Well, ok, I've read an embarrassing number of books about the great Bob Dylan, good, bad, and stupid. This one links Bob with the likes of Homer, OvidWell, ok, I've read an embarrassing number of books about the great Bob Dylan, good, bad, and stupid. This one links Bob with the likes of Homer, Ovid, Virgil, Milton, Rimbaud, and a number of lesser known lights. The key word here is "intertextuallity," a.k.a., stealing, but not - I repeat - not plagiarism. Fascinating, in a geeky sort of way. Necessary to nuts like me. There you have it....more
Close to impossible to figure out how many stars this book should get. It's written at the level of high school journalism, but it's good to get BuffyClose to impossible to figure out how many stars this book should get. It's written at the level of high school journalism, but it's good to get Buffy's story.
Buffy St. Marie, Cree Indian, is a visionary in the music world. She's the first person to share music files over the internet while collaborating from Hawaii to London, a pioneer in electronica, a political force, and brilliant songwriter and performer. I've been a fan since her first LP.
She's had a life, and what with modern media you can read the book and check out the songs at the same time....more
An elegant little book, written in exceptional journalistic prose, and studded with fantastic photos of Shackleton's Antarctic expedition, as well as An elegant little book, written in exceptional journalistic prose, and studded with fantastic photos of Shackleton's Antarctic expedition, as well as the expedition taken up to complete the original trek. Frank Worsley recruits two other survivors' relatives to join him, and the three raise money, train, and set off. Expect hardship, etc.
Then Worsley decides to take one final trip across Antarctica alone. You'll have to read it for the surprise ending.
I found the book thrilling.
At 134 pages, there's an awful lot of kvetching from readers about the fact that the book was originally a New Yorker article, and should have never been packaged to sell at $12 at Amazon.com. Number one, twelve bucks is cheap; number two, it's worth the price.
The Los Angeles Public Library fire of 1986 and its aftermath is the story that undergirds this book.
HerHere’s my choice for non-fiction of the year.
The Los Angeles Public Library fire of 1986 and its aftermath is the story that undergirds this book.
Here are the basics: the fire was so hot – 2000 deg. F.- that it burned as a transparent wall, no blue flame, no red flame just a sheet of clear heat. The situation was the perfect combination of heat, fuel, and oxygen to make for total destruction.
The fire burned for seven hours.
400,000 books were consumed; and 700,000 more were damaged.
An army of volunteers from all over the country showed up to help in the aftermath.
NASA and the aerospace industry came up with new ways to dry and save water saturated books.
To this date, no one knows how the fire started.
Susan Orlean has written more than the history of the fire. The Library Book is an architectural and social history of the LAPL, a history of libraries in general, a collection of brilliant character sketches of all the head librarians, (all eccentric, some more so than others,) a dive into the politics and business of a major cultural institution, and a love letter to the people who run and patronize the system.
This is definitely a book for people who love libraries and books. It’s also for anyone who wants to know how community is sustained in a city of four million souls. And, it’s a song of hope for civilization at a time when most everything we cherish is threatened....more
This was such an entertaining read. Provincial France and Paris in 1673: plague, impoverished peasants, a corrupt church, and decadent aristocracy. MuThis was such an entertaining read. Provincial France and Paris in 1673: plague, impoverished peasants, a corrupt church, and decadent aristocracy. Muck filled streets, the smell of excrement, unwashed bodies, sour wine, grilled meat. Necromancers, sorcerers, poisoners, abortionists, thieves, beggars, and orphans everywhere. Corruption writ so large Dickens would have gasped. Into this a boy is kidnapped, a near murdered mother is initiated into witchcraft and given the grimoire that goes with the trade. She summons a fiend to help her find and rescue her son, and the action and description proceed apace. Everything is clear to the reader, nothing is clear to the characters - what a great bit of trickery by the author whose only fault may be that he revels in descriptions. Philip Pullman's advice came to mind - the woods are not the story, stick to the path. It's not a fatal flaw, and many of the descriptions are breathtaking - especially the scenes of Paris and the haunts of the players. If this were a movie I'd see it in the style of David Lean's Oliver Twist - know what I mean?
There are a few reviews of this book that call it "magical realism." I think that's a misused term. Think of City of Crows as a fable replete with the beliefs of its time - a time when magic was practiced, and ambiguous.
