Now I REALLY want to go to Paris.

If you are a true lover of all things literary, then you MUST read this article in The Guardian by Jeanette Winterson, about Shakesphere and Company Bookstore in Paris. It’s wonderful.

Reading is Sexy. Werd!

I love these cool ass designs by Sarah Utter at BuyOlympia.com.  I think Mr. credit card is going to come out and play….

Check out those and more at

http://www.buyolympia.com/q/Artist=Sarah+Utte

Murakami is actually quite boring.

Book slut has a very interesting article about Japanese writer Haruki Murakami entitled, “What Lies Beneath: The Labyrinth of Haruki Murakami.”  It’s fascinating, but has only made me more confused about Murakami, especially when he says things like this…

“Oh, really? “Myself, I’m a very realistic person. I don’t trust anything New Age… or reincarnation, dreams, Tarot, horoscopes. I don’t trust anything like that at all. I wake up at 6 in the morning and go to bed at 10, jogging every day and swimming, eating healthy food. I’m very realistic. But when I write, I write weird. That’s very strange. When I’m getting more and more serious, I’m getting more and more weird. When I want to write about the reality of society and the world, it gets weird,” Murakami said.”

Wow.  I mean, seriously?  SERIOUSLY?!  He’s totally normal, and just goes all “on the weird” when writing brilliant bizarro novels?  That’s like,  almost unfair if you ask me.  Go read it here.

I’ve been reading, just not blogging…

Hello!  Even though I haven’t had much of an inclination to blog lately, I have been doing some reading. I thought maybe I’d go over the last few books I’ve read with some brief thoughts on them.

Surfacing – Margaret Atwood.  Often compared to Sylvia Plath’s The Bell jar, this book is about the deteriorating mind of a young woman who having learned of the disappearance of her father, returns to the family’s lake house to look for him.  This book is very stark and stoic, which combined with Atwood’s lovely prose, makes it  an alluring read if nothing else. Recommended?  Sure, especially if you think like a contemporary lit professor.

The Friday Night Knitting Club – Kate Jacobs. A decent read.  Save it for the beach.

Good Harbor – Anita Diamant.  Well, I feel sorry for any writer whose first novel was truly great, as in Diamant’s case with The Red Tent.  This book is not nearly as rich and colorful as her first but it was a good read.  A story about friendships between two women in their late fifties.  Recommend?  Yes, but don’t expect a masterpiece.

Clan of the Cave Bear – Jean M. Auel.  A Neanderthal feminist novel?  Well…yeh, sort of.  The story is about Ayla, a little girl who after losing her own clan, gets adopted by the Clan of the Cave Bear, a less evolved species.

From Wiki:

Ayla at first has difficulty even recognising the existence of. She has been raised with Clan customs, not to laugh or smile, and not to cry. She breaks many Clan customs while growing up she secretly watches the men, picks up a weapon, learns how to use a weapon and runs off with her child to save him from being put to death.

And so goes Ayla’s plight.  My main problem with this book was that it was fairly pedestrian, not much prose involved and you could see from the start what would happen in the end.  The end was also a problem because it ended in a cliffhangerish kind of way.  However, I was VERY glad to hear there is a sequel to this book called  Land of Horses.  Recommend? Sure, if your in the mood for some Neanderthal feminism, lol.

Today I’m headed out to the soccer Fields all day, and I’m packing a few books to keep me busy between games.  Hopefully, you’ll here from me again soon!

Advice on Writing Poetry

A insightful little podcast by David Capella on writing poetry and writing in general.

http://www.fishousepoems.org/archives/david_cappella/david_cappella_qa_with_advice_to_young_writers.shtml

Poetry Drop – David Capella

Big ups to Bookslut for tipping me off to this website, From the Fishhouse, an audio archive of emerging poets, where I found this poem by David Capella. It’s called Certain Children in Central Park. I love the line comparing the prams to SUV’s, brilliant.

