Please Pass the Baileys (Women’s Prize for Fiction)

March 10, 2016 peaadmin

After having my spirit crushed by Amazon’s classification system earlier this week (and having my love of the Dewey Decimal System immeasurably reinforced in consequence), the wonderful people behind the Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction announced the long-list of books for their 2016 prize.

I’ve talked about the Baileys Prize before, with great excitement, not in the least because it highlights books that are wildly new, surprising, and generally overlooked by mainstream review outlets. The other huge reason is because the good, wise people behind the Baileys Prize realizes that despite the fact that women authors outnumber men (the ratio is roughly 60/40), most literary prizes regularly overlooked women, and women of color specifically. Not only that, but books about women were also overlooked in favor of tales about men, as these pie charts below demonstrate:

Thankfully, the committee of authors and artists who award the Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction are devoted celebrating “women’s creative achievements and international writing, whilst also stimulating debate about gender and writing, gender and reading, and how the publishing and reviewing business works.” Rather than relegating the books by women into a single category (ahem, like some places do…..ahem), this prize recognizes the diversity, accessibility, and wonderful diverse books that have been produced by women in any given year. It utterly ignores the idea of “chick-lit” or “women’s fiction”, and instead hails books that can be read, and enjoyed, by anyone.

You can read a great deal more about the award at their website–and be sure to check out their blog, as well. There are Baileys recipes…..

So, without further ado, there is the long-list for the Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction. Some have been nominated for other awards this year, and some are wholly new to the awards scene. Over half the list is made up of debut authors, and authors from seven different countries are recommended. What’s also really exciting is the range of genres within this list–there is sci-fi, magical realism, mystery, and historical fiction, from a woman who can communicate with squirrels to a traveling freak show, there is plenty of different types of stories to keep your imagination firing. Because this is a British prize, several of these books have not been released in the US, as yet. But you can be assured that as soon as they are, we’ll be letting you know!

Kate Atkinson: A God in Ruins

Shirley Barrett: Rush Oh!

Cynthia Bond: Ruby

Geraldine Brooks: The Secret Chord

Becky Chambers: The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Will be released in the US on July 5, 2016)

Jackie Copleton: A Dictionary of Mutual Understanding

Rachel Elliott: Whispers Through a Megaphone (Available via The Pushkin Press)

Anne Enright: The Green Road

Petina Gappah: The Book of Memory

Vesna Goldsworthy: Gorsky

Clio Gray: The Anatomist’s Dream (No US release date announced yet)

Melissa Harrison: At Hawthorn Time

Attica Locke: Pleasantville

Lisa McInerney: The Glorious Heresies (Will be published in the US on August 9, 2016

Elizabeth McKenzie: The Portable Veblen

Sara Nović: Girl at War

Julia Rochester: The House at the Edge of the World (Will be published in the US on April 7, 2016)

Hannah Rothschild: The Improbability of Love

Elizabeth Strout: My Name is Lucy Barton

Hanya Yanagihara: A Little Life

Uncategorized

Some Words About Women Authors…

March 8, 2016 peaadmin

This is me, getting on my soapbox….

This story begins with a recommendation from the great Lady Pole, who has an uncanny talent for finding the Good Books You Haven’t Read Yet. The book is question is a horror novel, dealing with a haunted photo album, a scarred woman, and a discussion about flawed beauty standards…and, because it is brand new, it has yet to appear in the NOBLE Catalog. Thus, I used Google to search for the title of the book. This was what I saw as a result:

Ladies

Take a look, not at the title (though you can feel free to look at the title), but at the information directly beneath it. This line tells you in what category Amazon has placed the book in question. Not in horror, not in thriller, not in paranormal or ghost story, but under Women Authors.

I’m sorry, what?

Thinking, perhaps, that Amazon classified all books by the gender of their authors, I randomly searched for a book that is currently on the New York Times Bestseller List. This is what I saw:

Not “male authors”, no. Mystery and Thriller. Because, apparently, in this case, the genre of the book matters more than the fact that the author is a man?