If you're a fan of gothics, and historical fiction (this book is based on real people,) this is a hell of a read....more
I guess I'm just not a big fan of Anne Lamott's warmed over AA self-help. I gave Traveling Mercies three stars a number of years ago, and I gave four I guess I'm just not a big fan of Anne Lamott's warmed over AA self-help. I gave Traveling Mercies three stars a number of years ago, and I gave four stars to Bird by Bird, though I didn't write a review and don't remember what it was I liked - probably some advice on writing. This one is a letter to her grandson, picking up on the strategies of James Baldwin, or Ta Nehesi-Coates, with none of the gravitas or urgency.
At her best she's witty (some would say snarky,) insightful, and acerbic (some would say snarky,) the problem is it's a hard act to sustain over the length of a book, and awfully repetitive over the length of a career.
If you're a fan, here's more for you to love, but if you're not I don't think you'll find anything to change your mind....more
It's a collection of essays, introductions, and talks that is somewhat repetitive, as the editor points out, but provides a way to add texture and deeIt's a collection of essays, introductions, and talks that is somewhat repetitive, as the editor points out, but provides a way to add texture and deepen the tellings and explanations. It's a master class "On Stories and Storytelling," and I found it fascinating. But, if you're not interested in the "craft or sullen art" of writing, or a real Pullman aficionado, it's hard to say how much of the book will be useful to you. ...more
For me, an essential read. I'd not heard of Mr. Wiman - past editor of Poetry magazine - and am so glad for the introduction. There's something quotabFor me, an essential read. I'd not heard of Mr. Wiman - past editor of Poetry magazine - and am so glad for the introduction. There's something quotable on just about every page of this study of faith and art. He writes beautifully about poets, poetry, and the life of the spirit.
Here's one quote from the end of the book, "Everything in you must bow down, if not to God, then to the god damned fact of existing at all..." Yes, and amen.
It's a thin volume - 115 pages - but packed with great prose, terrific poems, and amusing vignettes. I couldn't recommend it more highly....more
I was wondering how to give a classic less than five stars, and then I glanced at a review that was right on the money. Hesiod makes the lists, and teI was wondering how to give a classic less than five stars, and then I glanced at a review that was right on the money. Hesiod makes the lists, and tells a couple good stories, but the gods make up the world's most perverse and dysfunctional family, and there's very little detail as to their carryings-on. For example, Zeus slept with everybody (and just about everything) and all his coupling created havoc in the known universe, and there's none of that in this telling. There are other sources for the down and dirty - Homer does a good job.
I enjoyed the reading because it's a source from the way-back, but fewer lists and more action would have made for a more interesting adventure.
The short introduction was a fine focus on the life and times, and quite rewarding.
OMG, did I really just give the Theogony (a 2800 year old book) a lukewarm review?...more
Acquainted with the Night is everything its subtitle implies. There's not much to be said about how night happens, it'3.5 stars would be closer to it.
Acquainted with the Night is everything its subtitle implies. There's not much to be said about how night happens, it's clear night slips in as the earth rotates, and then slips out again, but even that gives the lie to night "fall," and was interesting in itself. There's more - the categories of night determined by navigational starlight, qualities of night by geographical consideration, but the meat of the book is what happens at night, and what happens in darkness. Mr. Dewdney examines every hour of the night according to the activities that generally take place, and then he takes a dive into the history of those activities. e.g., bordellos are most often visited at night, well here's a history of bordellos; UFO's are most often seen at night, here's a bit on UFO's; darkness has its creatures, and here's a bit on the qualities of darkness, where darkness lies, and what inhabits the darkness. For all this and more Acquainted with the Night is a good read. I'm putting it on the shelf right next to Dawn Awakening by Diane Ackerman - they make good companions....more
I think I've read all the Gabriel Allon books, but I needed a break after feeling they had become more of the same. I was thrilled when Gabriel was prI think I've read all the Gabriel Allon books, but I needed a break after feeling they had become more of the same. I was thrilled when Gabriel was promoted, and this is the first book with him as the Chief. It doesn't fail to deliver. This time its hashish, ISIS, drones, Corsican gangsters and a very likable MI6 assassin who likes to use a hammer.
