. I am, after all, a reader and I think I'm pretty good at it. Obviously, I also love to talk about books. As a result, my approach to teaching it was practice and discussion. During each lesson, I'd read a short passage with a focus on a particular item (like character or metaphor), they'd talk about it briefly with a partner, and then we'd discuss it as a group. Reading time was spent practicing what they just learned. Each student had a reading partner, and they were encouraged to talk quietly as long as the object was better understanding of the lesson. Homework was more of the same, but practiced individually.
This teaching model was standard for the entire school, but worked better in classrooms with the best discipline. It worked particularly well for me because I only needed a glance to send a kid, quivering, from Daydreamland to Superstudentistan. Yet, discipline was only a small part of the equation.
I think I was a successful reading teacher because I led by example. The kids were required to keep reading logs to track their progress, so I kept one as well. Parents and teachers signed off on theirs, and I let them sign off on mine. They would freak out seeing how many books and pages I read each day, not realizing that my six-hour train commute allowed for lots of reading time. I also read nearly every book in my classroom, which is why you won't get a Best of 2006 list from me. My reading log is obnoxiously heavy with Lemony Snicket, Artemis Fowl, and Judy Blume.
Even the worst-behaved students want to please the teacher. They wanted their reading logs to look like mine, but volume wasn't the only goal. Reading the same books gave us common ground. We were able to laugh about why ASOUE: The Vile Village was funny or explore feelings and motivation in Blubber . Being an infamous international criminal mastermind should not be a career goal, but we freely spoke about the irony in admiring a bad but charismatic character like Artemis Fowl. Roald Dahl taught us how to mourn without wallowing in self-pity and Morning Girl gave us some understanding of the TaÃno on the eve of Columbus's arrival.
Trust me, this was all heavy stuff for fourth graders. Especially fourth graders who were, on the whole, below reading level and living in an inner city environment that competed for their attention. On the surface, it seemed like the books we read weren't relevant to their world, but the things we discussed, like feelings or mourning, most definitely were. Their progress was amazing and firmly solidified my disgust at people who say city kids can't learn or malign teachers at public schools. They don't know what they're talking about.
Yesterday was a gloomy day, so I thought it would be a good opportunity to catch up on my reading. I'm behind in everything...
- Newspapers - I had some company over last Friday and took them on a walk around the house. Upon entering my office, a guest queried, "What's with all the newspapers?" Er, um. Newspapers serve two purposes at Casa BookBlog. They are both a way to keep up with current events (by which I mean what happened three weeks ago since that's about how behind I am) and to start fires in the wood-burning stove. As a result, they tend to pile up and contribute to my irrational anxiety about being buried alive.
- The Red and the Black
 - When I started the book, I didn't want to get ahead of the discussion at Reading...The Red and the Black. Now I'm behind and have been deliberately been avoiding the blog because I don't want to spoil the story for myself. Of course, this makes no sense since I already read the book in college and have some recollection about what happens.
- Novel Without a Name
 - This book is beautifully written and full of rich metaphors and similes. I've been hoping to finish it soon, but I can't get back into it because of my problem with reading more than one book at a time. The best thing would be to put it aside in deference to catching up and finishing tRatB, but why be efficient and productive when you can be lazy and procrastinatory?
- Doctor Zhivago
 - Our moderator, Eddie, is a friend and I talked him into doing December in order to take some of the pressure off Ana and myself for keeping the book club going. (Anyone interested in moderating January? E-mail me.) Since he acquiesced to my whining, I'm obligated to read it even though he picked this particular title just to spite me since he knows I am not a fan of Russian literature.
So, anyway, despite my good reading intentions, I made the mistake of telling myself to get a little bit of housework done before migrating to the couch. Next to the newspapers cluttering up the office were two air conditioners that had been on the floor since they were removed from windows at the end of the summer. Genius me moved them to the utility room for storage which created two new problems:
- Everything in the utility room was brought into the living room to make way for the air conditioners. And I never got around to putting it back because...
- ouch!
The aches and pains are better today, so my plan is to return utility room items to their places and clean the house. Of course, this probably means I will get a lot of reading done.
Commenting on an earlier post, I mentioned wanting to see Stranger Than Fiction starring Will Ferrell and Emma Thompson. Since nothing I do these days can't wait until tomorrow, I decided to drop everything and catch a matinee. Noon on a weekday is the best time to see a movie. No ticket line, no concession stand line, no toilet line. Six people and I had the entire place to ourselves and my theater's audience consisted of me and another old lady.
Stranger Than Fiction is about a book. Ferrell plays Harold, an IRS auditor who wakes up one day hearing a woman's voice. The voice, which begins as third-person omniscient narration, belongs to Thompson, an author writing a book about Harold's life. Harold seeks help from several people and eventually is led to Dustin Hoffman playing a college literature professor. Whenever the scene turned to Hoffman's office, I tried to figure out what books he had on his packed shelves. Most of the titles were academic, so I had to laugh when he later lifeguards at the campus pool while reading a plastic bag-covered copy of Sue Grafton's I Is for Innocent . Hoffman was wonderful and the movie overall was sweet and smart.
Of course, this film reminded me of Adaptation, which is about a screenwriter trying to turn The Orchid Thief into a movie. So that made me wonder: we talk a lot about books turned into movies, but what about movies about books? Thinking over this quickly, I came up with:
Surely, there must be many others. Can anyone add to this list?
The best thing about living far from city lights is the midnight sky. Last night, as I often do, I turned off the porch lights and wondered what was going on in all the other worlds surrounding the stars. I have no beautiful words of my own, so instead I borrow those of another.
A Clear Midnight
by Walt Whitman
This is thy hour O Soul, thy free flight into the wordless,
Away from books, away from art, the day erased, the lesson done,
Thee fully forth emerging, silent, gazing, pondering the themes thou lovest best,
Night, sleep, death and the stars.
I've been avoiding the computer over the last few days and I now realize why: NaNoWriMo.
Like everyone in the litblogging set, I've known about it for years. Before this time around, though, I had never thought about participating because of work and time constraints. In September and October, posts about the next NaNoWriMo started popping up all over the place. Rich, who has moderated books for us (see our discussions of Noir and The Diamond Age), has blogged about past and present attempts and is already moving at a nice clip with more than 3500 words. He's determined to win this year. Although I see myself mainly as a reader, I've been thinking about the connection between reading and writing, about the snippets in my commonplace book, and about how my present lack of employment comes with the luxury of oodles of time. Last month during a moment of weakness, I signed up.