And then it hit me. Amazon assumes that authors are, by definition, male. And therefore, when the author is not a male, it has to add a new level of classification, to designate a non-typical human author.

This isn’t a new problem, and it isn’t one that belongs to Amazon, alone. We’ve certainly dealt with the “women authors” question before here. But, it’s International Women’s Day, and so we’re going to confront again.

By and large, books are organized by their genre or subject matter. Examples of this can be found by walking into the Library and looking at the shelves. But, sadly, we are somewhat unique in these matters. Institutions that try to make money off the books on their shelves (heathens, wink, wink) generally abide by this rule, as well. Nevertheless, there is an inevitable and unique distinction made in regards to books (primarily, fiction books), written by “women authors”. They get special displays, they get separate shelf space, and they get advertised differently, inherently isolating “women authors”–and those who read books by them–from the rest of fiction.

This is based, at least partly, on the belief that only women can talk about relationships, about families, about interpersonal relationships, or about women, and that they are somehow of lesser importance, or value, or smaller in scope for it. This is not a new trend. Mary Ann Evans insisted on using the male pen name George Eliot when writing her classics like Middlemarch (released in 1871) in order to ensure that her work would be taken seriously. It was only after her Frankenstein became a commercial success that Mary Shelley’s name appeared on her great work. Nora Roberts began publishing under the name J.D. Robb partly in order to prove that women could write books that men would want to read.

It’s just plain ridiculous to isolate “women authors” from all other authors, as if there is something irreconcilable about their identity, but, significantly, it also utterly obscures the point that men can write about families, about love, about relationships, and about women, too. And it forces some male authors to change their names, as well. S.K. Tremayne’s celebrated book, The Ice Twins, about a woman who gives birth to twins, and has to cope with the death of one, and the identity of the other, is written by Sean Thomas, a British journalist. Additionally, S.J. Watson, author of the best-selling Before I Go To Sleep is really Steve Watson. In an quote to The Guardian, he explained, “If at least some people weren’t sure whether I was a man or a woman then it was working, and I was immensely gratified when certain publishers were convinced the book had been written by a woman.”

I understand that Watson was expressing pleasure that he had accurately captured his characters’ voice, and was primarily interested in selling books, the truth of the matter is that if we accepted authors as empathetic, insightful humans, we wouldn’t have to worry about that author’s name sounding too much like a male or female name at all.

To say that only one group of humans are capable about writing books about issues that are fundamental to all humans seems wholly counter-intuitive, but it keeps happening. This is as true for family dramas as it is for the type of horror novel I was searching for in the example I provided above. By consistently isolating men’s and women’s books and experiences, we are ruining our chance of developing empathy, and are surely missing out on some phenomenal books.

Human beings are storytellers–we have cave paintings that date some 35,000 years ago to prove it. We owe it to ourselves, and to the books we read, to ensure that we treat all humans’ stories equally, regardless of their content, or their creator, and thus ensure that we get the very best stories we can get.

Courtesy of the Clark County Public Library.

…Ultimately, while we are waiting for the rest of the world to catch on, consider this another point in favor of The Library, I suppose.

Uncategorized

On the Screen: Lucifer

March 7, 2016 peaadmin

Books make terrific fodder for movies and television, as we’ve often noted here. But when it was announced that Fox was adapting DC Comics’ Lucifer into a television show, there was both great rejoicing, and enormous trepidation.

This Lucifer is based on the character first established in Free-For-All Favorite Neil Gaiman’s Sandman series. He later got his very own spin-off series, written by another of our favorites, Mike Carey. This Lucifer isn’t the horned, tailed, cloven-hoof specter of puppet shows and pantomimes; instead, he’s very much based on the Devil from John Milton’s Paradise Lost–well spoken, deep thinking, and very, very opposed to be told what to do. In Gaiman’s version, however, Lucifer also grew terribly bored, not only with ruling Hell for 10 billion years, but also in the various stereotypes and assumptions about him that simply weren’t true: he never traded in souls, or manipulated people into behaving badly. So he dispersed the demons and souls who were in Hell, and locked the gates, adopting a mortal form, and moving to earth–first, Perth, in Australia, and then Los Angeles.