Funniest book I've read since A Walk in the Woods, but with an edge of anger toward the Catholic Church's child abuse crimes and cover ups that allowsFunniest book I've read since A Walk in the Woods, but with an edge of anger toward the Catholic Church's child abuse crimes and cover ups that allows for some real power punches.
Patricia Lockwood writes like she's got a devil on one shoulder, an angel on the other, a jester on top of her head, and she's listening to all of them - and, wonder of wonders, not making a mash of it.
Ms. Lockwood grew up in a family headed by a married Catholic priest. Her dad slipped into the church through a loophole that allowed for married priest converts to continue their duties as Catholics. He's a good dad, though right-wing and socially wacky as anyone you'd care to meet, (he spends most of his life in boxer shorts.) Mom is a peacemaker with quirks of her own. Lockwood and her fiance move back home and her report from the house makes up the through-line of the memoir.
Again, I thought it was a hoot, but I'm not sure anyone who hasn't been brought up Catholic would get it....more
Not a forensic, slightly tongue in cheek, strong woman leads, a really lame ass apprentice cop who got on my nerves big time, and deeper than I expectNot a forensic, slightly tongue in cheek, strong woman leads, a really lame ass apprentice cop who got on my nerves big time, and deeper than I expected in terms of character development, and a real life feel. First in a series that's not getting the greatest reviews, but I thought it was a lot of fun - multiple murders, corrupt cops, mid-size city bureaucracies that you love to hate. Another beach read for me - perfect....more
32 novels, 74,000,000 - that's seventy-four million - copies sold worldwide. Gotta' laugh! So, Michael Connelly knows how to craft a thriller (he's th32 novels, 74,000,000 - that's seventy-four million - copies sold worldwide. Gotta' laugh! So, Michael Connelly knows how to craft a thriller (he's the Harry Bosch guy.) In fact, The Late Show, the first in a new series, and with a female lead btw, could be used as a textbook. It's fast, funny, scary, with great characters and pretty snappy dialogue. I couldn't put it down. And, of course, it's got a serial killer....more
Two groups of Americans, one from Hollywood intent on making a movie, one from NYC on an extravagant souvenir expedition, descend on a newly discovereTwo groups of Americans, one from Hollywood intent on making a movie, one from NYC on an extravagant souvenir expedition, descend on a newly discovered Mayan temple in Honduras. They each occupy one half of the temple for 20 years. The CIA gets involved.
The book is long, very clever, intricately plotted, ultimately boring, and goes down (our maybe up) in the flames of its own genius long before its conclusion. It's a surreal vaudeville, showbiz, family drama, adventure story. It's wildly inventive, and it's too much. My thought while reading: I don't know how this is going to end, I don't really care how it's going to end, I just wish it _would_ end.
It ends.
I am no better a human being for having read it, but Ned Beauman remains a clever writer....more
When Barbara Ehrenreich is skewing one of my favorite targets I nod enthusiastically, when she's going after a favorite I find her a bit insufferableWhen Barbara Ehrenreich is skewing one of my favorite targets I nod enthusiastically, when she's going after a favorite I find her a bit insufferable. Of course. She aims her shotgun at wellness, mindfulness, allopathic medicine, fad diets, and the cessation of ageing strategies that are extravagant and expensive therefore elitist steps toward immortality, and manages to pepper most of what she aims at. Though I enjoyed the read, and agreed with enough of what she says, I was mightily put off by a callous and shallow comment about Abbie Hoffman's suicide, and was close to slamming the book shut, but just sat stunned by her unfeeling comment. This book is far from essential, but moderately amusing none-the-less. Ater her Abbie gaffe I've been looking to damning her with faint praise. Check....more
Robert Kennedy's Road to Damascus moment at a meeting arranged by James Baldwin with the artists, activists, and brains behind the scenes if the CivilRobert Kennedy's Road to Damascus moment at a meeting arranged by James Baldwin with the artists, activists, and brains behind the scenes if the Civil Rights movement. Taking it a step further, Dr. Dyson looks at today's comparable figures/personalities. An important addition to history, and a fascinating take on current events. Highly recommended!...more
Interesting but not as fascinating as you might think. Of course the regime would burrow into your barely sub conscious. Anybody out there dreaming ofInteresting but not as fascinating as you might think. Of course the regime would burrow into your barely sub conscious. Anybody out there dreaming of Donald Trump? My condolences....more
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