A Note to Book Borrowers

In theory, I could be writing this blog about the book I just finished for our book club, since it is a review and all. But it's not on the 2009 list- it was published in 2004- so I won't write about the story.

I will, however, write about the book - the covers, the pages, the binding.

Let me begin by saying that I adore the library, borrowing and lending books, the whole idea of literature being available to anyone without payment. A big thanks to the Tigard library and the whole Washington County Cooperative Library Services system, that ships books from other libraries to mine so even the driving isn't my own work to do.

But as I read this book, I noticed things that drove me a little crazy, and so I'm compiling an etiquette list for book borrowers.

1. Do NOT write in a book that doesn't belong to you. No little marks to keep your place, no underlines, no funny drawings.

2. If you drip food into a book, wipe it up, for heavens sake. Don't leave it in between pages that then are stuck together and rip apart. Yeesh.

3. Don't dog-ear! I was eight or nine when I loaned my Goosebumps books to my friend's brother, and he dog-eared all over the place- folding corners of the pages instead of getting a bookmark. I was appalled then, and shrieked at him until my mom freaked out. When I told her he had defiled the book, she glared at him and told him he wasn't allowed to borrow books until he learned manners. The bent corners wear faster and eventually fall off, also making buying used copies difficult.

4. Don't lose the book jacket. Someone I love dearly lost the book jacket to the Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets book my brother got for his (seventh?) birthday. Sigh. It still pains me to look at. Not only are book jackets functional as bookmarks, but they're pretty and they protect the book. As a matter of fact, you probably shouldn't take the book jacket off at all.

5. If the book you borrow is from a person, not a library, and you ruin it, BUY THEM A NEW ONE. Seriously. Sign up for Border's Rewards program, wait til you get a 40% off coupon, and give them the new copy.

6. Don't loan a book you're borrowing to someone else. C'mon.

7. Return the book. Duh. Believe it or not, I'm missing dozens and dozens of books that people never gave back. I'm not a library- it's not just one of my many copies. (I am also guilty of this, according to Kelsey Garner's copy of the 4th book in the Narnia series that's been sitting on my shelf for more than a year.)

What do you guys think? I don't want this to be a rant- this was kind of fun! What do you wish you could put out there for others? What am I missing from this list?

Lit: A Memoir

So, next book in the series is Lit: A Memoir by Mary Karr. I ordered it from the library in February, and it finally arrived- huzzah!

Now, in the spirit of a memoir (hopefully), I'll be honest: I wanted nothing more than to just skim through this book, post, and then move onto the book I have to read for book club by Saturday evening and finish the baby blanket I'm working on. Unfortunately for me, I couldn't.

The short story is that I absolutely adored the book. Beyond adored- it's going onto the short list of must-buys.

The long story is not too terribly long, I hope, because I'm confident that you will go get the friggin' book and see for yourself, because I am commanding it of you. And because you'll thank me for it. But here's something to pique your interest- an explanation of sorts.

Lit is the third of Karr's memoirs, this one taking place from her late teenage years, through her messy battle with alcoholism, her divorce, and to about the age of forty. Her first two memoirs, chronicling the years before this, are The Liar's Club and Cherry, both of which I intend to read soon (a decision that should show you my vote of confidence based on how many other books I have remaining on this year's list).

I think that anybody can relate to her life- maybe not as extreme as she lived it, but in aspects, she reflects every person that's ever been hurt or done the hurting (if you've experienced neither, I would love to know your secret) in a way that is easy, understandable, and poetic. Her struggle to become a writer fascinated me particularly, especially when she writes:

"Crazed to see my name in print, which would prove poethood, I mailed to hapless editors work bad enough that- in retrospect- I'm surprised the rejections didn't come with a cyanide pill" (p52).

So there's hope for me yet?

I was also struck by how honest she was. Obviously, that's the hope for a memoirist- that this one won't be another Million Little Pieces that's praised for it's rawness, only to be proven a hoax. (Side note- I'm confident it's not, but something preternatural might happen if it were. I think I'd turn into a werewolf and rip her into shreds... verbally, of course.) She even shows, though, that she knows she cant trust her own memories.

"Whatever the case, those years only filter back through the self I had at the time, when I was most certainly- even by my yardstick then- a certain species of crazy... When I reach to grasp a solid truth from that time, smoke pours through my fingers" (p 88).

Here's what I'll leave you with, because I'm running late to work- it was absolutely worth the three month wait. If you read nothing else, accept one of my highest endorsements.

Also a side note- would you ever write a memoir? Why or why not? I thought about this a lot as I read on... still no answer.

$20 Per Gallon: How the Inevitable Rise in the Price of Gasoline Will Change Our Lives for the Better

AKKK! It's April 15th, and this is only the 3rd book for the month... lame. This time I read $20 Per Gallon: How the Inevitable Rise in the Price of Gasoline Will Change Our Lives for the Better by Christopher Steiner.

So, I'll be honest- economic speculation isn't what I do in my spare time. I know you're shocked, but it's the truth!