Why yes, David Bowie did inspire this version of Lucifer... — Why yes, David Bowie did inspire this version of Lucifer…

In Carey’s series, Lucifer’s retirement is harshly interrupted by the return of several otherwordly figures from his past, and the stirring of his still-simmering anger over the lack of genuine free will that exists in the universe he is forced to endure. As a result, Lucifer decides to create his own universe, where sin is not a pre-destined concept, much to the obvious concern of the legions of Heaven. The resulting series is full of epic battles, complex contests of wit and savagery, and a long-running analysis on the reality of free will and honesty.

Which is quite a lot to fit into a single hour-length television show.

But while the good people at Fox have distilled Lucifer’s story to something more akin to a police procedural (during his “retirement”, he becomes involved with a female detective, and uses his powers for justice, if not always for good), they are making increasing use of Gaiman’s and Carey’s plotlines, concepts, and ideologies, which may be the key to saving it from being some new-fangled kind of Law and Order with angels. This Lucifer is cynical, sarcastic, hedonistic, and self-centered, but he’s still not the sleazy-car salesman of past iterations. Instead, this is a Lucifer who finds himself far more drawn to humans, to their foibles, shortcomings, and dreams, than he imagined possible. And, in his growing battle with his brother angel, Amenadiel, it becomes increasingly clear that Lucifer may have more in common with humanity than he now does with his winged-brethren.

Still, there is a lot missing from this adaptation. And some of that is understandable, as I’m not entirely sure how Fox would go about creating a new universe. Nevertheless, as the series continues (and rating increase), it seems that there is a growing willingness to venture deeper into the pages…we finally saw the true face of Lucifer’s assistant, Mazikeen, in a final shot a few weeks back, which, to me, was the first in what I can only hope is a series of nods to those who loved Lucifer before he ever appeared on their television screens.

For those who feel some sympathy for the devil (hardy har), check out some of these selections, and see how other humans have dealt with that most interesting of villains (anti-heroes? anti-villains?).

Sandman: Obviously, if you’re a fan of the show, there’s no better place to start than with Neil Gaiman’s Sandman series, which introduced the world to (this incarnation of) Lucifer Morningstar. Though Gaiman originally based Hell on the version created by Alan Moore in Swamp Thing, Lucifer himself is very much the product of Neil Gaiman’s fathomless imagination. He appears and re-appears throughout the series, and it’s a testament to Gaiman’s gifts as a storyteller that his story arc is as developed and moving as Dream’s. You can follow Lucifer on the rest of his wild journeys in Mike Carey’s Lucifer series.

Sandman Slim: Though similar in name, Richard Kadrey’s series present a much, much different world than either Gaiman or Carey, but they are a marvel just the same; fans of noir-style novels and like their paranormal with a twist of the genuinely bizarre, look no further. James Stark, aka Sandman Slim, spent eleven years in Hell, having been banished there by some fellow members of the magic circle, the Sub Rosa to which he belonged. Having returned to LA, he is determined to have his revenge–but the LA has changed. And so has Stark. I love this series to the point of recklessness. The off-beat humor is sublime, the settings are weird and a little creepy, and so marvelously detailed that you can smell the cheap liquor on the bartops. Things only get better when Lucifer himself puts in an appearance (he is a consultant on his biopic, naturally). His exchanges with Stark are startlingly insightful, and really helped this series progress in a whole different direction.

Up Jumps The Devil: This one-off novel is, as incongruous as it may sound, a love story, featuring the Devil (in this version, his name is John Scratch) and a fellow fallen angel named Arden. Having decided that the world was just too scary and violent, Arden has departed earth, and Scratch has spent millennia trying to win her back. Though ancient Egypt and the glories of the Roman Empire failed to win Arden’s approval, Scratch knows that America will be the place to win her heart, and sets out to create the perfect civilization, with the help of three musicians who sell him their souls in return for power and talent beyond their wildest dreams. But, it turns out, the Devil has quite a lot to learn, not only about humanity, but the secrets of the heart, as well. This book is a wonderful blend of humor, history, and insight that is strangely, perversely endearing.

