A Progressive on the Prairie » bibliolust

May Bibliolust

Tim — Tue, 01 May 2012 12:39:49 +0000

My “nonresolution” of trying to read what I want when I feel like it seems to be having benefits. My progress on Bibliolust for both this year and past years has improved greatly. In fact, there’s only two books from this month’s list so far I haven’t read or abandoned — and for those two I’m still on the library reserve list. And a side effect appears to be I am more likely to drop a book if it isn’t grabbing me.

As usual, though, the list grows:

A Land More Kind Than Home, Wiley Cash — A review or two of this piqued my interst, I think in large part because the reviews called to mind The Evening Hour, which I enjoyed earlier this year. Perhaps that’s too much to hope for a book you find out of the blue but, again, thanks to the library I’ll be reading it.

The Colonel, Mahmoud Dowlatabadi — Feeding my foreign lit kick a bit, a review of this novel of the Iranian Revolution told from the perspective of a colonel in the Shahs’ army drew my attention. Besides, it isn’t like there’s a ton of reliable history coming out of the country.

The Lady and the Peacock: The Life of Aung San Suu Kyi, Peter Popham — I’ve been intrigued by Burma and, as a result, Aung San Suu Kyi for a number of years. That made me a bit curious about this biography and the fact the library is getting it put it on my reserve list there.

Railsea, China Miéville — It’s Miéville. That’s all that really needs to be said since he is one of maybe a handful of authors whose latest release will always be on my list.

Report Card:

January-April 2012

Total Bibliolust books: 19

Number read: 14 (73.7%)

Started but did not finish: 3 (15.8%)

Cumulative (September 2008-April 2012)

Total Bibliolust books: 222

Number read: 179 (80.6%)

Started but did not finish: 17 (7.7%)

If reading is a luxury, being human is a luxury.

Jeanette Winterson

April Bibliolust

Tim — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 15:09:05 +0000

I knew when I wrote last month’s Bibliolust that I was tempting fate. My thought that “I may be setting myself up for a bit of failure this month” became a self-fulfilling prophecy. The two books I thought might make the “Did Not Finish” list did, in fact, make the list. This early in the year, that constitutes 15 percent of this year’s Bibliolust books. I’ve noticed this year that there’s been a number of books I’ve been giving up on. I think that’s because with all I have around to read, I am quicker to jump to something else.

But, of course, that doesn’t mean more books don’t attract my attention. With one exception, I think also think every book on the list this month came from blogs, not traditional review sources. Here’s what’s intriguing me:

Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of a New America, Gilbert King — So far I think I’ve seen two reviews of this book, both of which raved over it. When you add in the early career of Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall and the fact the library has it, it equals being on the list.

Escape from Camp 14: One Man’s Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West, Blaine Harden — This book seems to have received increasing attention since I put it on my “hold” list at the library. Now to find out if all the rave reviews are justified.

The Good Father — There seems to be a growing genre of books about parents dealing with their normal and well-raised sons committing violent crimes. I thought a novel about a physician whose son assassinates the president was a unique twist and because the library had it, I am now on the reserve list.

The Mirage Matt Ruff — A good review attracted my attention buy what really sucked me in was the premise — an alternate history of 9/11. Alternate history is one of my preferred SF genres and this is the first novel in that line I think I’ve seen using 9/11 as the base.

The Sky Conducting, Michael Seidlinger — Anyone who’s read this blog knows my interest in dystopian lit long precedes all the recent ado about the Hunger Games. So when I saw another fan of the genre give this a good review, it got my attention.

Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail, Cheryl Strayed — This is never a good reason to read a book but it seems everywhere I look I am seeing this memoir — and with wonderful reviews. So I am going to join the crowd (i.e., number 10 on the library reserve list), hoping we are not lemmings.

Report Card:

January-March 2012

Total Bibliolust books: 13

Number read: 8 (61.5%)

Started but did not finish: 2 (15.4%)

Cumulative (September 2008-March 2012)

Total Bibliolust books: 216

Number read: 170 (78.7%)

Started but did not finish: 16 (7.4%)

I’m not surprised some people prefer books. Books make sense of life. The only problem is that the lives they make sense of are other people’s lives, never your own.

Julian Barnes, Flaubert’s Parrot

March Bibliolust

Tim — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 13:53:40 +0000

I may be setting myself up for a bit of failure this month. A couple of the books are a bit more serious than perhaps I would normally read. But, nothing ventured, nothing gained. And so what if I have a couple “did not finish” books this year. (Although I had one earlier in the week where, for some reason, I just lost interest more than half way through.)

I other thing I’ve noticed — my taste pendulum seems to be swinging toward nonfiction. Half the books I’ve read this year are nonfiction and four of the five on this month’s list are too.

A Brief History of Thought: A Philosophical Guide to Living, Luc Ferry — This is one of those that could be iffy. I’m not normally into philosophy books but the book came to my attention via a review offer. I was intrigued because it has been a bestseller in Europe. Realizing there was a chance I may not get it read, though, I opted to get on the reserve list at the library rather than get a review copy.

Angelmaker, Nick Harkaway — I enjoyed Harkaway’s The Gone-Away World so am eager to give his latest a chance when it comes out later this month.

The New Hate: A History of Fear and Loathing on the Populist Right, Arthur Goldwag — This is a book I’ve gone back and forth on for a bit. It was almost on last month’s list but I decided not to read it. Of course, finding out the library had it changed my mind. So now it is on the list.

Revelations: Visions, Prophecy, and Politics in the Book of Revelation, Elaine Pagels — This is my other potential difficult read. Even though I’m an atheist, I am still fascinated by the history of Christianity and Pagels is unquestionably one of the best religion historians and Biblical scholars around. I’m just hoping it’s not over my head. (And thanks to Doug Wiken for bringing the book to my attention.)

Summer of ’68: The Season That Changed Baseball–and America–Forever, Tim Wendel — For a male my age, the names Bob Gibson, Denny McLain, Lou Brock, Orlando Cepeda, Bill Freehan and Tim McCarver are still magical. If you don’t recognize the names or why they conjure up such feeling, you won’t understand why the book is on the list.

Report Card:

Calendar Year 2012

Total Bibliolust books: 8

Number read: 6 (75%)

Started but did not finish: 0

Cumulative (September 2008-February 2012)

Total Bibliolust books: 211

Number read: 168 (79.6%)

Started but did not finish: 14 (6.6%)

Our house was a temple to The Book. … Books ruled our lives. They were our demi-gods.

Nick Bantock, Griffin & Sabine: An Extraordinary Correspondence

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