So, with no idea of what I'd write about, I began my novel on November 1st along with thousands of hopefuls. I'm not doing very well thus far. My word count icon is on the right sidebar, and, as you can see, I'm up to seven words at the start of day three. However, I could turn it into eight by expanding a contraction.
Feeling a bit disappointed in my progress, I've now spent more time mulling over why I'm not writing than writing. The same problems have plagued me all my life:
- I'm a master procrastinator. Why do something now when you can experience the thrill of getting it done moments before the deadline? Day one was split between putting the garden to bed for the winter and curling up on the couch with a book. Day two was spent dividing bulbs and harvesting seeds for storage. I also managed to turn the simple repair of a broken shelf pin into a major kitchen reorganizing project. I'm amazed I managed to write a whole seven words with all that going on.
- Distraction abounds. I'm sure I don't have adult ADHD because I can stick with projects, except the ones involving writing. While working on this post, I've already managed to walk away at least 10 times. Need more coffee. Time for breakfast. Gotta make the bed. Turn up the heat. And then there's the Internet, the worst distraction of all. When I went to Rich's site for his links, I started at Brain Squeezings, then clicked to Geek Girl Blonde (Rich's fiancée), then went to Babalú from one of her links, then to TigerHawk (a very pleasant gentleman I met at a blogmeet long ago), and was finally stopped from surfing madness by a "cannot find server" error at Parkway Rest Stop.
- Writing on a computer is very, very slow since I succumb easily to the productivity paradox. Case in point, I've been working on this post for about two hours. Editing on the fly slows things down, I belabor sentence construction and word choice (For example, I just went to dictionary.com to make sure I used "belabor" properly. I did.), and I continually reread what I've written. Frankly, I do much better at writing on paper, which is why I like my commonplace book so much. I could use it for my NaNoWriMo project, but 50,000 words by hand without benefit of counting software is impractical.
Well, that exercise was freeing. One way to improve ourselves is to reflect on our weaknesses. Now that I'm fully aware of what's keeping me from my novel, it's time to get serious about making progress. But first, I think I hear the couch, a cup of tea, and a book calling my name.
Bats and Spam: An Analogy
Although ignoring a problem is something I do pretty well, at least I’m optimistic enough to believe that nothing is irrecoverable. Despite exponentially growing spam, it took only a short time investment in prevention to keep it from getting any worse. For now, the spam barrier seems to be holding and I can’t help draw a parallel to another preventative measure I put into place at the end of the week.
Bats, the flying mammal kind, have invaded my neighborhood. I don’t mind bats themselves, but poop on the siding and hearing them crawl around in the ceiling above my bed was an issue. It wasn’t so bad at first when I had only four. That number doubled after my next door neighbor hired a wildlife expert to bat-proof her home. Rather than let the bat situation spiral out of control, a friend stayed over one night to help serve the eviction notice. After the bats went hunting, we temporarily sealed up the entrances with masking tape. The next morning, it was complete pandemonium as they tried to get back in, only to be thwarted by a simple strip of tape. The bats eventually gave up and flew into the distance to find other shelter. I’ve since permanently caulked each opening, and the barrier seems to be holding.
So far, the spam barrier also seems to be holding. As with the bats, I hope the spammers eventually give up and stop dropping poop all over my house.
Thanks to Ana’s post and a lot of kind comments and e-mails, I have finally forced myself to do something about BookBlog. Frankly, there have been two basic reasons why I have allowed the site to languish over the last several months: a lifestyle change and endless spam.
My New Life
Back in October, I finally stepped onto the property ladder. I purchased a house in a lakeside community and left behind my city apartment. The move took several months since I managed it in the most inefficient way possible, one carload at a time. My sister took over the apartment, so I never felt pressure to get it all done at once and it had the effect of allowing me to drag my heels. Having been an urbanite all of my life, I suffered some culture shock as I began adjusting to life in the sub-suburbs. Although my new community isn’t completely rural, I skipped the manicured lawns of the suburbs and am in a home which gets most of its heat from a wood-burning stove. (Seriously, who wouldn’t freak out? One day you’re turning a thermostat dial and the next you’re splitting logs with a wedge and sledgehammer.) And there are the non-stop home improvements: a new water heater, ductwork, electrical, drywall, flooring, painting, decorating, and an enormous list of things still to do.
Over time, living 50 miles away from the day job began to take its toll. I drove at first but was quickly discouraged by traffic (New Jersey’s leg of Route 80 is possibly the worst road in all creation) and a twice-daily, rush hour, white-knuckle, slamming on the brakes crawl over the George Washington Bridge. I switched to the train which meant that, although less stressful, my commute was three hours each way. Each way! Losing six hours a day left me with no desire to devote any precious free time to managing a web site. When the school year ended in June, I gave up teaching fourth grade at a place I loved. It was a difficult decision but my time is now my own. I haven’t done much about finding another job because summer vacation is a vice I didn’t want to sacrifice to hunting. The dog days are winding down, so if anyone out there knows of a job for an unemployed teacher with lots of diverse talents in northern New Jersey, feel free to e-mail me. I’m willing to work for peanuts and all serious offers will be considered.
Spam, Spam, and More Spam
Spam is like a snowball rolling down a hill. If you don’t do anything to stop its progress, it keeps on getting bigger. What can I say? It’s been easiest to simply ignore it.
Steps in the Right Direction
After months of doing nothing, I finally did something. I upgraded to the latest version of Movable Type. Things will look kind of funky around here for a while as I learn how to use all of its features, including the spam filtering. For now, I’ve set the site so that comments have to be approved manually. I realize it will slow things down a bit since it will require me to look at each comment before publishes, but this measure is only temporary since I’m most concerned with slowing the spamball. I’m also resolving to post daily. I probably won’t always write about books even though I read constantly, so please bear with my ramblings as I try to keep the homepage from stagnating. And the there’s the Gender Genie. It will be back…at some point.
Of course, BookBlog’s primary mission is to discuss books. Most likely, the next discussion will take place in September to give everyone time to read the selection. For the moment, I’m thinking about reviving the discussion I bailed on, Jonathan Lethem’s Motherless Brooklyn . If anyone is interested in signing up for October forward, feel free to leave a comment on this thread.
Big Thanks
Finally, I’d like to mention my appreciation of BookBlog’s members, readers, commenters, and e-mailers. I’m especially grateful to Ana, who took the initiative to post and light a fire under my butt. If it wasn’t for everyone’s interest in the site, it would have been long dead by now. You’ve breathed life back into this tired phoenix. And I sincerely thank you.
Forgive me if this topic has been covered before, but if so, it's been a long while....What are your favorite books of all time?
