So I've been really, really, really bad about updating this blog and I kinda knew it would happen. Once the middle of November rolled around then all hell sorta broke loose. Papers, projects, then Thanksgiving, final exams, Christmas... Aaaaaargh! At least, it's sort of over. Now it's almost 2008. I am so thankful for having made it through another year in good health, with good friends and family intact. This was a great year in so many ways -- in my personal life and in my professional life. I think 2008 will be even greater. I'm really excited about the two novels that I'm working on and my next novel, which is currently in edits and will be published in Spring 2009.
I've only started reading fiction again last week! I have about four books I'm hoping to read over the break: The End of Memory by Miroslav Wolf (saw this guy give a talk at Penn and was very impressed); How to Read the Bible by James Kugel; The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett (Oprah-approved, of course) and The Camel Club by David Baldacci (hey, it was in the bargain books section.) I'm almost finished with the Camel Club and it's interesting and predictable -- terrorist plotters, group of wizened conspiracy theorists who will save the day; CIA-type hero; spunky girl; hot blonde; pseudo-invincible bad guy, etc. etc. But it's enjoyable because my brain is still reeling from finals so I can't take anything too serious right now.
I'm off to Peru next week so I'm hoping to read at least two of the other three somewhere between Philadelphia and Machu Picchu. Did I spell that right? Anyway, here's to 2008!!! I'm hoping to read more great books and maybe write a great one myself.
I'd planned to do one of those "Best of" lists but I just don't have the energy. I will say that The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz was hands down the best book of 2007. Nothing else I read or heard of came even close.
Happy New Year readers!!
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Friday, November 9, 2007
The inspirational edition
I haven't had a chance to read anything new and worthwile recently. I started Walter Moseley's Blonde Faith, but I haven't had enough time to really get into it. But so far, it's a good detective story. But everyone knows Walter Moseley is the king so I don't need to say more.
Since I haven't read anything new I've decided to just do a compilation of my favorite inspirational books. These books are a great source of encouragement. Use them anytime you face a challenge, feel down, or anytime you need to make an important decision and need some guidance.
Facing Your Giants by Max Lucado: This book uses the story of David and Goliath to demonstrate how we can navigate the everyday problems of life: Fear, disappointment, anger, grief, jealousy/envy, family conflict, God conflict, you name it. Lucado's a great teacher and in his humorous yet direct way he'll "tell you about yourself" as the old folks say. This book is only going to help you if you want to change and if you take it seriously, you WILL change! I like the study guide at the back of it for purposes of discussion with a Bible study group or book club.
Traveling Light by Max Lucado: This one's another gem. If you ever feel that the world is on your shoulder and you can't shake it, then something's WRONG. The sub-title of this book is "Releasing the Burdens You Were Never Intended to Bear." Lucado fleshes out something that Jesus taught several times. Cast your cares on Him! This book really freed me from a lot of negative thinking. I realized that I don't have to be a perfect this or perfect that, all while wearing a smile and four-inch heels. Whew! I could relax in my favorite green suede Pumas and jeans; let the work slide for one day, ignore the phone when negative people call, and just be happy to be alive, healthy and loved for that one moment.
A Love Worth Giving by Max Lucado: Yes, I love Max Lucado. This one's a little different from the two above. It's less self-help and more challenge. Do you know how to love? Do you know what real love looks, sounds, feels like? Whatever your answer, should read this book. You'll see how deficient human beings are in the ways we act on and think about love. Lucado's main source for this book is 1 Cor. 13. And if you've never spent time thinking about the kind of love described in that passage then chances are you don't really know what love is. I certainly didn't. Of course, this kind of love is impossible for human beings to achieve so you read this book and you think: "Hmm... Uh... Can't do that." But that's okay. The point is just how much God loves us and how much capacity we have to improve our relationships with the people we say we love.
This was fun. I'm anxious to start working on my next novel, which I've been informally researching for the last five months. I think it's going to be difficult to write but I'm looking forward to the challenge.
I'm working on a young adults novel, which is so fun and exciting! I've never written 12-year-old characters before so I'm really going all out. It's about half-way done and I hope to finish it by next spring. Actually, I have written 12-year-old characters before -- myself in my journal. And every time I read that thing, I think, I was quite the character at age 12. But that's a whole other story.
Since I haven't read anything new I've decided to just do a compilation of my favorite inspirational books. These books are a great source of encouragement. Use them anytime you face a challenge, feel down, or anytime you need to make an important decision and need some guidance.
