just a little musing (little a-musing?)

Posted on January 13, 2011 by pagesofjulia

I was intrigued to read today’s post from Thomas at My Porch about grammar (oh woe) because I was also going to make a language comment in today’s post. Mine is not a complaint, though, more of a musing.

One of my favorite bands is the Drive-by Truckers. The Husband and I are a little bit fanatical about them, in fact. This morning on the way to work I was blessed by the iPod which gave me “Thank God for the TVA”, a Truckers song that was written and performed by Jason Isbell who is no longer in the band. So, we don’t get to see it played live. 😦 But I did hear it in the car, and I love it. Here, I found you this recording of it.

The line I’m most concerned with right now says is, “I wanted her to want me so bad it hurt.” I notice some ambiguity here. Let’s use parentheses in the mathematical way: he could mean “I wanted her (to want me) so bad it hurt.” Or he could mean “I wanted her (to want me so badly it hurt).” Does he want, so badly that it hurts, for her to want him? Or does he want for her desire for him to be painful? (I’m leaving aside the grammatical wrongness of “so bad it hurts” – should be “so badly” – but I can appreciate the southern flavor it gives.) This is the same ambiguity we see in pronoun use such as “Maria gave her mother the card, and her eyes sparkled.” Because Maria and her mother are both female, “her” is ambiguous. Whose eyes sparkled? Maria’s, or her mother’s? I think ambiguity in language is generally a problem. If I came across a sentence like the one I just made up in a book I would be frustrated. The purpose of language, after all, is to communicate.

But I guess there are exceptions to my statements, that language is solely a tool of communication, and that ambiguity is frustrating. Because the above line in the song is poetry; it’s beautiful; and the meaning of the sentence works both ways. I appreciate it. I’m okay with the ambiguity; in fact it adds to the song and, what do I know, may even have been purposeful. When is language not just about communication? When you’re passing the time, when you’re trying to look busy, when you like to hear the sound of your own voice, when you’re stalling, when you’re trying to get something you want without someone else noticing they gave it to you. Etc. But also, when it’s poetry. I think Jason Isbell is a poet, and he’s brought us our musing of the day. Thank you Drive-by Truckers.

Filed under: musings | Tagged: , | 6 Comments »

Just acquired

Posted on January 12, 2011 by pagesofjulia

Norman Mailer is on my list of TBR, just as an author. I’ve read nothing by him and have no plan as to where to start, so I’ve just been waiting for something to cross my desk. Today was that day! A fine hardback copy of his final novel, The Castle in the Forest came my way. This is exciting. Thus, you can look for Mailer to compete with Mr. Playboy to be my next read.

The Castle in the Forest is a fictionalization of Adolf Hitler’s childhood and upbringing. Wowza, there’s a topic for you. Apparently Mailer is sort of exploring the evil that was Hitler, in a Freudian analysis of his family dynamics, and whatnot. I could quote other people’s synopses all day but I’ll just wait and give you my version after a bit.

Have you read any Mailer? What would you have recommended I start with? I’m interested in the nonfiction too of course; and I’ve heard very good things about The Executioner’s Song as well. But I sometimes like to do it this way, and just pick up the first thing I see. If an author is really strong, it’s a strategy that should pay off.

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WWW Wednesdays

Posted on January 12, 2011 by pagesofjulia

Weekly meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading.

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…

• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?

What are you currently reading?

I just started Lee Child’s 61 Hours and it’s as great as his others that I’ve read!

What did you recently finish reading?

I’ve recently finished two Audrey Niffenegger novels in a row: The Time Traveler’s Wife followed closely by Her Fearful Symmetry. I much preferred the first.

What do you think you’ll read next?

Well, I have Mr. Playboy: Hugh Hefner and the American Dream, by Steven Watts, waiting for me on my desk at home. It’s a library book (from the public library, not my library), so it has a deadline attached to it. That should definitely come up soon. I dabble in The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien and This Book is Overdue! by Marilyn Johnson here and there; I pick them up and put them down around the house. Perhaps one of those will get full-time treatment one day. But it’s always a crapshoot to see what I’ll read next! I’m still interested in Emma Donoghue’s Room, too, but I’m not sure I can stomach the maternalism at this moment (see an earlier post).

