A
Very Long Engagement by Sebastian Japrisot.
Eleventh Month, Eleventh Day, Eleventh Hour: Armistice Day, 1918
World War I and Its Violent Climax by Joseph E. Persico.
A
chilling and heartbreaking account of last hours of The Great War.
Allied commanders -- insensitive, callous, and hungry for glory at
the expense of other men's lives -- refused to call off attacks,
even though the Armistice had already been signed. In the almost six
hours between the signing and the eleventh hour of November 11th,
thousands of men lost their lives for the vanity of generals who
never set foot in the trenches.
The
Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway.
And a
friend's MFA manuscript.
May 2008
The Batmobile Owner's Manual from DK Publishing.
This
is the ultimate book for fans of the Batman. It contains detailed
blueprints and schematics of the Batmobile, right down the
gel-filled, puncture- proof tires. There's also a fold-out map of
the Bat-Cave. A must-have and very, very cool. But there's one
catch: you've can't let it fall into the Joker's hands. If it does,
the Batman will be coming for you.
The Ghost Soldier: Poems by James Tate.
April 2008
The Fortress: Writings from an Unbound Europe by Meša Selimović.
March 2008
Perfect From Now On by John Sellers:
Read review
February 2008
Samedi The Deafness by Jesse Ball.
An interesting, noir inspired book about the
strange and dangerous world a young man finds himself in after
witnessing the mysterious death of a stranger.
The Ginseng Hunter by Jeff Talarigo:
Read review
Things I've Learned from Women Who've Dumped
Me edited by Ben Karlin:
Read review
November/December 2007
Ondaatje reading plan complete!
-
However, I have begun to reread all of Ondaatje
- beginning with The Collected Works of Billy the Kid. This is
Michael Ondaatje's first "novel" made up of short prose pieces and
poetry written in the voice of Billy the Kid, Pat Garrett and others,
and a few photographs. This, like all of Ondaatje's work, is on my list
of favorites. It's a fast, intense read with a few dashes of dark humor.
Then there will be Coming through Slaughter
Ondaatje's second novel, a fictional account of the psychological
collapse of turn-of- the-century New Orleans jazz trumpeter Buddy
Bolden. This one is still strongly hybridized with poetry, prose, and
some photos. It contains some of my favorite passages.
After that will be Running in the Family"
Ondaatje's semi-memoir about his eccentric family and his first trip
back to Sri Lanka after more than 20 years in England and Canada. It's
also riddled with poetry.
When that's done, I'll read In the Skin of a
Lion, Ondaatje's first full-fledged novel. I adore this book.
Centered in Toronto during the 20's & 30's massive public works
projects, it follows Patrick Lewis through his love affair with an
actress, his work on the Prince Edward viaduct, the labor union reaction
to the murder of two of its organizers, and his adoption of young Hana
who becomes one of the main characters in the next novel I'll read.
The English Patient is Ondaatje's Booker
Prize winning novel (made into an Academy Award winning movie) that I
wrote my master's thesis over. I've already read this book a dozen times
and it never gets old for me. An exquisite, heart-breaking story -
beautifully executed language, vivid, empathetic, and intense.
I'll then reread for the first time Anil's
Ghost, which I've only read once before. It takes place in Sri Lanka
and deals with the seemingly constant, and nasty, civil war there.
And, I hope to have this one read before the new
year - Divisadero, Ondaatje's newest novel. My
review is
online.
October 2007
Why We Read What We Read by Lisa Adams &
John Heath.
An excellent book about what the bestseller
lists tell us about America's physical, emotional, spiritual, and
literary self.
June
2007
Writers Workshop in a Book: The Squaw Valley Community of Writers on
the Art of Fiction, edited by Alan Cheuse & Lisa Alvarez.
Every now and then I pick up another book on the craft of writing.
It
refreshes the creative batteries, updates and sharpens my writing
tools, and reminds me that it never ever gets any easier to be the
kind of writer I want to be. This book has already kicked the dust
off a few things, and I've only finished the first two essays. It's
good book for both beginners and advanced writers; it might even be
helpful for the pros out there.
May
2007
The
Dixie Association by Donald Hays.
This
is my Spring Training read for 2007. It's the story of a minor
league team of has-beens and may-never-be's in Little Rock,
Arkansas, who are managed by a one-armed communist farmer.
April
2007
Crazy 08: How a Cast of Cranks, Rogues, Boneheads, and Magnates Created
the
Greatest Year in Baseball History by Cait Murphy:
Read review
1908
was the last year the Cubs won a World Series. Aside from that
little nugget, 1908 was full of legends: Honus Wagner, Cy Young, Ty
Cobb, Napoleon Lajoie, Christy Mathewson and the most famous double
play combination ever - Tinker, Evers, and Chance. It was also the
second season of the only other pitcher besides Cy Young to record
over 400 victories, Humbolt Kansas native, Walter Johnson.
March 2007
The
Pearl Diver by Jeff Talarigo.
This
is the story of a young Japanese girl who contracts leprosy in 1948:
she's disowned by her family and sent to live in a leper colony. A
delicate, well-written novel.
February 2007
Divisadero
by Michael Ondaatje: Read Jason's
review.
January 2007
Outrider by Anne Waldman.
An interesting book about Anne's ideas
concerning the intersection of poetry and activism.
Winter 2006
Indiana, Indiana by Laird Hunt.
Excellent writing in this book. A wonderful,
quiet book about a man haunted by visions and the memory of his
brief marriage to an unstable pyromaniac.
Here is Where We Meet by John
Berger.
The Banquet Bug by
Geling Yan.
Half a dozen book on the Spanish Civil
War.