Now, this is the good news: the book was really, really interesting. I only felt a little bit like a financial idiot. Most of the book isn't in the code of acronyms, thank heavens. There are stories, anecdotes, and facts, each of which is pertinent and engaging. Most of the facts I hadn't heard before, and it turned out I had no basis for the feeling of dread that this would be a collection of statements of the obvious. I had no desire to read 253 pages of "People will walk more" and that kind of obvious prediction.

So, the book is organized as a series of predictions based in how the United States will change as the price of gas increases- $6, $8, $10- all the way to $20 a gallon. There are semi obvious predictions, but it's deeper than that, and I wouldn't have thought of pretty much any of Steiner's predictions. Even better, there are times when I started to lose interest- but then it quickly moves on to yet another prediction. It keeps you on your toes and looking forward to the next prediction.

The bad news is this: I don't read economic speculation books in my spare time. This is NOT my idea of interesting, and it may not be yours. These book is full of facts, stats, and references- and that definitely isn't what I read in leisure. But, even for someone that doesn't care about economics, this was interesting and I'm looking forward to seeing which of Steiner's predictions come true. I would wholeheartedly recommend this book to just about anyone, but it won't stop being a book about economics, and that's not my thing.

So there you go! Interested?

There Once Lived a Woman Who Tried to Kill Her Neighbor's Baby

Okay, on to the next one! This book was There Once Lived a Woman Who Tried to Kill her Neighbor's Baby: Scary Fairy Tales by Ludmilla Petrushevskaya. Yes, it's exactly what the title says.

So, the best way for me to explain this book is with another book (go figure). When I was a kid, I would read this series of ghost stories called Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. The sequel was cleverly titled More Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, and there were more with equally riveting titles. The series was by Alan Schwartz and the drawings were terrifying, but I remember one story being about a hairless dog that actually turned out to be a rat with a deadly disease *coughcoughchihuahuascoughcough*, and I remember thinking, "Really? This is scary?" Some of the stories were, indeed, scary, and those were the ones I loved. But every other story, it seemed, might have been a little scary, but it was mostly just weird. This book was like a grown up version of that.

The author is an old Russian woman that's fascinating- she had had all of her work banned in Russia so she snuck into Lithuania just to get published back in the 50s and 60s. I really, really wanted to love the stories.

The good news is, I did like some of the stories. She definitely has her own style of writing that was easy and fun to read. Some of the stories are mildly haunting in a somewhat juvenile way. She has a keen sense of irony that isn't overinflated, but rather subtle and very... lifelike. I also revisited a part of my childhood that I had long since left behind, and it was fun to enjoy once more. The writing is unique and interesting, my favorite blend on macabre and witty.

Unfortunately, much like the rat-dog story, a lot of times I started thinking, "Really?" I just... never fully got on board.

So the verdict is: I recommend the book, but selectively. For those of you that like scary stories and the macabre, go for it! It's one-of-a-kind writing. But if you don't... pass. I enjoyed myself 75% of the time!

Have any of you read her work? Any opinions? No?

Alright, on to the next...

Don't Sleep, There are Snakes

Alright, book 11, and I'm way off pace, I know. Credit goes to the Powell's bookstore staff members for not picking any wimpy books.

So this time, I read Don't Sleep, There are Snakes: Life and Language in the Amazonian Jungle by Daniel L. Everett. The title itself comes from a common phrase among the tribe, the Piraha tribe, that Everett lived in for more than 30 years.

So, honestly, I wasn't that jazzed about another Amazonian story. Only a few books ago I read The Lost City of Z, about long ago and current explorers in the Amazon. Obviously, this has nothing to do with either of the books itself, but it definitely brought me back to a land that I had just left.

The great thing is this: The book is a linguistic and anthropological analysis of a tribe that's basically been untouched and almost not influenced by outside cultures. This book is an exploration of a culture that is so unique, it's baffling. I was repeatedly challenged by my cultural views as a Westerner, and I enjoyed reading about Everett's findings through living with the tribe. I don't agree with everything that he came to believe, but his findings as a linguist and an anthropologist are fascinating! The amount of time and patience that it took Everett, originally coming to the Pirahas as a missionary on behalf of the Summer Institute of Linguistics, is mindblowing. The Piraha language had, to the best of his knowledge, no link to any other language, so he couldn't simply translate- he had to learn everything from scratch.

The challenge for me personally was how I read the book. It isn't a novel. It isn't a biography, and it isn't a textbook. Rather, the book was like a long article combined with an autobiography- Everett isn't the focus of the book at all, but his own experiences both with the tribe and compared to his life as an American are useful for comparison. Interspersed were technical points, linguistic details that Everett thoroughly explains but that nevertheless become a bit overwhelming. If you love language like I do, great! This book was a treat (though it took time to read). But if you don't love language, this may not be that wonderful for you. The cultural aspects are also extremely important, but mostly in reference to how they affects the language.

Overall, I liked the book, I learned a lot, and I'm glad I read it. I'm challenged by nonfiction, and I appreciate that. Everett does a great job of making this interesting to most anybody, though it is obviously a predominantly an informational text.

