Seven* Authors...

...of Whom I've Read More Than 7 Books They've Authored**

1. Terry Pratchett (10.5)
2. John Irving (10)***
3. Kurt Vonnegut (9)
4. Douglas Adams (8)
5. John Steinbeck (8)
6. Michael Chabon (7)
7. Anne Rice (7)

* I didn't count the esteemed and beloved Mr. Dahl (18)
** really didn't know how to word that -- I've Read 7 or More Books By ?  I've Read a Bunch o' Books They've Written ?
*** soon to be the all-time leader, his latest is sitting on the shelf, waiting patiently...

Jan 2012 update: John Irving takes over the top spot with 11, Cormac McCarthy (7), Stephen King (6), and Vonnegut (10) were all added to last year, and I can't believe I missed Elmore Leonard (9 maybe 10?) in the original count (July 2010).

6 Books I'm Really Glad I've Read This Year

1. The Wednesday Wars
2. The Story of Edward Sawtelle
3. The Book Thief
4. The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane
5. Travels With Charley
6. Freak the Mighty

Rainy Days = Reading Daze

update upon the completion of You Shall Know Our Velocity

 Actually, it's Rainy Days + no desire to watch football since the Chargers tanked it in the playoffs and crushed my Super Bowl hopes = lots of time for Reading...

my reading view, if the cat isn't crushing my chest

Five Stars: The Story of Edward Sawtelle -- picked it up several times in bookstores over the past year but something else always won out; my loss because I really enjoyed it all the way through (although I wouldn't have minded a happier ending).  Now I must reread Hamlet, and get a dog. 

3 Stars:  Road Dogs by Elmore Leonard, starring George Clooney/Jack Foley -- Leonard is one of my guilty pleasures grab a book from the Library shelf and devour it in an afternoon reads, and while this one had moments it wasn't his best. Kind of a weird, boring ending.

East, West -- short stories by Salman Rushdie

You Shall Know Our Velocity  -- still working on this one, and appreciating every page; Dave Eggers is one of my favorites and he's breaking my heart.

Okay, finished it last night, 4 Stars, and while I need to re-read the last few pages (is he better or worse? alive or dead?) I definitely put it in the "you should read this" category.  Although not so soon after reading The Mystic Art of Erasing All Signs of Death -- similar theme of young lives lost tragically and horribly -- and the spate of zombie books I've picked up lately.  Now I need something carefree and crime-free, humor and sex and not at all realistic...


I've also kicked off twenty-ten with a few good children's books , especially recommend The Girl Who Could Fly ...

 

 my other reading view, but it's been too c-c-cold (down to the 50's!) and we even got some hail, something the boys had never seen before.  I saved some in the freezer for them...

Also picked up a few good CDs: Randy Newman's "The Best Of...", Silversun Pickups "Carnavas", the "Reality Bites" soundtrack,  Morphine's "Cure For Pain" and the Hope For Haiti Now benefit album....

Summer Reading, part deux

Okay, obviously this whole "balanced layout" thing escapes me...

The top photo is a Library's parking garage in some city I have forgotten; the rest are books I've gotten through in the past month in addition to some children's books and a (thankfully) short novel called Art Kills that was so awful I don't want to talk about it.

• Hemingway, it goes without saying but I will anyway, is the epitome of Classic
• LT & Me is the usual sports-mom rise through adversity to superstar success, but still a wonderful portrait of how a son can be brought up in this rough world to be an outstanding young man; he had the right role model (Walter Payton) and even without his prodigy-like attachment/determination to play football it seems he would turn out okay no matter what he chose to do with his life.
• Geek Love -- weird, bizarre, a tad disturbing... and a quality, original read, for the most part. "Created" circus freaks developed as deep, whole people, although the parents disappointingly stagnate and fade from the story and the ending is weak, as in what, that's it?
• Arsonist's Guide... was picked off the shelf due to its title; strange, funny, sad, shallow, full of too many rhetorical questions (paragraphs full of 'em!), but an entertaining beach read...
• Pirates! Ah, the Pirate Captain and his luxuriant beard, plus Napoleon -- doesn't get much better than that. Hilarious, witty, historically inaccurate, and I highly recommend the entire series (this is the 4th or one of hundreds, depending on which jacket blurb you read)...