Uncategorized

The Romance Garden

March 6, 2016 peaadmin

d2320c_65898327affda2fcd2bb93e014a4edbb — For the record, please don’t use Library Books as planters….

It is that time, again, dear patrons, when we genre-reading, happy-ending loving, romance readers offer you some of our thoughts on the books we’ve been reading, and the fun we’ve been having while giving our minds a little dirt in which to grow…

Bridget:

The Hunter by Kerrigan Byrne

My favorite romance novel of all time ever is Lord of Fire by Gaelen Foley…we’ve a number of her books, but not that one, sadly…but anyways, I loved that book because it presented two utterly stereotypical characters–and then preceded to peel away their stereotypes and pretenses, and façades, one by one, forcing them to confront each other as they really were, and come out the better for it. I haven’t found a book to quite rival that reading experience…until now.

Christopher Argent is an assassin, one of the most lethal and the most feared in Europe. But when he’s hired to kill renowned actress Millie LeCour–he can’t. There is something about her that is so vital, so alive, that Argent simply can’t bear to hurt her. Instead, he promises her security, and help in discovering who wants her dead (and why) in return for one night in her bed. And while Millie’s world is turned upside down by the request, it’s Argent who suddenly finds himself totally out of his depth. Because he realizes that he cares about Millie–and her young son–far more than he imagined himself capable of doing. And that in itself is dangerous for a man who has trained himself not to care for anything, especially as he promised to leave Millie alone forever, once the danger against her has passed.

Though she’s excellent at weaving complex, surprising story lines, Byrne is a marvel at crafting characters. There is never a moment where Millie feels like a traditional Damsel in Distress, which endeared me to this book immediately. And, for that matter, even though I tried hard not to like Argent (because he’s an assassin that that isn’t very nice), she did such a good job showing how and why he became the man he did that it’s impossible not to feel for him–especially after meeting his arch-nemesis, who is skin-crawlingly awful. There is so much insight, and so much care put into developing these characters–and in deconstructing all their former assumptions about themselves and each other–that I couldn’t put this book down. Byrne also injects a fair bit of humor into the story, which might seem impossible given the lives that Millie and Argent have led, and the tangle of thwarted desires and evil deeds that have got them to this point, but their coming together is a beautifully awkward, blisteringly hot, and genuinely moving story.
For those looking for more of Byrne’s terrific work, be sure to check out the first book in the Victorian Rebels series, The Highwayman, which is on our shelves, as well!

Kelley:

One-Eyed Dukes are Wild by Megan Frampton

The third book in Frampton’s Dukes Behaving Badly series pairs unlikely couple the proper Duke of Lasham and the scandalous Lady Margaret Sawford. Having inherited the title along with its awesome responsibility at a very young age, the Duke of Lasham takes his position in society very seriously. As a consequence, his reserved behavior is proper verging on stiff and that coupled with his forbidding appearance has led to an existence that involves few friends and far too little happiness. When the Duke of Lasham meets Lady Margaret, he finds himself ready for those things to change.

Having refused a suit encouraged by her parents two years ago, Lady Margaret is estranged from her mother and father, and considered to be firmly on the shelf. Instead of lamenting her situation, Lady Margaret takes advantage of the freedoms that being a scandal with a sister who is a duchess allows. She speaks her mind, plays cards like a shark and writes magazine serials to support her own needs, and spends her time defending the rights of women who don’t have the benefit of her station in society. Initially intrigued by the Duke of Lasham’s dangerous appearance, she ultimately makes it her mission to learn more about the man who hides behind his eye patch and irreproachable reputation. What ensues is a series of adventures and romantic interludes that lead two people to happiness when they never expected to find it.