I have to confess I’m not feeling strongly motivated to read anything particular right now, so Lee Child and the like are suiting me just fine. Things are fixin’ to get a little crazier, too: it’s time to start training in earnest for our annual mountain bike trip to Terlingua, TX in February, and the spring race season; and I start a class in Database Searching next week. Fingers crossed that I can keep up with it all and still keep in touch with you! I’m optimistic, though. Even if nothing else, I have my lunch breaks, a glorious hour of uninterrupted reading, ahh. And road trips to races provide some reading time if the Husband-Driver allows me to zone out. 🙂 He’s really very good to me.

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Classics Challenge 2011

Posted on January 11, 2011 by pagesofjulia


I’ve decided to take on another challenge, because this one is just my cup of tea. I studied Political Science as an undergrad, but sort of still regret not studying English Lit. I continue to consider going back for… a second BA? a second master’s? or a PhD someday? (am I crazy?) in literature. I earned a master’s degree in Library Science as a career choice, in part because of my love of books, classic and otherwise, but with a special passion for the classics. So it sounds like I have a lot in common with Courtney over at Stiletto Storytime.

The Classics Challenge she’s putting on offers several levels, and I guess I AM crazy for even mentioning the PhD above, because the PhD level is 40 classics this year!! You might want to be a PhD candidate (and not otherwise employed) to do that. I guess it’s possible for the rest of us, but with my busy life I’d probably have to read ONLY classics to make it work, and I’m not interested in specializing quite that much. For one thing, my library job is best done if I can discuss the latest, greatest bestsellers with my patrons, and these do not tend to be classics.

I think I’m going to jump on board at the bachelor’s degree level. This means reading 10 classics before the end of the year. I think this is a reasonable goal. Thanks so much Courtney for getting me involved! Now where to begin? Mmmm.

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Teaser Tuesdays: 61 Hours by Lee Child

Posted on January 11, 2011 by pagesofjulia


Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

* Grab your current read
* Open to a random page
* Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Well, I had some trouble today choosing a new book to read. I’m a bit worn out from Niffenegger and have piles and piles of TBR but need something easy and juicy. So, I walked over to James Lee Burke and Lee Child on my library shelves (luckily they live close to one another, ha) and took stock. I’m choosing 61 Hours by Lee Child today, because the obscure location in South Dakota sounds like a smart strategic move to make in the Where Are You Reading? challenge (I don’t recall noticing any books about South Dakota recently) and because I like what I see on the dust cover in the way of teaser. But you, instead, get these few lines from page 163:

“Tiny eddying drafts were stirring odors out of the rugs and the drapes. They were not unpleasant.”

Sorry so short! This is how Child writes: short, declarative sentences (or in some cases, fragments!) that are very, very expressive. Perhaps you could use more of them in this case; but I’m sticking with two sentences because I’m following the rules today 🙂 and because I think it’s a fine example of mood. I would say that serial character Reacher is somewhere he doesn’t belong in this moment, since he’s smelling odors that seem unfamiliar. (I guess I’m also assuming it’s Reacher experiencing the odors. I may be wrong.)

I’m excited to be started something new that I expect to be fast-paced, engaging, fun, and not too intellectual, like the other Reacher novels I’ve read before.

I also want to point out to any participants in Sheila’s Where Are You Reading? challenge, a cool link I found this morning. Flavorwire has made a list (oh boy! we all love lists don’t we?) of 10 Great Works of Literature for America’s 10 Most Literate Cities. View it here for inspiration.

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catching up: Niffenegger weekend

Posted on January 10, 2011 by pagesofjulia

Hello there. Sorry I’m slow to cover my weekend’s reading for you. Here I am now!

This was a fun weekend because the Husband did a marathon mountain bike race while I watched and supported for a change. He did much better than he had hoped, and seemed to do it pretty easily too, so I’m very proud. I had a good time watching a number of friends do very well, in fact.