Summer = Books

Well, summer is supposed to equal studying and job searching, but all that just makes Jack a dull boy, right? And I do believe it is an official crime in SoCal to be indoors wasting these beautiful days, so it's essentially my civic duty to soak in the sun and read...


Updated a lot lately on TeacherDad's Books, although my "reviews" are getting more sparse and tepid each time... nonetheless, over here are a few (adult) recommendations for eyes and ears:


Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

by Jane Austin and Seth Grahame-Smith

A literary "mash-up," a tale of manners and of flesh-eaters. Just started this one, but I'm already horrified, laughing out loud, and wanting to read Ms. Austin's original classic and Mr. G-S's next book Abe Lincoln, Vampire Slayer. Oh my.




Adrian Mole: The Cappuccino Years

by Sue Townsend

Keeping with an all-England theme, I suppose... read the first of the series a few weeks ago, when poor befuddled and beleaguered Adrian was an awkward teen. Now he's in his 30s, married, employed, a father; I shouldn't have read this without reading the books covering ages 15-29, but once started just couldn't stop. Still confusingly British, and dated (Princess Diana/Teletubbies), but hilarious and a quick, easy, between dips in the pool read...

Blue Box2 Finest Jazz Vocalists

4 CDs

From Ella to Cassandra, Chet Baker to Lou Rawls -- this set has some true classic gems, and is worth listening to in its entirety.





Where the Light Is
John Mayer Live in Los Angeles


I'm not a die-hard live music fan, would prefer to not have the yelling fans, witty banter, and muddled sound -- I like my tunes produced. But this one is awesome, both as live talent/skill (that guitar!) and as quality crafted songs...

And finally, this goofy thing came from CoverBrowser.com -- a great way to spend several hours, or to replace those stupid album cover choices iTunes sometimes puts in. The only link I've found so far to the music albums section is just putting "album" into the search, but there's a ton of comic and book stuff to keep one occupied...

so this is what relaxed feels like...

It's been too long, but having finished my last credential assignments this morning and the ginormous sigh of relief that followed just exhausted me for the entire day -- if I coulda convinced The Wife to bring my meals to the porch and feed me, I wouldn't have left the lounge chair all day.


As it is, despite having to get up and put my own food in my mouth, I managed to finish one good book and start on another --




The Adrian Mole Diaries -- poor confused Adrian, from age 13 3/4 to 15 and all the family, puberty, school, pimple issues he must face and survive. It's English, and I didn't find the glossary of British terms until the end of the book (the glossary, of course, being at the end of the book), but still quite hilarious. Thanks, Sis.






Catfish and Mandala -- a Vietnamese-American bicycles his way back to Viet Nam and his family's history. so far, so good.





also listening to a Sufjan Stevens (no, not the "Peace Train" guy) CD Come On Feel the Illinoise, which my sons thought was the strangest title ever. That and the paragraph-long song titles/sub-titles...

The Zookeeper's Wife

The Zookeeper's Wife

by Diane Ackerman (2007)



The "One Book, One San Diego" choice for 2009... I didn't realize it was non-fiction when I chose it from the stack; the story of a family and their Warsaw, Poland zoo during WWII, and how they not only survived but helped many Jewish families escape the Nazis. Well done, the horrors of war are reported without overdone drama and there is a very personal sense to the description of daily life under extremely stressful, unsettling conditions. And lots of cute stuff about animals. It does seem to drop in historical events, such as the Warsaw Uprising, without any prior mention or discussion, so background knowledge in the subject would help.

For some reason I've always had a soft spot for Poles and Jews, probably due to visiting the Dachau concentration camp and Anne Frank's house as a kid. I'm still mad at my sister for ruining a Polish flag shirt inspired by Lech Walesa that a girfriend had made me. grrrrr...
Now I need a good book on the Warsaw Underground and/or Uprising; will need to find Michener's Poland as well. Any suggestions?




...also read Swinging for the Fences, the inspirational life story of a local boy born with only one complete limb, who went to Notre Dame and works for the Padres.

My new favorite mom/writer/DNA-sequencer/LEGO-builder ...

ay yi yi... part of the blame as to why I'm so far behind on homework-- these books accidentally fell into the boys' backpack at the library. What's a responsible parent to do, but make sure my children are not exposed to inappropriate reading material?

Rock On is an account of a music-loving advertising dude getting to work for a major record label, and finding it's not all his rock 'n roll fantasy thought it would be... funny, great insights on business/corporate world, and the commercial aspect of music. Did I mention funny?

