June Reads

A little something for reference as you continue to plan your list of summer reading (paper, excel, Amazon favorites, or otherwise):

• NPR's list of Summer Books 2009 (because we have the station pre-set)
• Oprah's Summer Reading List (guilty)
• Summer Reading 2009 (New York Style)
• UC Berkeley Summer 2009 (for that emerging Freshman in you)
• J.P.Morgan Summer Read 2009 (it's not personal, just business)

Don't be afraid to make your own list, and don't be too hard on yourself if later you decide to postpone a few until autumn.

I 'Ear You

Most of us have had at least one moment where a story or program heard on NPR has caused us to do a little bit of independent research. Today's cause of googling was "icker". For anyone other than Bill, this is a reference to an ear of corn or more specifically (according to Dictionary.com), "the fruit-bearing spike of any cereal plant." I do love interesting words.

So, my next question, prompted by our read of Banana: The Fate of the Fruit That Changed the World, was to inquire whether or not there are indeed books about corn. (I should have known the answer would be positive.) It was a maize of books, but I'll offer up the 5-star reviewed The Story of Corn by Betty Russell as an addition to the book lists.

Hope you enjoyed this little kernel.

Jane in June

Today I completed The Jane Austen Book Club. I thought it to be an “okay read,” meaning it was appropriate for summer but would not make my list to recommend to a friend. It did however inspire me with a few book club comments:

• Limiting the book club to one author - DON’T: It is too restrictive for discussion and sets a finite date for ending the meetings. We don’t want that at all!
• Front porch reading - DO: We have already mentioned this as a Germantown favorite.
• Inviting only one man - DON’T: Our conversation is much livelier with several men and I think the book selections are better for their contributions. (Having men who cook is a BIG plus!)
• Cold Beverages - DO: We have our reading water. Whatever you choice of beverage, people feel more confident if they are holding a glass.
• Science Fiction - DO: Do I need to say anything more on this one?
• Attending non-book club events to support your friends - DO: If not already, these will become some of your dearest friends.
• Interjecting French expressions - DON’T: We saw that it was annoying in the book and besides, we’re more likely to speak Spanish.
• Rotating houses to host - DO: This is also our Germantown tradition. (How else would you get to see your neighbors’ new stuff?)
• Have a club that you can walk to - DO: See point about cold beverages above. It's so nice to walk home.
• Personalized Club Wine Glasses - DO: It's great fun! (Thanks Bill!)

If you're not a member of a local book club, join or consider starting your own. You'll be surprised at how much you will gain from the experience.

June Croon

One of the fun things about reading A Year in High Heels was that it gave me a few more books to add to my reading list this summer. A visit to the library this week left me with The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler and True History of the Kelly Gang by Peter Carey. The Jane Austen Book Club is six characters meet six (obvious) books; many of you may have already read it or seen the movie. If so, I’m behind you on both counts, so don’t spoil the ending. The latter book is the story of Australia’s Ned Kelly and was the 2001 winner of the Man Booker Prize. Although I haven’t yet started reading this book, I am already a fan as it still has the book pocket for the checkout card.

Also, you may be interested in “John Adams Unbound” which is being exhibited at the Nashville Library in the Courtyard Gallery. We are one of only twenty libraries which were selected to host and the show is closing June 25th. As we near the 4th, it might be worthwhile to take a look back.

New Mags on the Scene

The weekend seems to be about magazines. Issue 01 of Fringe Magazine is available in the Nashville market. GBC Paige picked up the copy in one of the local independent coffee shops and it’s also available in its entirety online. In fact, I was impressed with the ease of virtually flipping through the pages. The magazine is free and will be published bi-monthly. Although I did not realize that we had a significant model base in the city, the content is likely to include interviews with these “pretty people” as well as entrepreneurs and of course, musicians.

Also, coming soon to the Nashville area is Southern Inspired Magazine. A staff writer, Claire Ploegman, described the free publication as “kind of like Southern Living meets Real Simple.” GBC Paige and I got a sneak peak at the upcoming cover at Frothy Monkey and it's worth a look.

Enjoy the first day of summer and pick up some free reading.