I also managed to finish Audrey Niffenegger’s The Time Traveler’s Wife and then Her Fearful Symmetry (finished today at lunch), so it’s been a Niffenegger-heavy weekend. I didn’t intend to read two of hers in row, but was already reading and enjoying Time Traveler when a library patron brought me her personal (autographed) copy of Symmetry, to borrow – thereby making me feel like I should read it next…

So first things first. The Time Traveler’s Wife was very enjoyable! I felt like it had a little lighter feel to it earlier in the book, then gets a little more thoughtful, dark, contemplative, and frightening later in the book. This is actually appropriate, for Clare’s point of view, since she takes her time-traveling husband lightly when she’s younger, only realizing risks & dangers as she grows older. When she is an adult and understands all the implications, things become very frightening indeed. I found all the emotions and reactions pretty human, and was very absorbed in the characters. I also found the novel’s implied questions, about fate, sequence, causality, responsibility, forgiveness, and other issues of humanity, to be compelling. The time-travel construct worked well for me. I was impressed by a beautiful, romantic story with believable characters. I was also impressed with some of the emotional scenes Niffenegger managed to “paint” for us, like the dream sequences on pages 373-4.

And, I found myself crying. Again! Something strange must be happening to me. At least I can say it’s NOT my biological clock 🙂 because I continue to be just a little impatient with all the maternal stuff in several books I’ve been reading over the last several months: The Time Traveler’s Wife, Audrey Niffenegger; Still Missing, Chevy Stevens; Look Again, Lisa Scottoline; I’d Know You Anywhere, Laura Lippman; My Sister’s Keeper, Jodi Picoult – just off the top of my head. I’m a bit fed-up with motherhood and maternity as themes, and have decided to purposefully avoid (in the near future at least) Emma Donoghue’s Room, which I’ve been interested in for months now, because it sits pretty squarely on those themes.

I give this one a strong rating and am glad I finally picked it up.

With some hesitation, then, I picked up Niffenegger’s Her Fearful Symmetry as my next read. I hesitated because I rarely read the same author, or even theme or style or subject matter, back-to-back. I don’t even think I can remember reading back-to-back in a series. I guess I just feel like my brain likes a break, a palate-cleanser if you will. So with slight trepidation I began the next book; and I think I was right to be a bit nervous, because the first book ends with a death and a partner mourning, and the second book begins with a death and a partner mourning, and really never gets much happier than that. No, they’re not serial, just continue a similar tone.

Plot synopsis: Twins Valentina and Julia do not know their mother’s twin sister Elspeth until they inherit Elspeth’s London flat. There are two conditions: they must inhabit the flat for a year before they can sell; and their parents cannot set foot in it. Upon arriving in London, these ethereal, deeply attached young girls meet their interesting neighbors: Martin is an endearing but very sick obsessive-compulsive; and Robert was Elspeth’s lover, and is having quite a bit of trouble “letting go” her memory. They also get to know their mysterious aunt.

The melancholic, obsessive grief that starts this book doesn’t really let up. Perhaps I simply wasn’t in the mood to be made to feel this way, but I didn’t *love* this book as much as I did Time Traveler. I think it was almost every bit as well-crafted, and the emotions (while disturbing) still rang true; but it was just a bit too creepy. I won’t go any further for fear of spoiling, but this was a creepy book. To be fair, I had trouble putting it down; I think it was well done. But it didn’t feel as good. I think The Time Traveler’s Wife accomplished a feat: it took me through a range of emotions and life stages and, if it didn’t tie things up in a happy cozy way, at least it tied things up in a way that felt very complete. Her Fearful Symmetry, on the other hand, explored dark emotions rather deeply without a great deal of light. The paranormal aspects in the first book were a quirky vehicle through which to experience emotions and relationships and ask interesting questions. The latter read more like a ghost story (more and more so as the story develops), with an ending that was a little Poe-like in its creepiness.

I preferred the first, obviously, although if you were a bit more open to the ghost-story aspect, you might like the second better than I did. I believe even objectively, though, the first was a greater achievement. Or maybe I just shouldn’t overindulge in Niffenegger, hm?

I’ve heard a fair amount about her recent graphic novel, The Night Bookmobile, as well. Librarians and libraries and books play an important role in Niffenegger’s work in general (Henry from The Time Traveler’s Wife is a librarian; Elspeth from Her Fearful Symmetry is a bookseller), and the starring role in this latest. But the consensus amongst the library groups I hear from seems to be that her treatment of the librarian in The Night Bookmobile is downright and absolutely creepy. They don’t seem to like it. Again, maybe we just need to be looking for a ghost story? Or is there really something “wrong” with these stories? Presumably there are readers out there who love them. Any thoughts?