Facing Your Giants by Max Lucado: This book uses the story of David and Goliath to demonstrate how we can navigate the everyday problems of life: Fear, disappointment, anger, grief, jealousy/envy, family conflict, God conflict, you name it. Lucado's a great teacher and in his humorous yet direct way he'll "tell you about yourself" as the old folks say. This book is only going to help you if you want to change and if you take it seriously, you WILL change! I like the study guide at the back of it for purposes of discussion with a Bible study group or book club.
Traveling Light by Max Lucado: This one's another gem. If you ever feel that the world is on your shoulder and you can't shake it, then something's WRONG. The sub-title of this book is "Releasing the Burdens You Were Never Intended to Bear." Lucado fleshes out something that Jesus taught several times. Cast your cares on Him! This book really freed me from a lot of negative thinking. I realized that I don't have to be a perfect this or perfect that, all while wearing a smile and four-inch heels. Whew! I could relax in my favorite green suede Pumas and jeans; let the work slide for one day, ignore the phone when negative people call, and just be happy to be alive, healthy and loved for that one moment.
A Love Worth Giving by Max Lucado: Yes, I love Max Lucado. This one's a little different from the two above. It's less self-help and more challenge. Do you know how to love? Do you know what real love looks, sounds, feels like? Whatever your answer, should read this book. You'll see how deficient human beings are in the ways we act on and think about love. Lucado's main source for this book is 1 Cor. 13. And if you've never spent time thinking about the kind of love described in that passage then chances are you don't really know what love is. I certainly didn't. Of course, this kind of love is impossible for human beings to achieve so you read this book and you think: "Hmm... Uh... Can't do that." But that's okay. The point is just how much God loves us and how much capacity we have to improve our relationships with the people we say we love.
This was fun. I'm anxious to start working on my next novel, which I've been informally researching for the last five months. I think it's going to be difficult to write but I'm looking forward to the challenge.
I'm working on a young adults novel, which is so fun and exciting! I've never written 12-year-old characters before so I'm really going all out. It's about half-way done and I hope to finish it by next spring. Actually, I have written 12-year-old characters before -- myself in my journal. And every time I read that thing, I think, I was quite the character at age 12. But that's a whole other story.
Monday, October 22, 2007
Is it fall yet?
It has to be fall but it's 77 degrees! At least the leaves are beginning to turn.
I finished Edwidge Danticat's Brother, I'm Dying. What I like most about this writer is that her style is so quiet. She is obviously very talented but she doesn't hit you over the head with it -- no pages and pages of navel gazing and fancy literary tricks. She is the anti-Jamaica Kincaid -- whom I absolutely love by the way. Anyway, this non-fiction work is wonderful -- and very timely, considering the current immigration debate. It's a story about family and country -- two of my favorite themes. Danticat does an excellent job of making the characters flesh and blood -- you remember their names, you can almost see their faces through the pages. They're real people, of course, so that makes it easier to sympathize with them. The story is set in New York and Haiti and traces the divergent paths of two brothers. One decides to stay and live amid the turmoil in Haiti and the other builds a quiet life in New York. It's not a surprise ending so I can say that both brothers die -- both in the United States. What happens in between makes the ending even more tragic. I believed so much in Uncle Joseph and his single-minded determination to serve as protector of his community. To me, he represented a hope that is so lacking in a lot of poor countries today. It's like we believe that the only way our lives are going to improve is if we leave and never look back.
It's a reality most immigrants have to face -- stay and try to "make things better" at home or leave for a "better life." Danticat's Uncle Joseph is a pillar of his community, willing to stake his life and his health because he believes Haiti will become a whole nation. I get the sense that Danticat's father had long ago abandoned his idealism and embraced the pragmatic, seeking the opportunities the US offered him and his children. The story doesn't resolve the question and I don't think that was the intent. Who can say what the right choice is anyway? What the book does resolve for me is that no matter where you are -- Haiti or the United States -- the right mix of politics, bureaucracy and racism can kill you. It's a sad world we live in.