Michael Chabon (Kavelier & Clay, Wonder Boys) is one of my favorite authors. Maps and Legends is essays and commentaries, a bit autobiographical, touching on comic books, parents, marriage, Jewish-ness, and of course, gollems. Much recommended, and as with his Gentlemen on the Road I did read with one hand holding the book and one hand thumbing through the dictionary...

When You Are Engulfed in Flames is up to Sedaris' usual funny-ness, the part about being too sick to move getting me banished to the couch one night... He is no longer struggling to find himself or make it in the world, so these stories are more middle-aged, full of travel and domestic life; he does revisit childhood and his family, which is still a goldmine...

Reading List

Legerdemain by James J. Heaphey (2008)

"Legerdemain" (not a word that rolls easily off the tongue...) means sleight of hand, a display of clever skill for deceitful purposes.

Cold War/Middle East military historical memoir... a recollection of espionage activity and political turmoil in post-WWII Morocco -- wasn't sure I would like this at first, not much of a modern history/warfare fan, but there was enough history (Nazis, Anwar Sadat) and it certainly relates well to the muddle of the Middle East (including Western involvement) today, and it's done in a fast-paced style that kept me involved. Some romance, some moral ambiguity, some violence, a little danger and drama, a good read.

A mark of a good book in my eyes is leaving me wanting to get more information about the subject and situation, and "Legerdemain" has piqued my curiosity in regards to Morocco, North Africa during WWII, and the more modern history of Egypt.

America America

America America

by Ethan Canin

Small town New York boy becomes involved with a wealthy family (with 2 daughters!) and presidential politics (cover ups, Nixon!) and deals with his changing family and personal life...

Some books I can pick up and read at anytime or anywhere, such as waiting for The Wife to run errands or in between switching loads of laundry -- in contrast, America America demanded and deserved my undivided attention, not for its complexity or density but because it is the type of story that draws the reader in and sweeps away the outside world as you read. It is a book for a quiet place, a chair and a drink, and the time to meet and learn about and be involved with the characters as their story, their life, unfolds. I found this a beautifully written story, with touching familial relationships, intriguing personalities -- some of which I wanted explored further, but I also appreciate the author's dedication to his primary storyline -- and an emotional twist that literally made me pause and look away from the page for a few minutes... It is also a book that leads to further reading (or recollecting, depending on your age) regarding the political landscape circa 1970-72.

Highly recommended.

The Pearl

The Pearl by John Steinbeck (1947)

This is one of those books I think everyone read in High School (jr high?) but I don't remember at all... and 20+ years after reading Cannery Row (for the first of many times) and reading lots of other Steinbeck, kinda funny I never got to this one... until now!

I loved it, it made me angry, I expected bad things to happen -- but not that -- and was a little drained and quite impressed as I finished it... which is why Steinbeck is one of the greats, and I'll force my children to read him and love him and take my picture next to the "Steinbeck was here" signs every time we visit Monterey...

Literature-Map

this is cool -- put in an author you like* and it will show you others close in style you might like...

http://www.literature-map.com/

I would never have connected Emily Dickinson and Fannie Flagg with Michael Chabon, but it seems worth investigating...


*or dis-like, if you want to avoid similar authors...

The Freedom Writers

Freedom Writers Diary

... loved the movie, added the teacher Erin Gruwell to my Hero/Aspire To Be Like list, and the book makes the transformation and accomplishments of the kids even more remarkable...

so remarkable the cynic in me (always present, just at times more "vocal") started questioning the veracity of the stories... towards the end, every page seemed to have a too good to be true factor: this kid's going to Harvard, this one Columbia, this one football scholarship UCLA, this one drafted to play baseball... I don't know, I'll have to find out how much *creative* writing was involved...

bookshelf

The Road by Cormac McCarthy

This is one of those shake 'em by the lapels and make 'em sit right down and read it books -- don't tell me how it ends, I'll finish it tonight. After six weeks of children's books (http://teacherdadbooks.blogspot.com/) I was craving something adult, something without rhymes or magic or cats that talk. This is it: an amazing, gripping book that made me feel like I was right there, in the story freezing and starving and scared for my life. I read 1/2 of it last night and then dreamed it all over again, The Wife had to wake me up to stop my shouting (I thought I was yelling "come and get me muthaf---!" but she says it more like "uuhhyaaaauuuu!").