I'll start by naming a few, although this is definitely not a comprehensive list.
Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell
A Prayer for Owen Meany, John Irving
Set This House in Order, Matt Ruff
Zami: A New Spelling of My Name, Audre Lorde
Mayflower Madam, Sydney Biddle Barrows
The Obnoxious Jerks, Stephen Manes
And I Don't Want to Live This Life, Deborah Spungen
The Stranger Beside Me, Anne Rule
The Winds of War, Herman Wouk
The Secret History, Donna Tartt
Emily of New Moon, Lucy Maud Montgomery
Rebecca, Daphne Du Maurier
Belinda, Anne Rice
The Time Traveler's Wife, Audrey Niffenegger
The Curious Adventure of the Dog in the Night-Time, Mark Haddon
The Moon is Broken, Eleanor Craig
House of Stairs, William Sleator
Honeymoon in Purdah, Alison Wearing
More, Now, Again, Elizabeth Wurtzel
Motel of the Mysteries, David Macaulay
Affinity, Sarah Waters
Bringing Down the House, Ben Mezrich
Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal, Christopher Moore
The Ghost Writer, John Harwood
Pages for You, Sylvia Brownrigg
Ella Minnow Pea, Mark Dunn
Whew. I guess I better stop there.
Daisy, a BookBlog member who lives in New Orleans, has retreated to Chicago in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Please join me in wishing her well and hoping she gets to return to her home soon.
Gigglechick, Live at the Improv
 Got back a little while ago from seeing Erin a.k.a. Gigglechick, one of our very own bookbloggers, perform at the New York Improv Comedy Club. The crowd was pretty large and she did well despite being visibly nervous. Although my seat was right in the front row, I have to be honest and admit that I missed the very beginning of her act because I was too busy taking pictures. (I put down my camera when my friend smacked me on the back of the head and said I was making Erin self-conscious.) Her material covered birth control, sex and the single girl, and her very own Gigglemom, whose surly and straight-talking nature makes for good comedy. I thought Erin did best when she interacted with the audience. That's when she seemed most comfortable because in those few moments she was just Erin being Erin.
I'm sure she'll blog about it soon on her own site, so stop over there and give her a pat on the back. Way to go, Erin!
[This being a book blog, I must mention that afterwards we went to Strand Book Store for more titles to add to TBR piles which are multiplying faster than a warren of horny rabbits. Then it was a bit of salsa dancing, where my white girl disco moves caused my Colombian friend to nearly bust a gut from laughing.]
Although BookBlog's members are located all over the place, it's technically a NJ blog since its headquarters (my bedroom) are right here in the great Garden State. Please keep your jokes to yourself, thankyouverymuch. If you don't live here, you just don't get it.
Jim of Parkway Rest Stop, an all-around good guy and one of the NJ blogging elite, was recently mentioned in a New York Times article about The Carnival of the New Jersey Bloggers. According to Jim, "Jersey's a small town," and he's absolutely right. No matter where I go, from Fort Lee to Jersey City to Sayreville to Atlantic City, everywhere feels like home.
Click here to read the Times article.
Update: I just saw this tidbit about the article on Gawker:
Still, half of us is from New Jersey, and we’re a little taken aback. First, the presence of Bell Labs notwithstanding, we’ve never thought of it as a particularly technologically advanced state. (Our hometown didn’t even have cable until 1990.) We’ve also never though [sic] of it as a particularly coherent state: the top part thinks of itself as adjunct New Yorkers, the bottom part as adjunct Philadelphians, and neither wants to have anything to do with the folks in the middle.
Adjunct New Yorkers? Feh. This person in the top half who works in New York is thankful when she sees the "Welcome to New Jersey" sign at the end of each day. Gawker, please, stay in Manhattan and leave the rest of us who know how to drive on a highway alone.
Although Andy hasn't mentioned it,1 he?s listed as a contributor at Boldtype, a book review newsletter.2 Not only that, but the book he covered for their October 2004 issue was Blindness , our selection for June 2003. Check out Andy's review by clicking here.3
NOTES:
1It's not surprising that I found this out second-hand by looking at the main page for Andy's site. He's gotten too busy to answer my e-mails since he seems to be appearing1a all over the place these days. The New York Times. MSNBC.com. Reality Blurred.
2To me, most of Boldtype's content feels more like retelling than reviewing. However, I do like the concise format since the literati often go on and on and on for thousands of words. Opinion is usually best digested when served up in small chunks.
3Although I usually like to include hyperlinks directly in the sentence first mentioning them, I separated this one because they're so hard to see. My to do list includes updating the CSS to make finding links less like looking for forensic evidence.
NOTES ON THE NOTES:
1aSpeaking of appearances, I'd like to mention that I can regularly be spotted at work (usually right after hearing, "Miss Marydell is coming. Run!"), at my local gas station mart (purchasing my morning cup of coffee), and in front of my laptop (wasting valuable time).
Steve's Formal Introduction
Hello to all. Marydell has graciously accepted my request to join the group as a bona fide member. I have definitely enjoyed the discussion on the last two books and look forward to May’s selection. My only regret so far is that the discussions do not last long enough. Unfortunately, my work schedule does not usually allow me to post everyday, and I actually have to sort of sneak the time in to write at all.
Marydell said that there were two requirements to joining: a love of reading and the ability to form a coherent sentence. The former is easy, as my book collection will testify, but the latter is subject to question. Writing has always been difficult for me, and remains so. However, in graduate school, I found that this was something that I actually enjoyed - the English language is so rich, and lo and behold, there is a perfect word for every feeling, emotion, thought, and idea. The only difficult part is finding those perfect words, then linking them together. I hope that you will be patient with me.
I look forward to learning about all of you from your words and the discussions and hope that you come to know me as well.
Hi all! I found the book blog a few months ago and have really enjoyed it. I am a 27 year old mother of 5 dogs. I work in Serials Acquisitions in a local University Library. I live in Virginia but was born and raised in Alabama. I love to read. My biggest problem is that I read too many books at once. Fortunately, I'm a fast reader. Unfortunately, I'm always adding more books to my "to read list" while I'm at work. I really enjoyed discussing Middlesex. I'm almost finished with Life of Pi.
I joined the book blog to get more involved in the reading of fiction. I read mainly non-fiction with my favorite being travel books. My favorite author is Bill Bryson. A close second is Anne Rice, whom I have adored since childhood. I also read a lot of adolescent literature. I've taken many classes on the subject and even planned to be a 7th grade English teacher. Through some teaching experiences, I discovered it wasn't the job for me. I eventually plan to earn an MLS degree. I'd love to be a Children's Librarian, but other aspects of library work, such as public policy and collection development, also interest me. So hello to all and thanks for letting me join!