I finished Edwidge Danticat's Brother, I'm Dying. What I like most about this writer is that her style is so quiet. She is obviously very talented but she doesn't hit you over the head with it -- no pages and pages of navel gazing and fancy literary tricks. She is the anti-Jamaica Kincaid -- whom I absolutely love by the way. Anyway, this non-fiction work is wonderful -- and very timely, considering the current immigration debate. It's a story about family and country -- two of my favorite themes. Danticat does an excellent job of making the characters flesh and blood -- you remember their names, you can almost see their faces through the pages. They're real people, of course, so that makes it easier to sympathize with them. The story is set in New York and Haiti and traces the divergent paths of two brothers. One decides to stay and live amid the turmoil in Haiti and the other builds a quiet life in New York. It's not a surprise ending so I can say that both brothers die -- both in the United States. What happens in between makes the ending even more tragic. I believed so much in Uncle Joseph and his single-minded determination to serve as protector of his community. To me, he represented a hope that is so lacking in a lot of poor countries today. It's like we believe that the only way our lives are going to improve is if we leave and never look back.
It's a reality most immigrants have to face -- stay and try to "make things better" at home or leave for a "better life." Danticat's Uncle Joseph is a pillar of his community, willing to stake his life and his health because he believes Haiti will become a whole nation. I get the sense that Danticat's father had long ago abandoned his idealism and embraced the pragmatic, seeking the opportunities the US offered him and his children. The story doesn't resolve the question and I don't think that was the intent. Who can say what the right choice is anyway? What the book does resolve for me is that no matter where you are -- Haiti or the United States -- the right mix of politics, bureaucracy and racism can kill you. It's a sad world we live in.
Friday, October 12, 2007
Time is slipping, slipping....
It's starting to get serious. So much to do; so little time.
What I'm reading: The Secret History of the War on Cancer by Devra Davis. This book will make your head spin. A lot of it reads like it should be in a medical journal but somehow I'm still very into it -- this from someone who breaks out into hives at the thought of anything science-related. Excellent research and accessible writing. It's scary that a lot of the environmental risks for various cancers were known by the medical establishment in the 1930s yet nothing was done about it; outrageous that major corporations were able to get away with so much pollution and what seems like outright murder of their workers. Even more shocking are the human experiments and the programs begun to rid Germany of lung cancer but which turned into absolute horror under Hitler. The "Secret War" is very graphic and honest and a lot of the material that focused on WWII and the Holocaust was very upsetting. The book leaves me feeling scared and helpless. The toxic garbage is all around us -- in the air, in our food, in our homes, in cosmetics, etc., and there seems to be very little that can be done at this stage -- at least for our generation.
I haven't finished Brother, I'm Dying by Danticat but I'll save that for a longer review when I have time.
The Middle East by Bernard Lewis was excellent. Very indepth look at the history, culture, and economy of the region. This was like reading an encyclopedia and after I was finished I was proud of myself! I know so much more now than I did before! I have a greater understanding of the origins of Islam, its various branches and the conflicts arising therefrom. Interesting how great societies so rich in history and culture can remain so poor in other ways when there seems to be such capacity for great progress. Now, I *really* need to visit Egypt within the next year.
Until I take the awful MPRE exam on Nov. 3, I probably won't have much time for fiction but hope springs eternal...
What I'm reading: The Secret History of the War on Cancer by Devra Davis. This book will make your head spin. A lot of it reads like it should be in a medical journal but somehow I'm still very into it -- this from someone who breaks out into hives at the thought of anything science-related. Excellent research and accessible writing. It's scary that a lot of the environmental risks for various cancers were known by the medical establishment in the 1930s yet nothing was done about it; outrageous that major corporations were able to get away with so much pollution and what seems like outright murder of their workers. Even more shocking are the human experiments and the programs begun to rid Germany of lung cancer but which turned into absolute horror under Hitler. The "Secret War" is very graphic and honest and a lot of the material that focused on WWII and the Holocaust was very upsetting. The book leaves me feeling scared and helpless. The toxic garbage is all around us -- in the air, in our food, in our homes, in cosmetics, etc., and there seems to be very little that can be done at this stage -- at least for our generation.
I haven't finished Brother, I'm Dying by Danticat but I'll save that for a longer review when I have time.
The Middle East by Bernard Lewis was excellent. Very indepth look at the history, culture, and economy of the region. This was like reading an encyclopedia and after I was finished I was proud of myself! I know so much more now than I did before! I have a greater understanding of the origins of Islam, its various branches and the conflicts arising therefrom. Interesting how great societies so rich in history and culture can remain so poor in other ways when there seems to be such capacity for great progress. Now, I *really* need to visit Egypt within the next year.
Until I take the awful MPRE exam on Nov. 3, I probably won't have much time for fiction but hope springs eternal...
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Finally, some worthwhile reads!