Overall, I’d have to give this romance a mediocre review. The Duke and Lady Margaret are intriguing characters and their relationship is sweet, but this book left me wanting more especially in the way of conflict and information about both the hero and heroine’s families. Also, the interspersed stories by the Lady of Mystery didn’t work for me. Although I started this series with the third book, I had no trouble following the story. It’s possible that the first two books offer some information that I felt was missing here, but I guess that’s a post for another blog entry.

Uncategorized

Saturdays @ the South: Books on Vacation

March 5, 2016 peaadmin

libros_Patrick Girouard 2 — booksdirect.tumblr.com

I’m not going anywhere. At least, not in the near future. But one thing I love doing when I’m planning a vacation is deciding what book(s) to bring with me. As a matter of fact, whenever I start to think about where I might take my next vacation (or even just fantasize about less reachable vacations I might take on that ineffable *someday*), I always think about what books would best accompany the journey. Do I want to bring something light and engaging? What will keep me entertained on the plane? Will this book give me weird dreams if I’m reading it before bed in an unfamiliar place? (Yes that’s really something I have to consider.) More often, however, I’ve begun to ask myself what books will enhance the sense of place to wherever I’m going.

I wish I could have read a blog that talks about issues like wanderlust, because in the past because I’ve made a few errors in judgment when it came to bringing books on vacation. Some were because I had little choice in the matter, for example bringing books related to homework when I went on vacation while I was in school (the professor who scheduled his midterm the day after spring break will forever have a black mark on my list…). Others were made because I had just started a book and what better time to finish it then on vacation? This led to the somewhat ill-advised (though incredibly memorable) experience of reading Kurt Vonnegut’s Galapagos, the story of an ill-fated cruise ship that crashes and gets stranded, while actually on a cruise. Another less-successful pairing was reading a book about travel mishaps There’s No Toilet Paper on the Road Less Traveled while traveling. I had a lot of laughs reading that book, but I don’t think they were quite as hearty when there was the real possibility of those mishaps actually happening to me.

After these memorable missteps, I started thinking more carefully about what reading material to bring on vacation. With the advent of e-readers and reading apps my choices are no longer as limited as they once were because I’m not limited to physical books. Don’t get me wrong; I love physical books and always make sure at least one “real” book accompanies me when I go away. But I no longer have the oppressive feel of finishing a book too quickly and <horrors!> being stuck without something to read. When it comes to picking that physical book I try to think of something that relates to my destination in some way; something that will make me feel even more immersed in where I am.

suitcase-books-good-summer-reads_466x268 — www.arcspace.com

Everyone has their own ideas about traveling with books and my strategies are not necessarily the same ones as others who enjoy taking books on vacation. Josie Leavitt of Publishers Weekly writes of the struggle to choose what to bring on vacation and also of her friend who has the incredibly admirable goal of coordinating reading material among the people who will be vacationing together. Ernest Shackelton ensured he had plenty of material to read on his voyage to Antarctica and took a surprisingly diverse selection with him (though one might question the wisdom of bringing a set of Encyclopedia Britannica; the set I had growing up was heavy!). There is also the much more serendipitous strategy of letting the book you read on vacation find you. The charmingly intriguing Book Crossing website allows you not only to trade books in set, public locations while you’re away, it lets you track whatever book you leave and see where it ends up. Readers can print out a label for books they intend to trade “leave a penny, take a penny” style and they can check the website to see where any books they’ve picked up have been.

While I love a book that has its own backstory, hence my years of trawling library book sales and used book stores all over New England, I like to bring the books I travel with home again. That way, I can use the book as a reminder of my travels and hopefully attach some fond memories whenever I see it on the shelf or go to read it again. For your perusal, here are some books that hold wonderful travel memories for me and have enhanced my sense of place immensely. If you’re going the same places, maybe they’ll do the same for you!

Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

My worn paperback of this book is actually both Alice’s Adventures and Through the Looking Glass and made a delightful accompaniment to an adult trip to Walt Disney World. I would highly recommend this or any story that Disney has adapted as a way of understanding where the movie/park ideas came from and how they differed in order to appeal to a wider audience. Different takes on fairy tales would also work pretty well here.

Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister by Gregory Maguire

This book made a great pairing with a trip to the “low countries,” the Netherlands and Belgium. Maguire’s vivid descriptions of the Netherlands and historical basis for his take on the Cinderella story was transportive, and while it makes a great home-based read, it really enhanced the beauty and culture I found on my trip.

The Falls by Ian Rankin

This book makes modern Edinburgh come to life. You can retrace the steps of Inspector Rebus’s as he hunts down clues across the entire city. This book was recommended to me on a reading list of Edinburgh and I was not disappointed. Rankin has an amazing way of representing his native Edinburgh on the page and writes an engaging, suspenseful mystery while he’s at it.

Shakespeare and Company by Sylvia Beach

Delineates the Parisian art scene as Beach sets up Shakespeare and Company, the English language bookstore and writers’ haven that still has a prominent place in Paris today. Why not Hemingway’s A Moveable Feast, you might ask? Because I wanted to purchase my copy of the Parisian memoir at this beloved bookstore. Mission accomplished.

I hope this week’s entry as given you some food for thought on what to take on your next trip somewhere. For more suggestions about books that have a good sense of place, for wherever you’re going, feel free to stop by the library for suggestions! And for all of you die-hards who refuse to read anything but a physical copy of a book, here are some tips for packing books and fitting them into a suitcase for your next vacation. Till next week, dear readers, I hope whatever you’re reading takes you places.

Uncategorized

Five Book Friday!

March 4, 2016 peaadmin 1 Comment

Reasons to smile today:

1) In one week, we get some daylight savings time, and in a little more than two weeks, it’s spring! (She says, looking at the snow incongruously falling outside…)

2) Sunday is National Oreo Cookie Day. Celebrate accordingly.

3) FORT FURNITURE. Apparently, we have single-handedly launched the Blanket Fort Revolution, my friends, as Flavorwire is now highlight all these cool pieces of furniture that double as forts. Seriously.

4) This Beluga Whale, who is part of a species that seems always happy to make new friends:

5) New books! Always new books! Here are five of those new books that leapt onto our shelves this week.

The Opposite of Everyone: Brilliant and outspoken Paula Vauss spent her childhood with her free-spirited mother, an itinerant storyteller who re-interpreted and re-invented history with every tale she told. But Paula’s own attempts to tell stories ended with her losing everything, even her birth name, Kali Jai, as she ended up in foster care. But when she receives a note from her mother hinting at a final trip, and suddenly finds herself the caretaker of her heretofore unknown sister, Paula realizes that, having spent her career separating families, she is now going to have to begin putting her own back together. Aided by her ex-boyfriend, a romantic PI named Birdwine, Paula sets off on a journey of discovery and self-redemption that is causing a number of critics to sit up and take notice. RT Bookreviews made this book a Top Pick for the month, cheering, “Beautifully written, fascinating and deep, The Opposite of Everyone is another must-read novel… Jackson has done a phenomenal job of weaving the past with the present and unfolding the story layer after layer. This is a masterfully written tale that readers cannot put down.”

A Gathering of Shadows: Did you ever have one of those days when you see a new book on the shelf and scare people because you start jumping up and down and singing a happy song to see the sequel to a phenomenal book has arrived? I did when I saw V.E. Schwab’s newest book on our shelves. Fans of her A Darker Shade of Magic will be thrilled with the return of the Kell, his multi-dimensional coat (I want that coat. So badly.), and the multiple Londons through which he travels. This book picks up four months after the close of the first, with Kell dodging lingering feelings of guilt and suffering from dreams of magical foreboding–dreams that becoming terrifyingly true when a new London begins emerging. A London that everyone believed dead. And in order to keep the balance, Kell realizes that another London must invariably fall. Schwab has already earned herself quite a reputation as a YA author, but her foray into adult novels has made her the talk of the proverbial town, and this series is an absolute joy, not in the least because of Schwab’s courage in showing a caring, conflicted hero, and a heroine who is willing to take on the world without reservations. Publisher’s Weekly gave this book a starred review, saying “Tensions rise steadily, culminating with the exciting Element Games, and the finale will leave readers breathless. This is how fantasy should be done.”