Hello, my name’s Amy and I’m a new (official) bookblogger. I’m 25 years old and living in Vermont. I’ve always had a love of reading. I can remember when I was young, I would spend my summer days on a farm devouring Babysitter’s Club and then moving on to the R.L. Stine/Christopher Pike scary books. Oh man, the Fear Street books were the best. Stine had titles like The Snowman ("A cold blooded killer."), The Girlfriend ("When she was good, she was very good... but when she was bad, she was murder.") and don't forget The Dead Girlfriend ("She loves him. She loves him NOT."). While these books were considered Stephen-King-in-Training, I’m not into horror now that I’m older. Must have gotten it all out of my system by the age of 12.
I like books that take imagination to read. Neil Gaiman is at the top of my favorite authors list. The Sandman series is the most impressive, wonderful, awesome and remarkable story I’ve ever read. AND it’s a comic book. I’m very into graphic novels. The first graphic novel I ever read was the Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind Collection by Hayao Miyazaki (director/creator of Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away). More favorite authors: Charles Bukowski, Hubert Selby Jr., Phillip Pullman, Garth Nix, David Sedaris, Tom Robbins, Alexander McCall Smith, Chris Ware and (when I want trashy beach reading) Nora Roberts. I love all books.
Peace!
I don't know if it's appropiate to talk about films on here, since it's a book blog. But, I can't help it. I am too excited and fascinated with this film (i can't stop thinking about it). I recently saw LOST IN TRANSLATION (finally!) Did anyone happen to see it? What did you guys think?
Hi everyone. I figured I should follow Ana's lead and introduce myself as I've also just been granted official membership status. Here's a few notes about me.
I'm an American, living in Tochigi Prefecture in Japan. I've been living here for roughly three years or so and continue to find new reasons to stay. The food, the culture, the books.
Although I don't read Japanese very well, I've developed an affection for Japanese authors. I have to resort to the translated versions, but, in particular, I'm a huge fan of both Haruki Murakami and Leiji Matsumoto (he writes manga, but I'm counting him).
Authors from the rest of the world that I enjoy include Mark Twain, Hemmingway, Nabakov, Jules Verne, and H. G. Wells.
Of course, I only read those guys every couple of years. When I'm in the bookstore I tend to devour anything by Neil Gaiman, Alan Dean Foster, Robert J. Sawyer, Michael Chabon, Jonathan Letham, and Isaac Adamson.
The list goes on.
I became interested in Bookblog after reading a post on neilgaiman.com (I may be remembering this wrongly so don't shoot) and realizing that I had read many of the books that have been discussed combined with a desire to read several of the books up for discussion in the coming months. I look forward to discussing things with all of you and to hosting a book sometime. Thanks.
Joel
Hello, everyone. I'm Ana and I just earned my official membership ;)
Here are some things about myself:
-I am 20 years old (21 on 2/1) and a college student: at the moment, you will find me out of college. I am taking a break, working some, reading some, going out some, and starting school in New York City in the spring.
-I am a Fine Arts major: perhaps concentrating on Painting, or Printmaking...Although I don't write often, I enjoy writing when I do and someday I want to write for a Visual Arts magazine and also go into Curating.
-I live in Miami-Dade county: I actually live in Hialeah, but if it makes anyone feel better about knowing where a place is, you can say that I live in Miami...
-I have my own little library: I've been packing lately and time came when I had to pack my books. I discovered that I had close to 100 books! It didn't look that way to me.
-No, I've not read ALL of them: I do like to collect old books, like the ones that libraries sell to get rid of. I prefer Fiction, and if it must be Non-Fiction, then I prefer the Social Sciences.
-(My book collection consists of almost all the categories that books go into in a library, including religion...)
-Things I love include: music, art (including film), the arts, literature, and dancing, oh! and ... I'm sure I'm forgetting something else.
-Favorite authors: Charles Dickens, Tennesee Williams (yea, yea, playwright, I know), Robert M. Pirsig, Gabriel García-Márquez, Rubén Darío, Pablo Neruda, among others (it's pretty hard to think with all my books packed up!, believe me, there are many more authors in the english language literature, but I really can't think right now. )
-Favorite novels: "Bright Lights Big City", "Zen and the Art of...", "The Little Prince", "Parable of the Sower", and yes, "Wuthering Heights" too! others included as well.
-Lastly, but not least: I am bilingual and with a little bit of a third language. I bet you can guess which languages I speak...(the middle one is the one that i practice but don't actually speak.)
Well, now on to read "The Diamond Age"
p.s.-I love short stories and plays!
Hi, I'm Misty. Newest Newbie. I thought I should introduce myself. I'm 28, the mother of 2 1/2 (the half being my ex-step child that I still try to see). I have a dog (blitz) and cat (abra). I work full time as a Certified health rep. for a disease management company. In my spare time (as if!) I enjoy being crazy and silly with my kids and collecting books (no, I haven't read them all, but they're there if I need them). I read everything I can get my hands on but I particularly love dictionaries. Right now I am reading Raising Self-Reliant Children In A Self-Indulgent World and The Body Artist by Don Delillo. In my CD player is The Swinging Utters and Carl Orff's Carmina Burana.
I'm looking forward to sharing many books with you all.
I like shopping at Amazon because you get a discount on most books, shipping is free if you spend more than $25, and there’s no tax. (Actually, my state has a form for you to file with your income taxes for online purchases, but Mr. Paul told me only idiots fill it out.) I like it even more when you shop at Amazon because I get a little commission (very little) whenever you click through from here to there then buy something.
The problem with Amazon is their targeted marketing. It works almost too well, to the point of annoyance. I used their site to browse professional titles and then was assaulted with recommendations for teacher books. I made the mistake of clicking "I own it" on a few of them, and now I’m pummeled with teaching crap every time I go there. My book recommendations are overloaded with professional, sociology, young adult, and picture books.
Of course, I could probably easily remedy this by going in an clicking "not interested" for everything I don’t want, but I shouldn’t have to. They should know better by offering me stuff like the items I’ve actually purchased rather than things I’ve merely browsed.
1. I found BookBlog while searching for a journal that had disappeared.
2. My sister says my bookshelves look like that
Best Novels of the 20th Century list.
3. Yes, I've read them.
4. No, I didn't like all of them, but I never throw anything away (you should see my record collection).
5. Our dad read to us every night from six to seven (a grade-school sampling: Toynbee's The Study of History, The Iliad, Dante's Inferno, everything Edgar Rice Burroughs ever wrote), a practice I was subject to well into high school, and something I am still working through with my therapist.