June Meeting

Through investigative reporting, I can confirm that all in attendance had a great time at Milena’s for book club on Tuesday. I missed you guys. Our host’s main dish of tacos invoked lots of praise, and all sentiments left me hungry for lunch! With a bean dish for a side and ice cream sundaes to finish, it sounded delightful! I am imagining the lingering heat from the day, the lilt of lively conversation (both on and off-topic), a little reading water, and a lovely kitchen setting. I am sure it was a marvelous evening!

The book received its due discussion however I did not receive any strong conclusions regarding The Reader. I’ll quote GBC Kim in stating that it ”definitely seemed to be a book with many shades of gray, and no easy answers.” Sounds like a worthwhile read.

Daunted and I liked It

In the event you are in the area, I wanted to introduce you to another of those bookstore gems, Daunt Books. This branch of Daunt Books in Holland Park drew me in from the street just by sheer atmosphere. I had not intended to browse books as I had just purchased a hot sandwich, but the pull was too great. Most of the books in the bookstore are categorized by country, rather than by traditional genre. I was greeted with France just inside the doorway and soon moved to Spain and Italy. I was fascinated...and completely hooked. Interspersed with each country was not only the expected travel guides and maps, but also books about art, wildlife, fiction either about the country or by one of that country’s kinsmen. As I moved into India, Central Europe and Asia, I smiled and felt as though I was travelling a greater distance than just across the long aisle.

There were a host of other books of fiction, gardening and cookery to capture one’s interest and I’ll admit that I walked away with How to feed your whole family a healthy, balanced diet with very little money...and hardly any time, even if you have a tiny kitchen, only three saucepans (one with an ill-fitting lid) and no fancy gadgets – unless you count the garlic crusher... by Gill Holcombe. It was one imaginative title and extremely hard to say with one breath. As I share the same number of pots as the author, I thought I would give it a whirl, although I do perhaps have a few more gadgets.

Over my Shoulder

Have you ever found yourself on a train, bus, or in a crowded restaurant without something to read? Then, as you take note of your surroundings, you notice that your neighbour is reading a paper or magazine. Yesterday I pondered the question as to whether or not it is okay in these dire, yet convenient, circumstances to read over someone’s shoulders. I mean to say, I know it is not the polite course of action, but if this prepared neighbour were reading intently, they he or she would likely not notice, right? Just a little headline peak to stay informed?

Then, there are those random days when the person is reading a long newspaper and has it stretched out completely in front of you. Perhaps one could steal a complete article before that next page is turned, or at least check the score boxes? I am not advocating this behaviour, mind you. If however, you happen to be the one with reading material, and you see a girl across the aisle donning an ipod, she might just not be in a music zone and may instead be stealing glances at your paper. Please accept my apologies in advance.

Here's to Another Year

It was a great deal of fun to celebrate my birthday on the same day as the official birthday of the Queen. Though Her Majesty's actual birthday was several months ago (the same day as another of my family members, coincidentally), the Royal family, Prime Minister, RAF and a few thousand Londoners turned out to celebrate the event. Custom has dictated that it is preferable to publicly celebrate a sovereign's birthday in the summer when weather was expected to be better (than winter). I will admit that I was disappointed to learn that the fly-by was not on my behalf.

I think the idea of two birthday celebrations is a good one; two cakes are never a bad idea.

Book to Film

Our current book selection for June, The Reader, and the Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF) have my mind on books to film. As we drift closer to summer and perhaps sacrifice a bit of book-reading in order to catch up on our Netflix queues, I wanted to offer a couple of suggestions for book to film that are showing at SIFF this month and might not be on your radar.

• Thomas Mann’s 1901 book, Buddenbrooks, is making its US premiere (2008, German with subtitles)
• Inju, the Beast in the Shadow written in 1928 by Edogawa Rampo with US book title The Black Lizard and the Beast in the Shadow (2008, French with subtitles)
• The Karamazovs, based on Dostoyevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov (2008, Czech Republic with subtitles)

While I cannot offer advice on the above (other than to read The Brothers Karamazov), I would recommend that you check out the complete listing of films shown; there are a number of shorts and full-lengths which would make for interesting watching on those days that you might not want to read.

Two Hours at Heathrow

My travel companion today was Sold by Patricia McCormick. If my recollection is correct, this book came to my library as a lend from GBC Kaye. I will be honest in that I selected this read today because it was compact, easy to carry, and relatively short. I was fortunate in that I had a little over two hours of uninterrupted time in which to read; I recommend that if you choose this selection you do the same and try to read in one sitting.