Certain Children in Central Park

They command from the pram, these children,
in their nanny-powered strollers, little SUV’s
that bully the walkways and rule the paths.
They wield proud smiles from bikes with training wheels.
They beseech half-awake, unshaven dads
or tell their mother, “No.” They do not want to go
toward the carousel. It’s the robin in the flower patch
they want. “Take me there. Give it to me.”
Bound by wrist leashes, they cannot run toward their desires.
They perform ballet moves they’ve been taught
at weekly afternoon lessons, prancing past benches.
Miniature Manhattanites, they talk New York.
They have money but do not know it yet.
They will be rich Democrats and vote with disdain.
This Saturday, if they pout, parents speak to them
as though addressing a board meeting or negotiating a sale.
They will demand “A’s” on school compositions.
These precious kids will experience William Blake
and not care less. They glisten in the morning sun.
Ashley’s and Courtney’s stare at boys
with eyes of a debutante. Do they like their nannies?
Mothers wrap their dripping ice cream cones
with napkins to protect their hands, to keep them
clean. Stickiness is not allowed to linger.
Their little fingers clutch at the air, their little eyes stare
at flowers they cannot touch.

David Cappella

Go here, to listen to the audio version of this poem.

To learn more about The Fishhouse, go here. I think it’s an excellent resource for reading or listening to new poets, a wonderful thing for those of use who have “vowed” to spend more time on poetry in the new year. *wink*

A Thanksgiving Read

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. In this remarkable effort, National Book Award–winner Philbrick(In the Heart of the Sea) examines the history of Plymouth Colony. In the early 17th century, a small group of devout English Christians fled their villages to escape persecution, going first to Holland, then making the now infamous 10-week voyage to the New World. Rather than arriving in the summer months as planned, they landed in November, low on supplies. Luckily, they were met by the Wampanoag Indians and their wizened chief, Massasoit. In economical, well-paced prose, Philbrickmasterfully recounts the desperate circumstances of both the settlers and their would-be hosts, and how the Wampanoags saved the colony from certain destruction. Indeed, there was a first Thanksgiving, the author notes, and for over 50 years the Wampanoags and the Pilgrims lived in peace, becoming increasingly interdependent. But in 1675, 56 years after the colonists’ landing, Massasoit’s heir, Philip, launched a confusing war on the English that, over 14 horrifying months, claimed 5,000 lives, a huge percentage of the colonies’ population. Impeccably researched and expertly rendered, Philbrick’saccount brings the Plymouth Colony and its leaders, including William Bradford, Benjamin Church and the bellicose, dwarfish Miles Standish, vividly to life. More importantly, he brings into focus a gruesome period in early American history. For Philbrick, this is yet another award-worthy story of survival. (May 9)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

I’m only halfway done with this book, and I have to say its truly fascinating stuff.  I don’t usually blog about a book until I’ve read the entire thing, but I felt the need to post something after my long absence and bid all of you a Happy Thanksgiving.  This book is a perfect compliment to a family holiday weekend and I would recommend it to all.

That being said, my reading has been sparse or none at all.  My husband and I have separated and I feel a bit like I am on the Mayflower myself, riding rough seas with no real idea of where I’m going or where I’ll end up.  But I also share their feelings of excitement and the anticipation of living independently and starting over in a new world.  I wish all of you a very Happy Thanksgiving and holiday weekend. 

“Eh” and “Meh”

I just finished reading “The Three Junes” by Julia Glass, and I must say I wasn’t quite as blown away as all the critics were.  I thought it was OK, but that it lacked any sort of passion, which I think may have been precisely the point of the whole book.  For a minute I thought maybe it was just me, that I was actually hoping for something a little more “light”, but then I realized my favorite part of the book was when someone died of aids…

Anyways, I also managed to read “The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon” while I was at the beach.  It was pretty good.  It will leave 2 words forever burned in your skull – Bug. Spray.

I’m starting on “The Blind Assassin” today by Margaret Atwood.  Wish me luck, its my first Atwood.

Well, thats it.  I hope you all have a lovely day!

On Vacay

Yep.  Heading for the beach this morning, armed and ready with lots of literature.

Here’s my short list, sorry no links, no time….

The Girl who Loved Tom Gordon – Stephen King, and thanks to Les at  A Life in Books for turning me on to it.