6. I don't actually go to a therapist, though I tried once.
7. I live in Oakland, California, with my pre-teen daughter and my handsome boyfriend, and their evil cats. I am a graphic designer, which means I spend a lot of time reading. I also write in my journal about as often as I re-design it, and set a very bad example for the other authors of the group journal I run by not writing very often at all.
Was so pleasantly surprised to see everyone's comments! As for Don Quixote, I had to read it myself while tutoring someone, and from my experience the only way to finish it is to be paid to do so! So I have read it, but to tell you the truth, I remember more of the Decameron than I do DQ (currently in a box across an ocean and continent).
As for personal details, I think Mary's little blurb covered all the essentials (and nicely edited my truely unwieldy e-mail to her - ty M!), as dry as it was --I left all my interesting bits (cats, boyfriend, "fun" books & xtr-curricula stuff) behind me in Toronto. I will add, that Do-Hee denotes a Ms, not a Mr. I forget that it's not so clear in English and wasn't enitrely sure if y'all could deduce that from the facts presented (assuming that anyone cares).
In an effort to sound a little less like the geek that I admittedly am, I will mention that Ross has proclaimed in an episode of Friends that "they [linguists]'re wild"! So take heed boys and girls!
Seriously, am very glad to have joined and thanks for such a warm welcome.
Tripp:
Rest assured, my friend, no mess shall be given thee on our northward weekday treks. But I fear I may not live up to your rambunctious introduction. Though you're right about Anna. (And yes, that's husbandly bias. What of it?)
Looking forward to all the cool books to come my way!
Today is a calling in sick at work day. I saw Mary's email in my inbox, and decided I'd go ahead and post.
I'm looking forward to some good books and some good discussion. (Thanks, Tripp and Mary.) I won't be taking on Don Quixote right now, but like the looks of some of the ones on deck.
My name is Clifton. I'm a grad student in philosophy at Loyola University here in Chicago. And I promise not to use any of my ten dollar philosophy jargon--just so long as none of you use your twenty dollar lit crit jargon!
I'm married to Anna. We have two house cats: an orange tabby named Prozac, and a calico named Pandora. Both sisters from the same litter. We also have two ferrets: a silver named Cate, and a sable named Jake.
Whew. That took it out of me. Now to rest and recuperate.
Books Rule!
I've just added my erstwhile blog to my profile in case anyone cares to read it...it might change things a little to actually have an audience! Thanks!
Hi everybody! I just wanted to thank Kate for introducing me to the group and also thank everyone who gave me a warm welcome. What can I tell you about myself????
I am originally from New York, but am currently living in Philadelphia. I moved here to go to graduate school and then stayed after I finished. I am a medical reference librarian at the Medical College of Pennsylvania Hospital. I love music and books. I have my own website, and I enjoy writing music reviews for various online music sites.
I look forward to participating in next month's discussion of Don Quixote!
another new member! Her name is Mary Carmen and she has a blog (click here). We have been chatting quite frequently via emails and IM's. I have also been reading her blog for a while now and I know she will really enjoy this book blog. I will let Mary C fill in all the fun details!
Let me be the first to say "Welcome Aboard!"
Thank you all for your hellos, I'm happy to join you. And thank you Andy for the introduction. I'm looking forward to the help and inspiration for getting through Don Quixote, which I started this summer as part of a literature meets life blog that began as my life vis a vis Don Quixote and quickly turned into my life vis a vis In Cold Blood (which I actually finished) and then came to a screeching halt.
Any poets among us? Where is everybody from? I live in New Haven, work a fairly dull but flexible job, write poetry. I have a daughter in college and an eleven year old son at home. I'm reading My Antonia right now, and The Tao of Equus which is a gift I recieved today and which is so far quite wonderful...it's spirituality meets the horse story in Jungian depths, and fits perfectly with The Red Pony which I am also reading to my son. It is a gift from my niece who as I write is on her way home from somewhere near Afghanistan where she has been stationed (and flying around!) for several months.
Since Poisonwood Bible is fresh for most of you, can anyone tell me all the meanings of the Congolese(?) word for potato and god, and what the word was? I don't have the book handy. I seem to recall the entire story coming to a head in the explication of this term. Am I remembering correctly?
I'm ready to descend into hell now...
please welcome Kathy Douglas.
And the bookblog has another new member! Please welcome my friend Kathy Douglas.
Besides IMing certain bookblog members during the day (from her desk at Yale) and soaking in her hot tub by night, Kathy is an accomplished poet. She writes poetry that I can actually understand, which maybe says more about me than her.
Although she has two -- yes, two -- MFA degrees, one in museum studies and one in poetry and literature, and although she is very smart, Kathy is one of the most down-to-earth people I know, so don't let the degrees scare you.
More information? Because I'm unoriginal, here's her bio from the journal that our graduating class published: "BA, MFA. Mother of equally amazing Maureen and Drew. Daughter of Margaret, of Mary, of Margaret, of Sarah. Published: Calyx, Sahara, I Am Beautiful: A Celebration of Women."
Anyway, enough resume stuff. Welcome, Kathy.
Last week, I officially became one of the estimated 100,000 residents of the State of New York who have burned through their entire nine months (!) of unemployment assistance without finding a replacement job in their field. I honestly never thought it would come to this. But since it has, I'm jumping in here before the next book discussion begins to let you know, with my sincere apologies to Barbara, especially, that I'm bowing out for this month (and possibly longer, but... at the very latest, I'm bound and determined to read Don Quixote with y'all).
I began The Poisonwood Bible, and I'll definitely return to it at some point, but I'm too pressed for time at the moment to continue. It's crunch time for me now, meaning that not only am I continuing to look for a job in my field (advertising/marketing copywriting, corporate communications), I'm also widening my net to consider just about anything. (Although not everything: since I look like a somewhat younger version of Frank Bielec from Trading Spaces, I don't think doing porn or selling my body on the street are really viable options for me, thanks. ;)
I've also begun packing in anticipation of moving, which I'll have to do if whatever job I find doesn't pay me enough to afford my current (NYC area) rent. My salary is almost certain to go down; what I'm hoping for is to make more than half of what I had been earning. And what I'm really, really hoping for is that I don't have to get roommates, because I've been on my own forever, and... I mean, cut me a break, I'm forty-fucking-two.
