January 2012
20 posts
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“Reading is the nourishment that lets you do interesting work.”
– Jennifer Egan
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“What he loved in horses was what he loved in men, the blood and the heat of the...”
– Cormac McCarthy, All the Pretty Horses
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The Passage, or, Reading for Work
There are those of us who have taken our love of reading to a weird level: we read for a living. It’s not easy to get a job like this, there are lot of people who would give up their dignity to work someplace “glamourous” where they can get paid to “read” books. Some of us are lucky, and have achieved this glorious dream. After working at some crappy internships,...
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“I had to shift in my seat, even, and I was amazed at how a man who didn’t...”
– Dana Spiotta, Stone Arabia
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“And I believe few things are as despicable and dishonest as faking an obsession....”
– Dana Spiotta, Stone Arabia
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Bossypants!
As a total Tina Fey fangirl, I was surprised I hadn’t read Bossypants yet, and when my mother-in-law found out, she bought it and sent it to me right away. She loves Tina Fey too, and we’ve talked about how we both wanted to be her when we grew up. Only neither of us could really explain exactly what this would have sounded like if we had mentioned it back in the day. And now we...
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The Flame Alphabet - NYT review →
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MOONDOGS - Alexander Yates
Moondogs, by Alexander Yates, is fantastical and adventurous, but it also contains some truth about human nature within it’s “mystical realist” pages. Even though you’re reading about a seemingly super-powerful rooster, a magical posse of men, and an earthquake-causing lady, you’ll also be witnessing some human emotion that normally does not coexist with such fantasy...
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WHAT WAS JD SALINGER WORKING ON? →
“Suppose Salinger completed a dozen books while holed up in Cornish and left them for his heirs to sort through upon his death. If they all consist of “all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy,” then Salinger’s reclusion will be viewed as a selfish act, void or even destructive of creativity, and he will retain his reputation as having been an eccentric recluse.”
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THE FLAME ALPHABET - Ben Marcus
We are all going to hear a lot about The Flame Alphabet and its author Ben Marcus in the coming months, which in my opinion is very good. Because this is the kind of book that gets hotly debated in bars. I anticipate controversial reviews. Not unlike those of one of the authors whose blurb graced the back cover of the very beautiful jacket, Thomas McCarthy. McCarthy’s Remainder and C...
hold-en asked: you know the nineteen eighty four you have? The beautiful copy you posted a picture of? What is the front cover like and where did you buy it? :) xoxo
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“How are they to be figured, this man and he? As master and slave? As brothers,...”
– J.M Coetzee, 2003 Nobel Prize Lecture, “He and His Man”
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LOVE AND SHAME AND LOVE
Peter Orner’s Love and Shame and Love is one of the prettiest books you’ll find at the bookstore, and reading it is pure pleasure not only because of the way it feels and looks (it’s the best trim for a book I’ve ever seen!) but because of the prose. The prose feels weightless and effortless and flowing, but it’s meticulous, crafted, and careful.
The first chapter...
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FUTURE BOOK ALERT!!!!
NYT bestselling author of HOUSE OF HOLES and HUMAN SMOKE Nicholson Baker’s next novel and a work of nonfiction, moving to David Rosenthal and Sarah Hochman at Blue Rider Press, for publication in 2013 and 2014 respectively, by Melanie Jackson at Melanie Jackson Agency (NA).
(From Publisher’s Marketplace.)
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Artemisia - Anna Banti
I read Artemisia because of an essay of Susan Sontag’s, which happens to also be this edition’s introduction. It’s a good introduction, indeed, how could it have been better if it made me want to read the book? Even so, I wasn’t prepared for the loveliness that was Anna Banti’s Artemisia.
Banti has written an homage to this historically significant character,...
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I just got back from vacation and read so much while I was away! I have a bunch of reviews to write, but in the meanwhile, I’m so thankful to everyone who reads and interacts with BooksIJustRead. Thank you so much for making my literary life a full and happy one! I’ve expanded my reading horizons thanks to you, and am proud and excited for every note, comment, and email I receive. I...