Back from vacation and feeling very relaxed. Punta Cana was lovely. Definitely going back. Okay, on to the books.
The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz: Needless to say this book will be taught for generations and generations of writing and lit students because it's a work of art -- plain and simple. What this guy does with language is just pure and maddening genius. I'd say the language upstages the main character Oscar for most of the novel. I don't have permissions so I can't actually quote here but I've highlighted several passages that I know I'll read over and over and over for years to come. This novel is Greek tragedy scored with strains of Bachata, Salve and Merengue and even some hip-hop beat-boxing thrown in for good measure. And though I didn't get most of the Sci-fi references, it worked for me!
Oscar is the quintessential tragic figure who will live and die for love, and, yes, the story could have begun and ended there but nooooo. We get the wonderfully told history of the Dominican Republic's brutal political past under the dictatorship of Trujillo (T to the illo!!!) and how that legacy screwed up lives, families, and a nation. Diaz delivers this rich history lesson with much black humor and well-placed profanity -- you'll find yourself laughing when you should be outraged and/or crying. And he does most of it in footnotes! Footnotes!!! The women around Oscar, his mother Hypatia, sister Lola, grandmother, and all the girls he's loved but never won made me draw all kinds of crazy parallels that the writer probably didn't intend so I won't go into them. (How does he write women so well??? Scary!)
Like most Caribbean/diaspora writers, Diaz shows much facility capturing the characters' longing. As Third World folks are well familiar, this "longing" begins at birth and never quite ends. It's as ubiquitous as the oppressive heat, corrupt governments, the consuming poverty and class/color warfare -- there's no escaping it in this life. It's not "American" longing because here you could just go take on a second job (like Oscar's mom), go to the mall, buy a car or an expensive bag to make you feel temporarily better. Right? But "back home" the longing is unquenchable and it makes you do crazy things: It makes you hate yourself and other folks who have what you think you should have, it makes you treat your kids like crap, it makes you sick, it eventually kills you. It makes you believe in "Fuku." Matter of fact, it's the ultimate "Fuku."
Read this book. At least twice.
The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court by Jeffrey Toobin: First, I'd like to ask the world to leave Clarence Thomas alone. Please. I've had just about enough Clarence Thomas bashing. Okay, I'm done.
I liked this book and I suspect that any one who has even a rudimentary interest in the Supreme Court will too. It's very accessible because Toobin's writing is very smooth, his reporting is top-notch so you get the feeling that you're really getting the inside scoop -- even though a lot of this stuff has already been told. This reads more like a Vanity Fair piece than "something-written-by-a-legal-scholar" so it's quick -- but there's still good, substantive material in there. I liked that Toobin quoted from some of the oral arguments in the major cases. I laughed out loud when Ted Olson got the smackdown from Justice Stevens in Rasul v. Bush. It's comforting (to me anyway) that even the veterans can get tripped up and tongue-tied in a courtroom even with all their years of experience. I'm disappointed that I didn't get deeper insight into the personalities of the justices but I don't think that's Toobin's fault. It seems The Nine do a very good job of keeping what they want out of sight hidden. Great read.
Diary of a Country Prosecutor by Tawfik al-Hakim: I picked this up at an independent bookstore -- a total impulse buy. It's only about 140 pages but it's a deep little book. It's an Egyptian comedy of errors about, well, a country prosecutor who's trying to solve a murder case. Just madness. Think Alexander McCall Smith's charming Number One Detective series but add about 100 levels of perversity. The author uses satire to demonstrate the corruption and absurdities of this bureaucratic quasi-religious legal system. He layers in a a strange cast of characters -- from the midwife who wiped her hands on straw before trying to deliver a baby (which died) to the surgeon who has all his non-doctor buddies come by for a chat while he operates on patients. This little book takes you to a time and place that makes you appreciate where you are right here and right now. I mean, I don't want to be the guy who's wrongly accused of stealing his own crop and is summarily sentenced to jail! The novel is partly autobiographical so some of this stuff may indeed have happened. The writer was born in 1898 and died in 1987. Entertaining.
More reviews to come.
The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz: Needless to say this book will be taught for generations and generations of writing and lit students because it's a work of art -- plain and simple. What this guy does with language is just pure and maddening genius. I'd say the language upstages the main character Oscar for most of the novel. I don't have permissions so I can't actually quote here but I've highlighted several passages that I know I'll read over and over and over for years to come. This novel is Greek tragedy scored with strains of Bachata, Salve and Merengue and even some hip-hop beat-boxing thrown in for good measure. And though I didn't get most of the Sci-fi references, it worked for me!