So... that's my update. Oh, and I had to have my dog put to sleep a month ago today after he went through a protracted and, ultimately, fatal illness. :( I'm having a banner year! No, actually, I think I'm doing pretty well. I mean, as long as I'm being forced into a life change, I'm trying to look at this as something of an adventure. Even the getting roommates part, if it comes to that. I'm open to moving cross-country (if I have to). Hell, I'm considering learning how to drive a tractor-trailer rig to work as a long-distance truck driver; like I said, I'm casting my net pretty wide in an effort to give myself options. (And if you have any ideas? I'm all ears. :)
This isn't "goodbye", merely "don't wait up for me." And I'm sure I'll be lurking here on and off; you can't get rid of me that easily. Thanks in advance for everyone's understanding, by the way; I really do appreciate it.
Hi, everyone. This post is a giant mea culpa for my extended absence. I especially want to apologize to Rich and Jeff for missing their book discussions. But I'm back and ready to dive into this month's book.
While I read the conversations, I wasn't able to read either July or August's book. The past three months -- June, July, and August -- have been probably the three most stressful months of my life. I finished my thesis, lectured, graduated, searched for and interviewed for academic jobs, got rejected, freaked out because my lease was expiring and had no place to go, moved myself and my drugged cat across the country in a 15-foot moving van, crashed in a friend's guest bedroom while looking for an apartment, negotiated and finally bought a car, and started teaching college for the first time.
But that's no excuse, and again, I apologize to both Rich and Jeff.
I did, however, buy The Poisonwood Bible this weekend, and I intend to start reading it tonight, so I'm definitely back in the game.
Finally, I wanted to say a belated hello to everyone who's joined since whenever I last stopped by. I've always been psyched about being a part of such a diverse group, and the new members definitely add to that diversity, so I'm excited about the next discussion.
Thanks for all of your understanding. It's good to be back.
Anyone else catch the new Junkyard Wars? My 6 year old was so upset she was going to miss it. Paul taped the show for her.
Another new member with a "K" name?
Hello everyone or as they say here in Japan, konnichiwa. Thank you for the warm welcome. I am very excited to be a part of your group. As Mary said, I am married, have two small children, and currently live in Japan, about 30 km south of Tokyo.
I am originally from northern California, but prior to Japan, my husband and I lived near Austin. I am currently taking a break from a rather dull career path as a portfolio administrator/marketing coordinator/project manager/technical writer and enjoying my children full-time.
"What are you doing in Japan?" you might ask. Short answer: my husband's career. Long answer: he is an orthopaedic surgeon and took a three-year "scholarship" from the Navy to pay for part of medical school. Since we were stuck paying back the time anyway, we decided to make the most of it and go international. Our first choise was Rota, Spain, but after a year here in Japan, I think that Fortuna was kind to us. Japan is wonderful.
Unfortunately my Japanese is terrible, but the advantage to that is I never watch television, which gives me plenty of time to read. I love discussing books. I have been a member of two reading groups, but both have been strictly female. I am looking forward to a male perspective to provide a better balance in both discussion and reading selection. As I mentioned to Mary, I lost interest in my last discussion group when it became “Oprah-fied”. Thank you for welcoming me to your group. I look forward to participating actively in your lively and incisive discussions.
Can we handle another new member? Of course!
Please join me in welcoming Karen to the fold. Karen is currently living in Japan (we’ve gone international!) with her husband and two children. As a person who’s passionate about reading and writing, she’s also looking forward to joining our online family of book lovers.
Karen found our site through Katespot and was particularly impressed by the thoughtful debate between Rich and Jeff over last month’s selection, Noir. All three of our recruiters are doing a great job as usual.
Although Karen has already read A Confederacy of Dunces, she doesn’t have her copy with her in Japan. Despite this, perhaps we’ll still be able to persuade her to jump in on the discussion. Comments from someone who’s had a bit of time to reflect on the book ought to be extremely insightful in helping us dissect and digest it.
Welcome, Karen!
Hey everyone! Thanks for the warm welcome! As Mary said, I am a graduate student and I read a ton. I hate finishing a book and having no one to talk to about it, so this is great! I am currently studying Special Education at the University of Georgia. I also have most of an MA in Religion from the same institution. Most of what I read is for school, so I am very excited to have somewhere to discuss my non-assigned readings. Cheers all - and thanks again for the welcome!
Hi there, noticed Kara was kind enough to intro herself so thought I should chime in before we start our August discussion.
My name is Hunter Harwood, and I am a friend of Rich Miller. I found the bookblog through his Brain Squeezings, and have decided that I should join this merry band of readers. I love to read but do not do it often enough, this is the sort of motivation I need to read titles I might otherwise miss. I typically read programming-related books, occasional science or history, sci-fi/fantasy and the odd espionage thriller. I also voraciously consume fiction and non-fiction works in my car via audio books - just finished The Regulators by Richard Bachman (aka Stephen King) and three abridged WEB Griffin books in a collection. Good thing my wife and I work for a book retailer (Books A Million). She's the CIO and I'm a lowly consultant building an Intranet portal for the finance dept. I've been programming since 1985 and have really enjoyed it. I also have a moderate electronic gaming habit, just as Rich. ;^)
My family and I moved down here to the Birmingham, AL area from near Annapolis, MD due to (1) Crown Books going belly up, where my wife was CIO and I was a lowly consultant as well, and (2) my wife landing the position at Books A Million. So far so good, although I think I am just going to stay away from the local delicacy of boiled peanuts, thank you very much.
A little something about myself
Hey all -- thanks for the warm welcome. I'm thrilled to be here and can't wait to start reading August's book with everyone. I tried and tried to find a copy of Noir, but wasn't able to get my hands on it on such short notice.
What a great feeling it is to be among people who like to read! When most of my friends tell me that they need to catch up on their reading, odds are that they are talking about digging into the most recent issue of InStyle or People (um, not that there's anything wrong with those magazines...I love 'em, but just don't consider that to be reading).
A little bit about myself: I live outside of Boston and am a web manager for a medical research firm. In my spare time I love to read, watch old movies, attempt home improvements, and go to Red Sox games.
My top five favorite books of all time:
The Stand by Stephen King
How Green Was My Valley by Richard Llewellyn
Persuasion by Jane Austen
Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier
Auntie Mame by Patrick Dennis
So comforting to be back among the literate! Looking forward to getting to know everyone over the next book's discussion!
I just thought I'd compose a mini-post to let everyone know Sarah's birthday was on July 11th. I realize this greeting is almost a week late, but you know the old saying: better late than never.
Hope it was a great day, Sarah!
Aw, thanks for the kind welcome! *waves hello*
I'm excited about joining the club - I LOVE to read so this will be a nice treat. I'm always in search of good books, but don't have time to go to houses for discussions and the like - the internet is much easier and a lot more fun most of the time.
