A Progressive on the Prairie » bibliolust

February Bibliolust

Tim — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 00:19:03 +0000

Very little progress made on the lust list this year — but it’s not my fault. First, two of the books from last month won’t be released until next week. Another I just got from the library after the person who had it kept it two weeks past the due date. This means there were two books that would be on this list that I was able to get through the library and read before the month ended. And while I again somewhat pooh-poohed the NBCC award nominations, two of the finalists are on this month’s list (one of which I started reading before this month but I’m using it to balance out the two I already read that would have been here).

Guilt: Stories, Ferdinand von Schirach — A year ago this month Schirach’s collection of short stories based on his time as a a criminal defense attorney in Berlin, Crime: Stories, was on the Bibliolust list. I read and enjoyed the book enough that his second collection appears this month.

The Memory Palace, Mira Bartok — I heard bits and pieces about this memoir of growing up with and becoming estranged from a schizophrenic mother when it was released a year ago. I feared, though, that like others I’ve seen in this area it might be a bit exploitative. An NBCC award nomination for autobiography changed my mind — at least until I’ve read it.

The Orphan Master’s Son, Adam Johnson — Near universal praise for this mystery, set in North Korea of all places, lands it on the list. And although I placed a “hold” on it at the library more than three weeks ago, I am still third on the reserve list.

To End All Wars: A Story of Loyalty and Rebellion, 1914-1918, Adam Hochschild — When I read a couple reviews of this book when it came out last spring, I was almost intrigued enough to grab it. I got distracted by other things but it making the nonfiction finalist list for the NBCC awards resuscitated that interest.

Report Card:

Calendar Year 2012

Total Bibliolust books: 4

Number read: 1 (25%)

Started but did not finish: 0

Cumulative (September 2008-January 2012)

Total Bibliolust books: 207

Number read: 163 (78.7%)

Started but did not finish: 14 (6.8%)

Books are where things are explained to you; life is where things aren’t.

Julian Barnes, Flaubert’s Parrot

January Bibliolust

Tim — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 14:16:51 +0000

It’s the time of year where we look both forward and back. In looking back, I am surprised at how closely the percentage of Bibliolust books read last year is to the all time percentage. I doubt there’s any significance but I do find it interesting. Looking forward means half the books this month actually come out the first week in February. The other half have been out for a bit but only recently intrigued me enough to make the list.

All That I Am, Anna Funder — I enjoyed Funder’s writing talents in the nonfiction work Stasiland: Stories from Behind the Berlin Wall. As a result, when I saw she’d written a novel about German opposition to Hitler coming to power, it ended upon the list.

Mail-Order Mysteries: Real Stuff from Old Comic Book Ads!, Kirk Demarais — I’m from the later part of the era for whom comic books were an essential. I remember the X-ray specs and other stuff advertising in the back of those books so want to find out what it all really was.

Men in Space, Tom McCarthy — I enjoy fiction about central and eastern Europe so a promo for this novel, set in Central Europe after the fall of communism, attracted my attention. I’ve not previously read any of McCarthy’s work so thought this might be a fair chance to do so.

Tolstoy: A Russian Life, Rosamund Bartlett — I’ve always thought Tolstoy was a fascinating character in and of himself. Although I was aware of Bartlett’s background in Russian literature, it’s only now making the lust list — and the reserve list at the library — based on the praise it has received since being released in early November.

Report Card:

Calendar Year 2011

Total Bibliolust books: 53

Number read: 42 (79.25%)

Started but did not finish: 5 (9.4%)

Cumulative (September 2008-December 2011)

Total Bibliolust books: 203

Number read: 161 (79.31%)

Started but did not finish: 14 (6.9%)

I love to read. It keeps the noise of the world at bay.

Art Garfunkel, Esquire magazine, December 2011

December Bibliolust

Tim — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 13:41:28 +0000

You’d think with Christmas coming this list would be packed. Thing is, books aren’t Christmas presents for me. They are a daily necessity of life. Thus, books rarely, if ever, make it on my Christmas wish list. As you’ll see, the books this month aren’t really Christmassy either. Hopefully, it’s not indicative of less daily light meaning darker reads.

After the Apocalypse: Stories, Maureen F. McHugh — Anyone who reads this blog semi-regularly knows apocalyptic literature is something I enjoy. Great reviews of this collection of short stories will likely have it end up on my Nook.

Eva Braun: Life with Hitler, Heike B. Gortemaker — Eva Braun is a person I’ve long wondered about. I mean, what type of woman falls in love with Adolph Hitler? Although its received mixed reviews, I evidently am not alone. There is a waiting list for the book at the library.