Anyway, go get this book and read it this weekend.

The Laws of Books

A man is obliged to be very careful as to the respect due to books, for by not acting thus he is behaving offensively to his fellow-man, whose brain has produced these books.

Nor shall he ever think the time spent upon attending to books wasted; and even if he finds a book so full of errors as that correction of them would be useless, he shall not destroy the book, but place it in some out-of-the-way corner.

One must be careful not to keep his books in the same receptacle with food, for fear of the mice nibbling them both.

Nor shall a man write any accounts upon the pages of a book or scribble anything on any part of it.

If one is unable to press the leaves of a book together in order to fasten the clasp, he shall not place his knees upon it to force it to close.

If a father dies, and leaves a dog and a book to his sons, one of the children shall not say to the other, "You take the dog and I'll have the book," for what a disgraceful contrast are these two objects! *

If one wishes to take a nap, he must first cover his books up, and not recline upon them.

If a book has fallen to the ground, and at the same time some money or a sumptuous garment has fallen also, he shall first pick up the book.

If a fire breaks out in his house, he shall first rescue his books, and then his other property.

--Rabbi Judahben Samuel Sir Leon Chassid, Book of the Pious
... the year 1190 !





*But what do you do if the dog bites the book? You take the words right out of his mouth!

reading list

Andrew Jackson by Sean Wilentz
as in "...down the mighty Mississip!"

Muhammad Ali's greatest fight: Cassius Clay vs. The United States of America by Howard Bingham and Max Wallace

Roald Dahl by Jeremy Treglown

An Open Heart by The Dalai Lama

Perilous Times: Free Speech in Wartime by Geoffry Stone

Adverbs by Daniel Handler
just started this one


..........


...Speaking of Ali, Prez Jackson, and the Dalai ("The Lama"?), and with Father's Day looming ahead, I've been thinking about Heroes. Not the TV show or the Super variety, but the ones you admire, look up to, learn about and learn from, want to be like when you grow up, that type of hero. It started with the Fallen Hero category, the ones that disappoint. As a former Dodger fan (I make no apologies: I was young, they were the best team not in pinstripes.) I worshipped at the cleats of Steve Garvey. But instead of the Hall of Fame and the Governor's mansion, he does shows on the shopping network and ESPN 6. As a former naive idealist, I voted for Bill Clinton (again, no apologies: he was on Arsenio Hall!). Yes, he did a lot of important, quality Presidential stuff, but now he creates crossword puzzles for the Times, and his legacy has an icky, tacky element that hasn't gone away.

So who are my Heroes? Ali, most defiantly and definitely. Jackie Robinson, and Branch Rickey should get credit too. My Dad. My son. Colonel Joshua Chamberlain of the 20th Maine. Teddy Roosevelt. Ted Williams. Harriet Tubman. Astronauts. My Father-in-law. Cal Ripken. Gandhi. Batman. Lech Walesa, Michael Collins, Bono. Thurgood Marshall. Maya Angelou. Chrissie Hynde. Jessie Owens, Bethany Hamilton, Bart Giamatti. Sam Houston. Thomas Jefferson. Colman McCarthy: www.satyamag.com/nov01/mccarthy.html . Abraham Lincoln. John Steinbeck. Aragorn. Condoleeza Rice. Pat Tillman. Stan Lee. Frank McCourt. Kurt Vonnegut. Beowulf.

Delirious

No, not jammin' to Prince, just my state of mind as the fever spiked around 103. I don't know what was worse, the raging inferno of my forehead or Florence Nightengale applying the water torture at 2 am -- she said it was a cool washcloth, but I think she wanted the insurance money.


Lucinda Williams West
Sam Moore Overnight Sensational
Pete Yorn Nightcrawler


The Rescue Artist Edward Dolnick
interesting info about stolen art, Munch's The Scream and how British people talk ("I was blaind oot of me skool")
The Sex Life of Food Bunny Crumpacker
makes you hungry and horny, except for the parts about cannibals and Hitler; worth reading for the author's name alone
Last Notes Tamas Dobozy

Reading List

The March E.L. Doctorow
A Man Without A Country Kurt Vonnegut

Super Librarian

Wow. Talk about lost in a good book(blog)...

http://shellysbooks.blogspot.com/

don't rush.

make some tea, spend some time.