I look forward to starting in August and have a suggestion for a book to add to the list. It's one of my favorites and I'm always up for reading it again - it's "A Prayer for Owen Meany" by John Irving. GREAT book.
Look forward to getting to know you all over the next few weeks!!
Hey.
So following Mary's well-deserved bitch-slap ("He's actually excited about the club despite his lack of posting and commenting thus far."), I'm finally stopping in to say hey and introduce myself, although I've been lurking here, reading the other stuff and getting to know you all.
I am definitely excited about this book club, equally because of the first selection and because of this group. I'm psyched about getting to know everyone and discussing and debating the book.
Brief background: I'm 24, I both go to grad school and work full-time as a web producer, and my vice is gambling (thanks Mary!). Um, what else? I have favorite authors and books in the way that I have favorite films and favorite bands/artists. That is, I can't really narrow my likes to an author or a film or a band because there's too much stuff I really dig. Recently I've read Umberto Eco, Phillip K. Dick, and Henry James, and I own every one of Bret Easton Ellis' books. But I feel bad just mentioning them since there are so many other authors I like. I'm also really into creative nonfiction, from literary journalism (like In Cold Blood) to various essay collections.
Okay, I think that's everything. I'm about an eighth of the way into Invisible Monsters and it's kicking ass so far. I actually haven't read Fight Club but it is one of my favorite films, which I think can be attributed to the author's influence. So far Chuck Palahniuk reads a lot like Bret Easton Ellis. A lot of the criticism BEE gets is for that style; I've read reviews that call his writing sloppy, the reviewer accusing him of not being able to write, when of course his style is extremely intentional and very carefully written. Is this anyone's first time reading something in this sort of hyper-narrative, post-brat-back style? What do you think?
Hi, my name is Jeff, and I'm a book-a-holic. *group responds in unison: "Hi, Jeff!"* Actually, I go through cycles with books, as I guess I do with everything else; I'll be, like, a total book junkie for a few weeks or so, unable to put a book down, staying up until the wee hours night after night to squeeze more reading in, and then moving on without interruption to another book… lather, rinse, repeat (I just totally stole that from Palahniuk). But then, for no apparent reason, I'll seemingly lose my passion for reading and get caught up in other things for a few weeks, until I pick up a book again and think, "Geez, I'm in freaking heaven when I'm reading! What was I thinking being away from you for so long, paperback? Will you forgive me for forgetting about how much I love you, hardcover?" (O-kay, so that was a little over the top. Alright, more than a little. But you catch my drift.) Anyhow, if you're a part of this book blog, I'm guessing you can relate.
(But wait... there's more!)
About me: I'm a 41-year-old single guy, I live in the very southernmost part of chi-chi Westchester County (but don't be fooled -- I'm in the part that's just barely beyond the Bronx), and I used to be a copywriter for a big deal NYC ad agency until I got laid off a few months ago on account of the world going to shit and the economy slumping worse than Gary Condit's campaign manager's career. (Can we say "shit" on your book blog, Mary?) On other fronts, I'm into architecture and design, I've loved cars since before I can remember, I enjoy music too much, usually, to be able to listen to it and work at the same time, and I live for movies. Oh, and I've got a dog, too; I *heart* Buster.
Okay, back to books: my current favorite is Michael Cunningham's A Home at the End of the World; I would give anything to write so simply/powerfully. Blew. Me. Away. Enjoying Cunningham as much as I did inspired me to go on something of a gay writers' kick, and so I've recently finished stuff by David Leavitt (extraordinary), Paul Lisicky (good), and Paul Russell (grim); I also just started Christopher Rice's A Density of Souls. I'm a sucker for potboiler thrillers by people like Tom Clancy (crap style, but interesting plots and details) and Ridley Pearson (uneven, but occasionally good). Other recent pop favorites include Donald Westlake's The Ax and Howard Roughan's The Up and Comer, both of which are hilarious and beautifully written. In non-fiction, I've read most of C.S. Lewis's Christian apologetics (although it's been a while, and I've yet to read any of his fiction -- I know, I know, I must read Narnia and Wardrobe!), and I recently finished David McCullough's John Adams (sleepy) and Edmund Morris' The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt (fabulous -- I can't wait to start his Theodore Rex). I've never really gotten into fantasy (e.g., Tolkien & Co.), but to me, being part of a book club (which I've never done before, BTW) is about reading things that I might not otherwise consider, so I'm quite enthusiastically up for pretty much anything. (Yes, anything.)
Which brings me to Invisible Monsters: I'm only about 50 pages in, but so far, I am loving this book -- mostly because of the way CP seems to so freely abandon convention in order to let the writer in him come out to play. Fun, fun, fun. This is my first Palahniuk novel, so thanks, Mary, for turning me on to him. And even more thanks for going to the time and trouble of organizing this and getting us started. (You rock!) I'm looking forward to blogging with y'all in the coming weeks and months, and getting to know you as well as your literary likes and dislikes. Oh, and thanks for slogging through all this hooey about me!
Hi all!
I am Suzy, and I am a procrastinator. At least with this introduction. But, I am here now.
So important info about me and books. I love them! As someone else said, I love words - reading them and writing them. My reading tastes are wildly diverse. I am always reading some new book. My tastes in fiction include anything but romance, and non-fiction taste leads towards history and biography, and I always have one current book on buddhism or philosophy going as well as some poetry. My favorite author? Well I have so many. Barbara Kingsolver, Margaret Atwood and Toni Morrison are always top favorites as are classics Jane Austen (Pride and Prejudice) and George Eliot.
I have nothing else to say at the moment - just wanted to get this initial post out of the way nefore I got too far behind. Looking forward to reading the book and discussing it!
Hey there bookworms. I am Barbara in Asheville, NC. I am 42, majored in English Lit at a teeny tiny college for women and my license plate reads "UNNCMBRD."
I love words. There is great joy in a gracefully turned phrase or a crisp, original image. Unfortunately, seems like I forget too much of what I read. For example, I really enjoyed Memoirs of a Geisha when I read it over 2 years ago, but I couldn't tell you the name of a single character...
My taste in material is not terribly sophisticated. Having moved from Chicago 3 years ago, I have been reading a lot of "southern" writers. (though I still don't understand what, exactly, defines a "southern" writer.) I read for entertainment, escape, and education. The book I most recently finished is The Jew Store, by Stella Suberman. My appetites change...I have read all of Magaret Atwood. I went through a Call of the Wild adventure phase. I get hankerin's for salacious true-crime stuff from time to time. I have inadvertantly read some Oprah picks and liked them. (a lot) A good autobiography can wreak havoc with my weekend plans. And I have failed dismally in my repeated attempts to get through Look Homeward Angel by Asheville's most celebrated son, Thomas Wolfe.