Anyone interested? What are your thoughts?

Under the Dome

Alright, I'm finally back, with the next installment- Stephen King's Under the Dome.

When I first got the book from the library, a string of profanities (that I'm not proud of) ran through my head, all directed towards Mr. King. The book was- is- 1,074pages long. I was furious. I've read a lot of Stephen King before, and I knew that his work was detailed and thick, and not something I could skim. So I cursed him for writing something this large novel that I would have to pour over... and then, 37 pages later, I was eating my words.

In short, I absolutely loved the book. Within just a few chapters, I was remembering all of the things I love about his writing, and I was, once again, hooked. Only towards the very end did I actually begin to feel the weight of the book- both in my purse and in my mind- but it really kept a quick pace that was easy to read and engaging. Even in the most horrible parts, King made me laugh out loud, and I am so thankful for that. I knew I was, undeniably, in love with the book when he said:

"We have toured the sock-shape that is Chester's Mill and arrived back at Route 119. And, thanks to the magic of narration, not an instant has passed since the..."(p 37)

I won't tell you since what, obviously.

Much much later, I was sitting in a coffee shop on the Siuslaw River, enjoying a day of sunlight, when I read:

"She didn't need to finish; the pallor of her cheeks was eloquent."(p 664)

I thought, No, you're eloquent, Stephen King! Maybe it was the glorious day talking, but I was touched at King's ability to say something so poetic in such a bleak situation- and the book is littered with moments like this. The range of emotions is stunning- this isn't simply a horror story.

Now, having read his work before, I've come to believe that there are (at least) 2 basic kinds of King novels: Those that are meant to terrify the living snot out of you (re: It, The Dark Half, etc.) and then there are those that are creepy in a more thoughtful way- the kind of fear that seeps in and stays there for years to come, the kind of fear that comes from terrible things happening that are a little too realistic and hit a little too close to home.

Under the Dome was the latter.

Now, I'm going to pause here and say, NO, this was not based on the Simpsons movie. Yikes. King started writing this in 1976 and tabled it. So let's move on, shall we?

Under the Dome was so interesting, so compelling, and so complex that it made me feel... unsettled. It made me uneasy, seeing characteristics in people that were disquietingly horrible, and yet, so normal. It was amazing to watch what happened to the people that were trapped under a dome, and how quickly their lives fell apart. For the record, every single one of my (many) predictions were wrong. Not even close. But this, again, is why I love King.

Now, since I'm sure this sounds like a horrible bit of fan mail to Stephen King, I'll get on to the bad news:
It's long.

Sorry, that's all I've got- it was really, really long. It didn't feel long, but after a week of nothing but this book, I'm a little relieved to be done.

So, what do you think? Will you brave this obstacle? It's worth it, I think. If you do, do yourself a favor and read the Author's Note in the back- it was delightful.

Nazi Literature in the Americas

Hola guys! I know it's been a while, but heck, I don't even know if anyone is reading this. The next book on this list was Nazi Literature in the Americas, written in 2003 by Roberto Bolano... can't figure out how to make that n a Spanish n here on Blogger... so yeah. That's the guy. It was translated into English just this year by Chris Andrews. So that's what makes it perfect for this year's list- trust me, my reading of the Spanish version would have resulted in a very, very different blog post.

SO! Nazi Literature in the Americas was, sort of, about Nazi literature in the Americas, but not really. The book was a series of short stories, written like biographies, of writers that have vague connections to the Nazi party and are so unrealistic it was hysterical! The stories are bathed in actual history, so I had a hard time sorting out what was fact and what was fiction. The stories are intensely funny in a dark way. For example, as a side note in a story, Bolano included this:

"The opening pages introduce the reader to O'Connell's dog, a mutant, stray German Shepherd with telepathic powers and Nazi tendencies..." (p 105)

Seriously? A dog with Nazi tendencies? In another biography, one of the authors writes a book with the same number of paragraphs in each chapter, and someone finds out the he's been hiding acrostics in the first letter of each paragraph. So the first letters of each first paragraph in every chapter read things like THIS PLACE SUCKS and other more offensive messages. I laughed out loud at some moments, which is always a great thing to be able to say about a book. The stories are ironic and witty and tongue-in-cheek, and I very much enjoyed myself.

The bad news is this: The stories are fairly depressing. Most of the writers aren't successful, but can't get writing out from under their skin. Most are involved in the Nazi party in some vague way. There's murder, suicide, and all the rest. It's meant to be ironic, true, but I know for certain that this book isn't for everyone. I am SO glad it was recommended, because it's stretching my own boundaries of comfort, and I'm having fun. But I would NOT recommend this to everyone... though the people I would recommend it to would probably adore it. (re: Melissa Mason.)

So What do you think? Did I explain that well enough to help you know whether or not you were one of the people I'd recommend it to? Have you read any of his other work? Are you out there?

Also, shout out to Kyle of Enrich Design for telling me how to make this blog pretty- otherwise I'd still be on Blogger Template A.