Oscar is the quintessential tragic figure who will live and die for love, and, yes, the story could have begun and ended there but nooooo. We get the wonderfully told history of the Dominican Republic's brutal political past under the dictatorship of Trujillo (T to the illo!!!) and how that legacy screwed up lives, families, and a nation. Diaz delivers this rich history lesson with much black humor and well-placed profanity -- you'll find yourself laughing when you should be outraged and/or crying. And he does most of it in footnotes! Footnotes!!! The women around Oscar, his mother Hypatia, sister Lola, grandmother, and all the girls he's loved but never won made me draw all kinds of crazy parallels that the writer probably didn't intend so I won't go into them. (How does he write women so well??? Scary!)
Like most Caribbean/diaspora writers, Diaz shows much facility capturing the characters' longing. As Third World folks are well familiar, this "longing" begins at birth and never quite ends. It's as ubiquitous as the oppressive heat, corrupt governments, the consuming poverty and class/color warfare -- there's no escaping it in this life. It's not "American" longing because here you could just go take on a second job (like Oscar's mom), go to the mall, buy a car or an expensive bag to make you feel temporarily better. Right? But "back home" the longing is unquenchable and it makes you do crazy things: It makes you hate yourself and other folks who have what you think you should have, it makes you treat your kids like crap, it makes you sick, it eventually kills you. It makes you believe in "Fuku." Matter of fact, it's the ultimate "Fuku."
Read this book. At least twice.
The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court by Jeffrey Toobin: First, I'd like to ask the world to leave Clarence Thomas alone. Please. I've had just about enough Clarence Thomas bashing. Okay, I'm done.
I liked this book and I suspect that any one who has even a rudimentary interest in the Supreme Court will too. It's very accessible because Toobin's writing is very smooth, his reporting is top-notch so you get the feeling that you're really getting the inside scoop -- even though a lot of this stuff has already been told. This reads more like a Vanity Fair piece than "something-written-by-a-legal-scholar" so it's quick -- but there's still good, substantive material in there. I liked that Toobin quoted from some of the oral arguments in the major cases. I laughed out loud when Ted Olson got the smackdown from Justice Stevens in Rasul v. Bush. It's comforting (to me anyway) that even the veterans can get tripped up and tongue-tied in a courtroom even with all their years of experience. I'm disappointed that I didn't get deeper insight into the personalities of the justices but I don't think that's Toobin's fault. It seems The Nine do a very good job of keeping what they want out of sight hidden. Great read.
Diary of a Country Prosecutor by Tawfik al-Hakim: I picked this up at an independent bookstore -- a total impulse buy. It's only about 140 pages but it's a deep little book. It's an Egyptian comedy of errors about, well, a country prosecutor who's trying to solve a murder case. Just madness. Think Alexander McCall Smith's charming Number One Detective series but add about 100 levels of perversity. The author uses satire to demonstrate the corruption and absurdities of this bureaucratic quasi-religious legal system. He layers in a a strange cast of characters -- from the midwife who wiped her hands on straw before trying to deliver a baby (which died) to the surgeon who has all his non-doctor buddies come by for a chat while he operates on patients. This little book takes you to a time and place that makes you appreciate where you are right here and right now. I mean, I don't want to be the guy who's wrongly accused of stealing his own crop and is summarily sentenced to jail! The novel is partly autobiographical so some of this stuff may indeed have happened. The writer was born in 1898 and died in 1987. Entertaining.
More reviews to come.
Monday, September 17, 2007
Countdown to the tropics!!!!
So, I'm counting the days until my vacation to the DR. I'm really excited. I'm just hoping another hurricane won't screw up my plans yet again. What am I bringing besides textbooks? Well, Jeffrey Toobin's The Nine comes out tomorrow, so that will definitely be in the carry on. I know I said I wanted to bring something light and fast-paced but I'm finding that with school and everything on my plate I really don't want to waste my time reading bad books just for the hell of it.
I started Confessions of a Wall Street Shoeshine Boy and I won't waste my time finishing it. Talk about a major disappointment. I listened to the author's interview on NPR this summer and he made this thing sound like the second coming of the Bonfire of the Vanities. Boo. The main character, the Brazilian shoeshine guy, is a great protagonist. He's earnest, funny, and the common-sense realist in this greed-glossed world that Wall Street types have created for themselves. But the Greg character (I like to think of him as Aguilar's patron saint) is just too New York liberal-yuppie-whining-self-satisfied-wannabe anti-establishment for me. I can't take it anymore. Next!