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Musing Mondays

Posted on January 10, 2011 by pagesofjulia

In response to the question asked by MizB at Should Be Reading.

MizB asks:

Where is your favorite place to find new books to read? Blogs? The library? Newspapers? Magazines? In the backs of other books? Suggestions from friends/family? Online bookstores? On the shelves of the local bookstores? (I don’t necessarily mean, ‘where do you find books to buy’ — I mean, ‘where do you discover new titles that you add to your to-be-read lists’?).

I have a two-part response. First, I use a great many of these resources to figure out what books to buy for the library where I work. I’m looking for any and all bestsellers, with an emphasis on fiction, but also some emphasis on political nonfiction (so oft requested) and with a special interest in anything cancer-related (since my library is located in a cancer hospital). Blogs, other libraries, bestsellers lists from NYT, Amazon, and B&N, the backs of other books, patrons’ requests and discussions with patrons. I really like a website called NoveList, too – it’s subscription only but your local public library may very well have a subscription for you to use with your library card. It’s a reader’s advisory site that lets you look up books and authors you like and figure out, from there, what else you might enjoy.

For what I want to read, I guess it’s a similar answer. Really, I find new books I want to read while shopping for books for the library. I find books I want to read by talking with other people, and often, from other reading blogs. I also have a long list (ever-growing) that comes from what I read: I see references to other literature, or decide I need to read biographies of authors, things like that. I’d like to be forever self-educating as a literary scholar.

Filed under: miscellaneous | 2 Comments »

confess it: where are they?

Posted on January 9, 2011 by pagesofjulia

I couldn’t resist this fun idea from Sheila at One Person’s Journey through a world of Books. Check out her post about where the books are stacked and piled throughout her house (and check out the comments, too!). I took a guess from work this morning and this is what I came up with:

kitchen table: 2-3
coffee table: 10?ish
desk: oh heck, 15?
kitchen: hopefully none
bathroom: 1-2
bedside table: 2
in my bag: 2-3

But the truth is:

kitchen table: 0! (has someone cleaned lately? thank you Husband)
coffee table: 11
desk: 8
kitchen: 0
bathroom: 2
bedside table: 2
in my bag: 2
bike room: 1
and one in each car.

I’m comfortable with that.

This was a brief hello; look for a longer post tomorrow on my weekend’s activities, including finishing The Time Traveler’s Wife and getting a good start on Her Fearful Symmetry.

Filed under: miscellaneous | 2 Comments »

one book ends, and… book beginnings on Friday

Posted on January 7, 2011 by pagesofjulia

So I finished The Unputdownable last night. I was hard pressed not to take it to our favorite local Italian restaurant and read while I ate! But I was with the Husband of course and that would have been rude.

A perfect expression of Reacher to share with you: “…the irony of his life was that although he had covered most of the earth’s surface, one time or another, he felt he hadn’t seen much. A lifetime in the service was like rushing down a narrow corridor, eyes fixed firmly to the front. There was [sic] all kinds of enticing stuff off to the sides, which you rushed past and ignored. Now he wanted to take the side trips. He wanted a crazy zigzag, any direction he felt like, any old time he wanted.”

More compliments to Mr. Child, who sprung a real surprise on us very late in the book. Wow! Actually I recall Connelly having used a similar villain once upon a time; but it caught me well off-balance and was a great finish. Another solid Reacher novel. I’m a fan.

Now for our book beginnings. Again, this meme is hosted by Katy at A Few More Pages. Today we have The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. Now, I realize this is not a new book (originally published 2003), and was a bestseller years ago, and I’m way behind, so I apologize if this is old news to you; but I don’t tend to read a whole lot of newly-released books, so deal with it. (Partly because there are so many very good not-new books I’m trying to read; partly because I don’t care all that much how new a book is; and partly because I work in a library where my patrons really badly want the new books and I think I’d be a bad person if I took those out.)