Imbeciles : the Supreme Court, American eugenics, and the sterilization of Carrie Buck: In 1927, during the height of the eugenics craze (a movement which championed the creation of a “perfect race” through sterilization and over racism), the Supreme Court permitted the state of Virginia to sterilize a young woman named Carrie Buck, on the pretense that she was an “imbecile”. There was nothing wrong with Carrie Buck, but, as Adam Cohen reveals in this conscientious and timely work of history, she, and some 70,000 other Americans, were victims of a world that eagerly downgraded the humanity of many in the pursuit of creating a utopian society. In the process, Cohen reveals that even those men whom history upholds as legal heroes, from William Taft to Oliver Wendall Holmes, were willing to give credit to eugenicist before their victims. This is not an easy read, but it is a vital one; and Booklist say of it, “Cohen not only illuminates a shameful moment in American history when the nation’s most respected professions—medicine, academia, law, and the judiciary—failed to protect one of the most vulnerable members of society, he also tracks the landmark case’s repercussions up to the present.”

Ways to Disappear: When celebrated Brazilian writer Beatriz Yagoda disappears, her American translator, Emma, takes it upon herself to discover Yagoda’s whereabouts. But upon her arrival in Brazil, she finds a far more complicated mystery than she ever imagined. Yagoda left behind an enormous gambling debt, and a wealth of quirky, fascinating people, each eager for her return (for various, and not always benevolent reasons). Idra Novey is herself a translator, and her insight in the workings of words makes this fiction debut one that is delighting many a reader. NPR lauded this book, saying, “Novey’s novel delivers on its promises in so many ways. Yes, there’s carnage, but there’s also exuberant love, revelations of long-buried, unhappy secrets, ruminations about what makes a satisfying life, a publisher’s regrets about moral compromises in both his work and his use of his family wealth and connections, and an alternately heartfelt and wry portrait of the satisfactions and anxieties of the generally underappreciated art of translation.”

A Murder Over a Girl: Justice, Gender, Junior High: When psychologist Ken Corbett first hear of the murder of high school student Larry King, who was shot on Feb. 12, 2008, at E. O. Green Junior High in Oxnard, California by his 14-year-old classmate, reportedly as a result of Larry’s decision to use the name “Leticia” and wear makeup and jewelry to school, he was, understandably, devastated. However, the subsequent media reports of the case staunchly refused to discuss the gender and identity aspects of the case, giving Corbett the impetus to travel to LA, and observe the trial for himself. This book is more than just his observations, however; it is the work of a scholar who has spent his career studying gender, sexuality, and the human mind, and the way that a single act of violence can damage an entire community. He details this case with the precision of a scientist, but the heart of a human being, making this an accessible, moving, and very necessary work. Library Journal writes, “Corbett powerfully documents the life-threatening consequences of America’s persistent fear of gender difference. This will be read by those with academic, political, and personal interest in making the world safer for LGBT youth.”

Until next week, beloved patrons–Happy Reading!

Uncategorized

Another Post About Dr. Seuss

March 3, 2016 peaadmin

2486-3-one-fish-two-fish-red-fish — Courtesy of seuss.wikia.com

We spent yesterday celebrating the wonderfulness of Dr. Seuss, and how he revolutionized the world of children’s literature with books like The Cat in the Hat, and One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish. And we had a blast doing it.

But there is a big difference between talking about Dr. Seuss’ influence, and actually realizing how fundamentally he impacted the lives of his young readers. I myself remember reading One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish to my mom when I was just beginning to read. There was one page about sheep:

The moon was out and we saw some sheep.
We saw some sheep take a walk in their sleep.
by the light of the moon, by the light of a star;
They walked all night from near to far.
I would never walk. I would take a car.