I picked up 90 Minutes in Heaven from the library because it's high on the best-seller list and I thought I'd get some spiritual insight. I got about 50 pages in and, well, that's as far as I'm gonna go. I don't want to get into whether or not this really happened to this guy. It could have. But this is just not my thing. What's heaven really like? I'll wait till I get there to find out. :)
Obviously, I'm striking out with the light and fluffy stuff. So here's my list for my week of vacation: Secured Transactions (yup), Criminal Procedures hornbook (oh yeah!), The Nine by Jeffrey Toobin, Brother I'm Dying by Edwidge Danticat, and The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz. And I'll try to finish The Middle East, actually by the end of this week before I go on vacation.
I'll have short reviews of each hopefully within the next two weeks.
I started Confessions of a Wall Street Shoeshine Boy and I won't waste my time finishing it. Talk about a major disappointment. I listened to the author's interview on NPR this summer and he made this thing sound like the second coming of the Bonfire of the Vanities. Boo. The main character, the Brazilian shoeshine guy, is a great protagonist. He's earnest, funny, and the common-sense realist in this greed-glossed world that Wall Street types have created for themselves. But the Greg character (I like to think of him as Aguilar's patron saint) is just too New York liberal-yuppie-whining-self-satisfied-wannabe anti-establishment for me. I can't take it anymore. Next!
I picked up 90 Minutes in Heaven from the library because it's high on the best-seller list and I thought I'd get some spiritual insight. I got about 50 pages in and, well, that's as far as I'm gonna go. I don't want to get into whether or not this really happened to this guy. It could have. But this is just not my thing. What's heaven really like? I'll wait till I get there to find out. :)
Obviously, I'm striking out with the light and fluffy stuff. So here's my list for my week of vacation: Secured Transactions (yup), Criminal Procedures hornbook (oh yeah!), The Nine by Jeffrey Toobin, Brother I'm Dying by Edwidge Danticat, and The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz. And I'll try to finish The Middle East, actually by the end of this week before I go on vacation.
I'll have short reviews of each hopefully within the next two weeks.
Sunday, September 9, 2007
Back to school blues
So, just in case anyone out there cares: I hate the Uniform Commercial Code. School is back in session and I'd vowed to myself that I would not care this year -- that I'd just do the minimum to get by. But judging from my classes last week, I don't think that will be possible. It just seems that for all five of my classes I'll be doing *all* of the reading because I will *need* to do *all* of the reading.
But I WILL NOT stop reading fiction. No way, no how. I did that first year and I was miserable.
I'm almost finished with A Thousand Splendid Suns; I love it. Khalid H. is very talented but if I may allow myself the daily dose of snarkiness.... I daresay that were he not writing about a particular place in the world at this very particular time in history I doubt he'd be such a phenom. There, I said it. Jealous much, Joanne? Ha ha.
My fascination with the Middle East and the first five books of the old Testament, or Torah, is growing and growing. I just finished a couple of Bruce Feiler's books and I plan to get the others, especially Walking the Bible. He's a journalist, not an archaeologist or bible scholar etc., but his stuff is well vouched for it seems. Plus, I just picked up a scholar's work on the Middle East through the biblical perspective. Very addicting. For a child of the church like myself it's sometimes startling to have a realist perspective of biblical stories and characters. For example, I was shocked (shocked!) at the proposition that David may not have killed the giant Goliath. *Aaargh!!!!!* I mean, that was MY little backup everytime I faced a major life challenge. So, what am I supposed to encourage myself with when I'm looking at that Commercial Credit final? Just kidding. I know it's not the story itself that matters; it's knowing what the power of faith in God can do. Yes, people: You can ace a brutal final exam with only a slingshot and a pebble. Amen.
I'm looking foward to my trip to the Dominican Republic in a couple of weeks. Of course, I'll be bringing textbooks with me and maybe a couple of fun, mindless books. Edwidge Danticat's new novel sounds interesting -- though that's far from fun and mindless. But I do need to read it so that's definitely on the list and maybe Junot Diaz's new one too. That means, I still need something fun and mindless for my trip. A fast-paced thriller would be great. If I hadn't already seen the Bourne Ultimatum I'd read it. To do so now would be a waste of eye energy. Patricia Cornwell?