The Blind Assassin  – Margaret Atwood

Stone Creek – Victoria Lustbador

Three Junes – Julia Glass

The Heart is a Lonely Hunter – Carson McCullers

The Tea Rose – Jennifer Donnelly

I’m pretty happy with it.  See ya on the flip side!

The Highest Tide – Jim Lynch

It’s books like this one that remind me why I love reading so much. Books, that from page one, open a door and welcome you into their world, with details so rich and vivid you can not only see it and hear it, but you can smell it too. Books that introduce you to wonderful new places, and let you see things you might never have seen or even heard of before. I love books like this because when your done you actually feel like you’ve changed a little.

The Highest Tide, is about Miles O’Malley, a thirteen year old boy who lives on the tidal flats of the Puget Sound, his obsession for marine biology, and his coming of age. Right from the start we can tell Miles is not your ordinary thirteen year old boy, instead of text messaging and playing video games he is out on his kayak looking for clams to sell to local restaurants or collecting other interesting sea life for his aquarium, all the while pondering the meaning of our place along with nature in this world, “…the water was so clear I could see coon-stripe shrimp … and the bottomless bed of white clam shells … Those shells, as unique and timeless as bones, helped me realize that we all die young, that in the life of the earth, we are houseflies, here for one flash of light.” One night out exploring he finds a rare deep sea creature that does not belong in or anywhere near the shallow flats of the Puget Sound. This discovery puts the spotlight on Miles and his amazing talents and the events of his remarkable summer begin to slide into motion.

One of the special things about The Highest Tide are the vivid details in which you are able to explore the world of marine biology, for example when Miles happens upon a beautiful sea creature called a nudibranch, he reflects “In all my time on the flats I’d never seen one before. I’d read about them, sure. I’d handled them at aquariums but never in the wild, and I’d never even seen a photo of one this stunning. Nudibranches are often called the butterflies of the sea, but even that understates their dazzle. Almost everything else in the Northern-Pacific is dressed to blend with pale surroundings. Nudibrances don’t bother, in part because they taste so lousy they don’t need camouflage to survive. But also, I decided right then, because their beauty is so startling it earns them a free pass, the same way everyday life brakes for peacocks, parade floats, and supermodels.”

While Miles’s marine life discoveries are fascinating stuff, his personal life is equally as rich and interesting. He’s in love with his eighteen year old rocker/bi-poler babysitter, he has a clam digging pal named Phelps who is sex obsessed, and his best friend is an elderly woman named Florence with Parkinson’s disease. To top it all off, his parents are getting divorced and he can’t seem to grow any taller than 4′8. Toss in an earthquake, a cult, a few near death experiences and top it off with making out with a chocolate Labrador retriever and you’ll begin to see why Mile’s life is just as crazy and fascinating as the sea creatures he collects.

While the plot delivers, the heart of the book was the beauty of the ocean and the Puget Sound. At one point in the story Miles quotes his favorite marine biologist Rachel Carson and her words with regards to writing about sea life, ‘if there is poetry in my book about the sea it is not because I deliberately put it there but because no one could write truthfully about the sea and leave out poetry.’” This veneration for the beauty of sea life makes this book not only a good solid read but a lovely hybrid of science textbook meets poetry and prose. Within it is also the lovely message that there is amazing beauty everywhere for us to see, but in order to see it you have to be willing to open your eyes and look.

I highly recommend this, and I think it would make an amazing beach read. In fact my only regret when reading this was that I hadn’t waited a week or so to read this while I will be at the beach in Coastal South Carolina.

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More Stuff about The Highest Tide.

Jim Lynch has a super cool website about The Highest Tide, check it out after you read the book.

Bookslut has a very good review of The Highest Tide by Colleen Mondor who actually lives in the Pacific Northwest herself.

Click here to read the first chapter of The Highest Tide.

Rachel Carson, Miles’s hero in the novel was a real person and a “genius” in the world of Marine Biology. Go here to learn more about her.

A Nudibranch

A Giant Squid

The Puget Sound, Washington State