And I utterly, completely lost my place “reading”–but because the whole story rhymed, and because the illustrations were so vivid, I (who had read, and been read this story more times than is probably decent to admit here) was able to figure out what the page said, and got to the end of the book. For me, it was the first time I remember realizing that I could read without help. And that is a pretty big moment in the life of a reader.

In putting together yesterday’s blog post, I also came across an entry from the Library of Congress’ Blog titled “Letters on Literature”, which featured a letter written by a student relating her own memories of One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish, and I wanted to share that with you, as well; it is part of an initiative run by the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress that encouraged children to write to their favorite authors. It’s a letter that reminds us how impactful reading can be in our lives, and how important books can be to a relationship. You can read the letter here, as well as at the Library of Congress site, to which we send our hearts full of gratitude:

Dear Dr. Seuss,

When I was little, I remember reading “One Fish Two Fish, Red Fish Blue Fish” at night before I went to bed, and being so absorbed in it I wouldn’t put it down. It would leave me with such a great feeling I wouldn’t want to stop reading; it was my favorite. Eventually, though, my mom would come in and tell me to go to sleep, and I always dreaded that point. I felt as if that visit was the moment my room came back to life, and I bounced back to reality. But sadly, I don’t get those visits anymore. About a month ago, my mother passed away with brain cancer.

My mom always had a love of reading. She would read a 200-page novel in two hours if you let her. She could read on and on and on. Most of the books she read were trashy novels, with no definite purpose except to entertain. But my mom would read me any book in the universe if l asked her to, simply because she wanted to share her love of reading with everyone. We read “One Fish Two Fish” so many times, I can’t imagine how she didn’t feel as if she had written it herself, but the funny pictures, the made-up words, the voice — it made us both escape into a place we couldn’t explain. It was wonderful and so exciting it left me with a lasting impression of books I’ll never forget. These memories were some I will always cherish. They connected me to my mom and I hope one day, if l have a family, I will share this memory with my kids and pass it on. I hope I will be just like my mother, because these memories were some I shared with her.

Once, when I was about eight years old, my mom and I cleaned out my bookshelf. It was overflowing with picture books, books I had gotten as presents, and the books my mom had saved since she was a little girl. We took every single book out and made three piles: the Keep pile, the Throw Out pile, and the Keep in the Attic pile. I would take the books that no one read anymore, put them in the Throw Out pile, and as soon as my mom saw what I had done, she’d say, “NO! We have to keep this one. Don’t you remember reading this before?” I’d say, “Mom, I’m never going to read that. If you really want to keep it put it in the Attic pile.” Pretty soon the Attic pile was by far the biggest one. We stored them up there, but they were soon long forgotten, isolated from small children’s hands and eagerness to read for so long. I still have those Attic books, and I haven’t looked at them in forever. My mother cared way too much about the memories of reading books with my brother and I when we were kids, to throw them away. She and I wanted to hold on to the happy past and the fun memories. I realized that I would be okay as long as I didn’t let go of our time together, just like neither of us let go of our memories reading “One Fish Two Fish.”

One of the only books in the Keep pile was “One Fish Two Fish.” It was the memory that always made neither of us want to let it go. Whenever I miss my mom, I can read it and remember the way her voice sounded and how safe and warm we felt with each other. The way she’d fall asleep on my bed sometimes if we read late enough. Even if l can’t be with her, I can still turn to what we both held on to. I’ll always have that.

“Today was good. Today was fun. Tomorrow is another one.” —Dr. Seuss

Free for All

Monthly Archives: March 2016

Please Pass the Baileys (Women’s Prize for Fiction)

Some Words About Women Authors…

On the Screen: Lucifer

The Romance Garden

Saturdays @ the South: Books on Vacation

Five Book Friday!

Another Post About Dr. Seuss

"Once you learn to read, you will be forever free." ~Frederick Douglass