Anyway, back to Commercial Credit and the endless, scintillating scenarios of deadbeat Buyer A and gullible Seller B's interminable disputes about whether goods not paid for should/shouldn't be recoverable by gullible Seller B. *Sigh*
But I WILL NOT stop reading fiction. No way, no how. I did that first year and I was miserable.
I'm almost finished with A Thousand Splendid Suns; I love it. Khalid H. is very talented but if I may allow myself the daily dose of snarkiness.... I daresay that were he not writing about a particular place in the world at this very particular time in history I doubt he'd be such a phenom. There, I said it. Jealous much, Joanne? Ha ha.
My fascination with the Middle East and the first five books of the old Testament, or Torah, is growing and growing. I just finished a couple of Bruce Feiler's books and I plan to get the others, especially Walking the Bible. He's a journalist, not an archaeologist or bible scholar etc., but his stuff is well vouched for it seems. Plus, I just picked up a scholar's work on the Middle East through the biblical perspective. Very addicting. For a child of the church like myself it's sometimes startling to have a realist perspective of biblical stories and characters. For example, I was shocked (shocked!) at the proposition that David may not have killed the giant Goliath. *Aaargh!!!!!* I mean, that was MY little backup everytime I faced a major life challenge. So, what am I supposed to encourage myself with when I'm looking at that Commercial Credit final? Just kidding. I know it's not the story itself that matters; it's knowing what the power of faith in God can do. Yes, people: You can ace a brutal final exam with only a slingshot and a pebble. Amen.
I'm looking foward to my trip to the Dominican Republic in a couple of weeks. Of course, I'll be bringing textbooks with me and maybe a couple of fun, mindless books. Edwidge Danticat's new novel sounds interesting -- though that's far from fun and mindless. But I do need to read it so that's definitely on the list and maybe Junot Diaz's new one too. That means, I still need something fun and mindless for my trip. A fast-paced thriller would be great. If I hadn't already seen the Bourne Ultimatum I'd read it. To do so now would be a waste of eye energy. Patricia Cornwell?
Anyway, back to Commercial Credit and the endless, scintillating scenarios of deadbeat Buyer A and gullible Seller B's interminable disputes about whether goods not paid for should/shouldn't be recoverable by gullible Seller B. *Sigh*
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
You win some....
I finished Stephen Carter's New England White and although I hate the whole starred rating thing, I'd only give it a three out of five. Too much meandering through the plot. Too much of that annoying pedantic, condescending tone that comes so naturally to law professors. Um... So now I know it's "spitten image" and not "spitting image." Woo hoo! When my eyes FINALLY limped to the finish line at page 565 I felt the way I did when I saw my Con Law grade during 1L -- confused and disappointed but thinking that at least I'm a tiny bit smarter for the awful experience. The whole anagram thing just didn't seem to work; it was forced and it, well, didn't work. I loved the characterizations -- Vanessa and the older son were written very well. Carter obviously is good at this so what went wrong? Who knows? Maybe this is not really his game. Maybe he should stick to the policy and legal scholarship. Sometimes the Ivory Tower is just where some folks belong. And there's nothing wrong with that...
Unburnable on the other hand. All I can say is I'm so mad at the mainstream media for ignoring this magnifient piece of work. This is the "Beloved" of our generation. This was one of the most haunting, magical pieces of fiction I've ever read. And for a debut that's saying a lot. I will not go on and on about this because the fact that I'm Dominican is probably coloring my evaluation. But Marie-Elena John did an outstanding job here. I don't think I'll ever forget Matilda swinging from a tree. Did I mention that I picked it up at 10 p.m. one night thinking that I'd read for an hour and then go to sleep and when I closed the book it was 3 a.m. but I was still wide awake and wishing that I hadn't finished it so quickly?
I also read Kim McLarin's Jump at the Sun and she's great. Wonderful, realistic story, a very deft writer. She's going to be one of my favorites, I can tell.
This week, I'll take on a Thousand Splendid Suns and I'm going to give Great Expectations another look-see.
Unburnable on the other hand. All I can say is I'm so mad at the mainstream media for ignoring this magnifient piece of work. This is the "Beloved" of our generation. This was one of the most haunting, magical pieces of fiction I've ever read. And for a debut that's saying a lot. I will not go on and on about this because the fact that I'm Dominican is probably coloring my evaluation. But Marie-Elena John did an outstanding job here. I don't think I'll ever forget Matilda swinging from a tree. Did I mention that I picked it up at 10 p.m. one night thinking that I'd read for an hour and then go to sleep and when I closed the book it was 3 a.m. but I was still wide awake and wishing that I hadn't finished it so quickly?