Hypatia of Alexandria: Mathematician and Martyr, Michael Deakin — I recently watched a movie in which Hypatia was the main character. I was surprised to learn after watching it that Hypatia was a real person. While I know fiction doesn’t often reflect reality, she intrigued me enough to make me want to read a biography of her.

The Third Reich: A Novel, Roberto Bolaño — I run real hot and cold on Bolaño. Yet the temperature always seems to remain warm enough to intrigue me when one of his books is released. This one, discovered amongst his papers after his death in 2003, is coming to the library so I jumped on the reserve list.

11/22/63, Stephen King — I don’t really need to add another 800+ page book to my reading list but… First, I’m a fan of alternate history and, second, the book has been making a lot of the year’s “best of” lists. This might be a Christmas holidays read.

Report Card:

Year to Date (January-November 2011)

Total Bibliolust books: 48

Number read: 37 (77%)

Started but did not finish: 5 (10.4%)

Cumulative (September 2008-November 2011)

Total Bibliolust books: 198

Number read: 155 (78.3%)

Started but did not finish: 14 (7%)

Man reading should be man intensely alive.

Ezra Pound, Guide to Kulchur

November Bibliolust

Tim — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 13:04:04 +0000

This month’s list is quite short, largely because my lust diminishes when I have books stacked up to review and plenty of other books that I really, really want to read. I guess that is one of the things about being an adult — common sense can put a damper on lust and distinguish between it and love. That said, it isn’t like there was no lust this month:

1Q84, Haruki Murakami — To be honest, I have a bit of trepidation about putting this on the list. It isn’t often I lust after 1,000 page novels, particularly when I am so far behind the way it is. But 1Q84 I’ve been reading about the unabashed anticipation for this book appearing in the U.S. for well more than a year. I am on the reserve list at the library but fear it may be a two-week loaner.

Lost Memory of Skin, Russell Banks — I’ve never read any of Banks’ work and I think it’s the relatively unique concept of this book that attracts me. It is a novel about a young man who must register as a sex offender, wear an electronic ankle bracelet and cannot live within 2,500 feet of anywhere children might gather. This means the only place he can live is under a causeway in his hometown.

Report Card:

Year to Date (January-October 2011)

Total Bibliolust books: 46

Number read: 34 (73.9%)

Started but did not finish: 5 (10.9%)

Cumulative (September 2008-October 2011)

Total Bibliolust books: 195

Number read: 152 (77.6%)

Started but did not finish: 14 (7%)

I have come to believe that living your well-read life is measured not by the number of books read at the end of your life but by whether you are in book love today, tomorrow, and next week.

Steve Leveen, The Little Guide to Your Well-Read Life

October Bibliolust

Tim — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 14:37:23 +0000

This month’s lust list reflects that we’re into the fall/winter release cycle. In fact, there are actually two other books that would have made the list except I got them through the library between last month’s list and this one. Granted, two of the books below don’t actually come out until next month but that doesn’t change the fact I have actually been lusting over them for the last couple months. So, here’s a longer list than there’s been in a while.

American Dreamers: How the Left Changed a Nation, Michael Kazin — A couple favorable reviews and the fact it was available from the library moved this book to the list. One thing that intrigues me is whether it is an obiturary.

And So It Goes: Kurt Vonnegut: A Life, Charles J. Shields — I knew I couldn’t resist a biography of Vonnegut, one of my favorite authors. And since this is an “authorized” biography, it should at least be more factual than speculation.

Caligula: A Biography, Aloys Winterling — I know. Even as a history buff, the name Caligula brings little but licentiousness and decadency to mind. But so far the reviews of this biography are highly complimentary and indicate it is a look at the Roman emperor that doesn’t necessarily focus on his reputation.

Feast Day of Fools, James Lee Burke — I admit to never having read anything by Burke. For some reason the description of this book attracted my attention. I’m evidently not the only one as I sit at number 11 on the library reserve list.

The Prague Cemetery, Umberto Eco — Eco is one of those authors where I love one book and hate the next. As this one seems to be more along the lines of Foucault’s Pendulum, which I enjoyed, I am first on the library reserve list.

Report Card:

Year to Date (January-September 2011)

Total Bibliolust books: 41

Number read: 31 (75.6%)

Started but did not finish: 5 (9.8%)

Cumulative (September 2008-September 2011)

Total Bibliolust books: 191

Number read: 149 (78%)

Started but did not finish: 13 (6.8%)

I believe reading good books is the best way we can civilize ourselves even in the absence of all other opportunities. If a child can read, has access to books and the freedom to read them, that child need not be “disadvantaged” for long.

Roger Ebert, Video games 13,823, Huck Finn 8,088