At first glance, I thought I had selected a book of poetry as each heading had not more than two pages of reading after it. The writing is closer to small journal entries describing various events, memories, and feelings of young Lakshmi in her journey. (Journey is perhaps not the correct word, as it might imply that she knows exactly where she is headed.) Lakshmi is from a small village in Nepal and her life takes an unexpected turn when monsoon rains combined with her step-father’s gambling habit lead to her sale. While Lakshmi believes she is going to work as a maid in the city to support her family, the reader knows otherwise from a simple glance of the book’s back cover. (I will let you discover this detail just as I did.)

Lakshmi, a name typically associated with Hindu prosperity, is in anything but a prosperous state of affairs. Her time spent with Mumtaz was painful and I wondered if her story could have more than one outcome. This book is a reminder of our good fortune and our obligation to help others.

Looking Ahead

I am struggling with Look Homeward, Angel and while I had hoped to finish the book today, I have managed to find a number of other chores which have taken precedence over wading through these descriptive characters and their exploits. Once I begin a book, it is a rarity that I do not finish it. Usually, I plod through the text and am rewarded, as I think many of us were with Yiddish Policeman's Union (by Michael Chabon). The hours I spent this morning reading were productive in that I learned two new words which are no longer in most electronic spell-checking dictionaries (phthisic and ptotic), however I think the remainder of this text may have to be re-visited at a future date. Sorry Thomas, it's not you; it's me.

I would be remiss in writing if I did not remind us all of what's ahead in the GBC literary world.

Our selections are:

June: The Reader by Bernhard Schlink
July: B is for Beer by Tom Robbins
August: North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell
September: Little Brother by Cory Doctrow
October: The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

We had several other titles which were recommended by members during the last couple of weeks. If you missed any of those, let me know.

The Local Reader

A weekend with my sister and advice from Kate have my mind on War and Peace. At this point, I'm relegating it to my reading list as I am not yet ready to delve into those hundreds of pages, even with the help of electronic gadgetry so that I don't have to tote the extra weight around. I believe we did select it for a future GBC book so I'll save Tolstoy for later this year.

I did manage to read Alcatraz on the plane which leaves me at the half-way or just over half-way points of three other books. My plan is to finish two of these this weekend and tackle about 400 years of British History next week. Yesterday, in my reflective mood, I tracked down my Macroeconomics textbook from ND. I'm tempted to thumb through again, but I cannot in good conscience begin a fourth book, can I? While the genres are different (classic, chick lit, history, business), it is probably not a good idea. I also still have The Reader pending for June and a growing list of new titles to explore.

Luckily (don't laugh), I have a spreadsheet.

Four More Pages

Reading outdoors is now one of those little stolen pleasures, especially if one is able to do it on a front porch and still avoid the heat. Our meeting last week on Carole's porch was delightful and the salad was the perfect meal to refresh us and to remind us of our local farmers' wares. Accompanied by yummy sweet potato chips and dips to start and a strawberry dessert straight from Wisconsin, the meal was delicious.

Parks, coffee shops, park benches, and bus stops give us opportunities to steal away 15 minutes for a quick few pages or even a chapter. Carry your book, wear sunscreen, and cross your fingers that no one tries to interrupt you as you try to reach your next stopping point.

Love at First Write

In trying to stage our reading line-up for the next few months, we read the first sentence (and a few of the last ones) in various books to determine if we were interested to add this selection to our list. I began thinking about whether this approach was valid or if it only works for those in an audience who can be had with “hello”. Should we know our tendencies toward love before deciding whether or not to read/purchase that novel?

Do we decide that we want to read based on the first few sentences (love at first sight)? Some of us may prefer to be courted, letting words build over the space of several chapters into an attraction for a book (or ahem, Vampire series) that can’t be left alone. Is it possible to trudge through the words as mere acquaintances only to realize at the end of the book, we loved them? Or, do we sometimes fall victim to the book “blind set-up” based on a friend’s recommendation? I am sure that I am not the only reader who has started/stopped/started/breaked/… from a book like an on-again/off-again relationship. Are these my commitment issues or is it just the timing was wrong (Juliet)?

At one point or another, I seem to have fallen into most of these categories; if only I would have collected some data at the time, perhaps I could offer some definite conclusion (or at a minimum, longer blog). Instead, perhaps a few of you “hello-ers” might be pleased with a quiz on a few first lines.