Sorry for rambling. Without further ado, we begin with the Prologue:

“CLARE: It’s hard being left behind. I wait for Henry, not knowing where he is, wondering if he’s okay. It’s hard to be the one who stays.”

I guess I already knew what the book was about in a vague way, so this start doesn’t shock or grab me so much; it’s a reasonable beginning to what I think the book is about. But I have to give credit; I wasn’t expecting to very much like this book, for whatever reason. Maybe I thought it was too pop-lit and I’m a snob or something. But in the first 50 pages or so I got interested in what was going to happen next. I’m intrigued by the logistical concerns about Henry suddenly appearing naked in unidentified times and places. I’m intrigued by Clare knowing the future, kind of, but also not. So that’s on the list for the weekend.

Another note today on future reads… I think I definitely have my eyes peeled for Tana French’s first book, In the Woods. My friend Valerie says I should definitely read it before The Likeness, because they share a lot of characters. I was thinking about French this morning because I heard Dropkick Murphys in the car doing “Young Willie McBride” and it took me right into the Irish setting, with a mournful tone… it made me want more of Tana French because I enjoyed Faithful Place so much. So stay tuned for that one…

This weekend I’ll be traveling with the Husband to a race that he’s racing but I’m not (gasp, this will only be my second time to support him from the sidelines!) and I’m taking plenty of reading material with me. I still haven’t finished reading the last Playboy magazine (January – great articles in this issue folks) and I have the latest issues of both American Libraries and Texas Library Journal waiting on me, too. Niffenegger will come along as well, and maybe I’ll have a lot to write about on Monday! Will be away from the interwebs til then, though, so hopefully this long post will keep you. This has turned into another WWW Wednesday post, in fact, about what I just finished, what I’m reading, and what’s up next. 🙂 Enjoy your weekend, friends! Read something good and tell me about it.

Filed under: book beginnings, book reviews | Tagged: | 3 Comments »

enjoying Lee Child

Posted on January 6, 2011 by pagesofjulia

From Merriam-Webster Online:

un·put·down·able
adj \ˌən-ˌpu̇t-ˈdȧun-ə-bəl\
: unable to be set aside : riveting
First Known Use of UNPUTDOWNABLE: 1947

Lee Child, like Michael Connelly, defines “unputdownable” for me. I surface from these books gasping for air. I guess any really “good” book (any that YOU really like) is unputdownable in a way. But Child and Connelly both create such gripping plots! I love their bad-boy characters (even when they are a bit of a caricature, ahem Jack Reacher) and I just can’t wait to read what craziness they’re going to undertake next. I love it! Reacher is liable to do such nonsense, so off-the-cuff. And the plot surprises, and the people we learn to care about – I just can’t put these books down. I’m always in danger of staying up all night on a work night, or not hearing what the Husband just said.

My current selection, Running Blind by Lee Child, has a new-to-me twist to it: Reacher is temporarily settled, in house he inherited, with a settled girlfriend, both in New York. This is my 3rd in the Reacher series, and he’s normally got a toothbrush in his pocket at a maximum. (Sometimes he loses his toothbrush.) He’s a real bad-a$$ but has a good heart; one usually has to twist his arm but he does end up taking on problems that only sort of involve him, on the side of Right. In Running Blind, his girlfriend is the arm that gets twisted. So, girlfriends can be a liability.

Reacher is a retired MP (military policeman) and it’s this connection that gets him. Women from his military past are being murdered in a most unusual fashion, and the FBI (of all people! apparently the Bureau and the MP do NOT get along) need his help. I won’t say too much more, but Reacher does his usual busting of heads and other appendages. He’s unstoppable, a little bit of a superhero (thus my caricature comment), a small giant with big muscles, and skills in both hand-to-hand combat and gunplay that require a little suspension of disbelief. It’s definitely brain candy but I find it great fun, and there’s still a murder mystery going on too. In fact, the FBI in this case includes some profilers, and you might have noticed that I have an enthusiasm for them (thus my love of Criminal Minds on television and my interest in this book, also here). So, there’s some whodunit involved in the brain candy as well. Just my style!

Thank you Lee Child for the unputdownable book of the week. Think I’ll keep seeking his out.

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