I have no idea what I am in for with this club...or with Mary's 1st selection. For such long standing friends....we have wildly different views/attitudes/lifestyles. Hmmm. At least I know we won't be bored. Looking forward to beginning the book tonight and disecting it with all y'all.
Wanna read a book about online communities?
http://www.smallpieces.com/
I have not read it, but teh people I know who have I trust to look for quality stuff.
Tripp
So, the idea has been suggested that I perhaps should post a list of books that seminarians are reading. First, I would like to clarify...there is a difference between what is assigned and what I like. Occasionally the two worlds overlap, but only occasionally. Then again...by the time I am done with this educational experience, I just may be a one trick literary pony.
Now, the selected list for people interested in Christian devotional stuff...and I am making the assumption that the majority of people on this blog are fairly erudite...is something you guys may like. (Sarah and Rich are to contain their laughter. I have been pushing them to read this stuff for years.)
New Seeds of Contemplation by Thomas Merton is a great place to start. He is a very orthodox Christian thinker. This means he is not conservative in teh political sense. Christains, I believe, have a fairly radical social viewpoint. Thomas Merton is like this.
Life of the Beloved: Spirtual Living in a Secular World by Henri Nouwen: again, another orthodox thinker. This book was written especially for teh non/de-churched. It is not an attempt at evangelism. It is a book written specifically to one of Nouwen's friends, a Jew, Fred Bratman.
Life on the Vine: Cultivating the Fruit of the Spirit in Christian Community by Philip D. Kenneson is a great book for Christains...adult education kinda thing. I recommend it highly. It is a light treatment of Aquinas/Aristotle and the Virtues. You need not be aquainted well with either philosopher to get the point, though if you have some working knowledge of what these guys mean by the "virtues," your ability to dialogue about teh book would be expanded. So, um, there.
Non-Nominallychirstian books I dig:
The Sparrow
Last Night's Fun, by Ciaran Carson
The Count of Monte Cristo, by A. Dumas
any poetry by Whitman
fiction by Charles de Lint is excellent brain fodder
and that should do it. Praises be the literary goddess for allowing me to share my thoughts online. Pax.
Hello everyone. Thanks to the evr-growing community of blogites, my will is slowlty being bent to the corporate. So, here I blog. Thanks to Mary for letting me come play. Thanks to Rich for leading me astray.
Um, for those interested in reading or writing poetry/prayers with a multi-faith focus, do not hesitate to visit prayers.blogspot.com
Our beloved Rich has been published there. Huzzah!
Okay, lemme get this book we are reviewing and see how it goes.
So, i guess I should be a wee more forthcoming with the personal information. Um, I am 32, live in Chicago with two fat cats and a roomate. I just finished my first year of seminary at Seabury Western just north of Chicago in Evanston. It is far too good a fit at this point. Love it.
I am also a constant reader. Lately things from school have been keeping me busy, but I am hoping this summer break will lend a little spice to the reading list. Still, if anyone is interested in what the first year seminarian has to read, or likes to read, I am happy share.
Hi everyone! My name is Kate. I am a 31 (going on 32 VERY soon) stay at home Mom to 2 girls, ages 2 and 5. This is my very first book club (thanks Mary!) but I have been a voracious reader for as long as I remember. My tastes in books and authors vary. I have always liked Stephen King, Peter Straub, Robin Cook and Clive Barker. "The Hobbit" was my very first favorite book. I have been reading more non fiction books due to some recent medical situations that have occurred within my family. Paul (my hubby) is also a reader and my 5 year old has been reading for about 6 months now! I can't wait to start reading "Invisible Monsters", which I received yesterday (thank you Amazon!). I am looking forward to meeting the rest of you!
Hi, my name's Rich, and I love words, wordplay and imagery.
I'm difficult to focus, and thus typically have between six and twelve books "going" at the same time. Once I get my teeth into something I love, though, I'll typically devour it and two removes of its cousins before I realize it's Tuesday and I have to work for a living. :-)
Like Sarah, I can be a bit of a grammar, spelling and usage Nazi, but I have a hunch that she's more attentive to (and experienced with) style and parsimony than I am.
My tastes do run to the escapist, but I've been known to read a worthwhile book on occasion. I'm currently in the middle of the biographies of Benjamin Franklin and Samuel Clemens.
Books and authors that have lasted in my memory (and that occur to me here and now): the Illuminatus! trilogy (Robert Anton Wilson and Robert Shea); The Sparrow; Octavia Butler's whole selection of SF novels; anything by Bruce Sterling (most notably his short story "The Beautiful and the Sublime" and his novel Schismatrix); Gibson's Burning Chrome collection and Neuromancer; Bridget Jones's Diary; almost anything by Anne Rice; and The Lord of the Rings (of course).
I'm shorting most of western literature, of course; but then I am at work. :-D
Hello, fellow book junkies
Thanks, Mary, for doing such a stellar job setting this up.
Hi, I'm Sarah, and I'm a book junkie. I figure we'll all be enabling each others' addictions with this site, and I'm fine with that.
About me: I used to work with Mary out in Chicago. I'm about to be laid off, just like she was. Therefore I may have some serious time on my hands. I'm a journalism person, and therefore have strong ideas about language/editing etc. I will not copy edit your posts, but I will go off on a book that's poorly line-edited. There's no excuse for that. I'm a cat person. I grew up in Wilmington, DE; went to college out in Chicago (ok, Evanston); lived in Hong Kong for three years after college; and have been back in Chicago for about 6 years. Buffy rules. I hate the word "quaint." Thus ends the "getting to know me" portion of the post.
I read just about everything: history, biography, armchair travel, lit fiction, mysteries, scifi, old stuff, new stuff, etc.
A sample of my favorite books/authors:
The Last Apocalypse, a history of the way the world changed at the turn of the last millenium
West with the Night, a memoir of a woman who grew up Africa inthe early 1900s, raised race horses, flew mail planes, and was the first person to fly across the Atlantic from east to west.
If on a Winter's Night a Traveler, the first serious mind-fuck "I had no idea you could do that with a book" book I ever read.
Just about everything by Robertson Davies, Kage Baker, Connie Willis, Haruki Murikami, Susan Cooper, Madeliene L'Engle, Reginald Hill......
And I can't wait to read what everyone else suggests!
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