I also read Kim McLarin's Jump at the Sun and she's great. Wonderful, realistic story, a very deft writer. She's going to be one of my favorites, I can tell.
This week, I'll take on a Thousand Splendid Suns and I'm going to give Great Expectations another look-see.
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Slow going...
So, I SAVED the latest Stephen Carter novel, New England White, for WEEKS, thinking that once I got into it I would not want to put it down. Well, no. It hasn't turned out that way. I am LABORING through this mighty tome. Love the characters, love the writer, great plot, etc. But why is this thing so slow? Why does he bog us down in so many minute details of irrelevant happenings and characters. Do I really need to know the deepest, innermost thoughts of the security chief? And, as an aside: Would a woman like Julia Carlyle really wear Ugg boots? I mean, this is a middle-aged woman of a certain standing... Oh well. I WILL finish it within the week. That is my goal.
In other notes on what I'm reading or have read: Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert was great. It was incredibly self-indulgent and a little too cute in some places but I think the narrator was so likeable she got away with it. She's a great writer -- able to connect and impress the reader without coming off as too above-it-all. Plus, this book made me want to get on a plane to Rome, pronto!
I re-read Tender is the Night and This Side of Paradise because I was feeling down about my writing career. And they did the trick! They truly inspired me to try to write well -- every time. You have to recognize Francis Scott Key as the master of the beautiful sentence. I imagine him being one of those crazy people who spends hours and hours agonizing over three words. Someday I'll have such a luxury...
I also read some Patricia Cornwell and Greg Iles this summer because, well, I was busy working and I needed something quick and easy... And I LOVED them. I understand why these books sell so well. They're like very attractive one-night stands or short-term relationships with good sex but no long-term potential. Fun while they last -- but two weeks later you can't remember the characters' names. But I'm okay with that. When it comes to books, I'm a slut so no worries here. :0
Next up is Unburnable by Marie-Elena John, which I'm really looking forward to because it's about, gasp, Dominica! Lord, give me the strength to barrel through New England White so I can move on to Unburnable by Sunday!
I ordered Confessions of a Wall Street Shoeshine Boy today -- which should get me through the first few weeks of the semester. It shouldn't be too mentally demanding, which is very important since I don't know what my reading load for school is going to look like yet.
In other notes on what I'm reading or have read: Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert was great. It was incredibly self-indulgent and a little too cute in some places but I think the narrator was so likeable she got away with it. She's a great writer -- able to connect and impress the reader without coming off as too above-it-all. Plus, this book made me want to get on a plane to Rome, pronto!
I re-read Tender is the Night and This Side of Paradise because I was feeling down about my writing career. And they did the trick! They truly inspired me to try to write well -- every time. You have to recognize Francis Scott Key as the master of the beautiful sentence. I imagine him being one of those crazy people who spends hours and hours agonizing over three words. Someday I'll have such a luxury...
I also read some Patricia Cornwell and Greg Iles this summer because, well, I was busy working and I needed something quick and easy... And I LOVED them. I understand why these books sell so well. They're like very attractive one-night stands or short-term relationships with good sex but no long-term potential. Fun while they last -- but two weeks later you can't remember the characters' names. But I'm okay with that. When it comes to books, I'm a slut so no worries here. :0
Next up is Unburnable by Marie-Elena John, which I'm really looking forward to because it's about, gasp, Dominica! Lord, give me the strength to barrel through New England White so I can move on to Unburnable by Sunday!
I ordered Confessions of a Wall Street Shoeshine Boy today -- which should get me through the first few weeks of the semester. It shouldn't be too mentally demanding, which is very important since I don't know what my reading load for school is going to look like yet.
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Welcome...
I'm only doing this because some people asked for it. I'm not a blog person. I'm hoping I'll enjoy it -- and I won't become too obsessed with it and start neglecting other parts of my life... Anywho...
I'm going to try to keep this focused on books -- my books and other people's books. It might grow into something else. Who knows. It's just a cloudy, August Wednesday in West Philadelphia and I need another cup of coffee. I can't tell what's going to happen this afternoon nevermind next week.
I'm going to try to keep this focused on books -- my books and other people's books. It might grow into something else. Who knows. It's just a cloudy, August Wednesday in West Philadelphia and I need another cup of coffee. I can't tell what's going to happen this afternoon nevermind next week.
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