Author Archives: bookdwarf

Books on the Table

I finished reading Sacred Games by Vikram Chandra earlier this week. The book checks in at 900 pages or so, but it’s definitely worth hauling this book around. My arms almost fell off several times while I stood on the subway reading this book. I’ll try to write something longer about it this weekend. The short version is that it’s about cops and robbers. People make comparison’s to Mario Puzo’s Godfather, but I think that’s only on the surface. It deals with all sorts of themes—religion, sex, gender, violence, money—and it’s one hell of a read.

Also if you’re in the market for something gifty, The Sweeter Side of R. Crumb showed up on my desk earlier this week. It’s a nice volume with some of R. Crumb’s less scurrilous drawings. Why would you want non-dirty pictures? To me, it’s an interesting side of Crumb, that isn’t often exhibited.

Around the Book World

  • The New York Times Book Review has gotten themselves a new designer. Finally! Steven Heller has stepped aside to let Nicholas Blechman, who now works for the Week in Review section, take over. What do you suggest they do?
  • Publisher Houghton-Mifflin has announced a comic contest to celebrate the launch of their newest book in the Best American series. Harvey Pekar edited the inaugural volume The Best American Comics 2006. Booksellers of all stripes are invited to draw a comic of Pekar with the chance to win a few prizes. This promises to be very entertaining.
  • Robert Birnbaum speaks with Edward Jones, author of The Known World and the recent short story collection All Aunt Hagar’s Children. I’m determined to read Jones one of these days. Has anyone else read him and have an opinion?
  • Dan Wicket of The Emerging Writer’s Network and Steve Gillis of 826Michigan have launched a new publisher Dzanc Books, devoted to publishing “two excellent books of literary fiction per year, as well as work in partnership with literary journals to advance their readership at every level”.
  • Stay tuned for the next round of the LBC Read This! postings. We’re voting this weekend on these three books: Firmin: Adventures of a Metropolitan Lowlife by Sam Savage, Sideshow: Stories by Sidney Thompson, and Manbug by George Ilsley.
  • Bob Woodward’s new book State of Denial, set to go on sale next Tuesday, has already generated a fair amount of news. The New York Times has a long report about the contents of the book, which alleges among other things that Bush ignored warnings about more troops being needed in Iraq. Newsday and the Washington Post,not to be outdone, also have their own articles. How many books have to come out saying the same thing before something changes? The information exists. Rumsfeld and Bush and their whole cabal clearly have some explaining to do. I would think that even the most diehard Republicans would start asking questions now. Maybe I am just naive? (On a side note, you can come hear Woodward speak at the First Parish Church on October 17th. See here for more details.)

Around the Town

  • Bat Segundo speaks with Victor Navasky about running The Nation.
  • Robert Birnbaum gives the special Birnbaum treatment to Elizabeth Benedict, author of The Practice of Deceit.
  • Elif Shafak was acquitted today of the charges of “insulting Turkishness”. You know, not enough attention is being paid to this trial. She’s the second large name author to have this happen. Perhaps it hits a little too close to home with all of this “your either with us or against us” baloney.
  • Sony Picture Classics has some stills on their website from their forthcoming adaption of Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis (thanks Bookslut for the info)

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  • Chimananda Aidichie’s Half of a Yellow Sun hit bookshelves last week. I’m glad to see that it’s getting great reviews. This book is probably one of the best I’ve read so far this year.
  • Ed and Lev Grossman have apparently kissed and made up. Or fruited up. Whatever.
  • Max runs down the recently announced list of MacArthur fellows so we don’t have to.
  • Maud runs an interview with FSG editor and translator of Gregoire Bouillier’s The Mystery Guest. Run out now and read this book.

I Want a Nemesis

I’m so jealous of Ed. He’s got a nemesis now—Time critic Lev Grossman, who devoted an entire essay to Ed. What do I have to do to get one?

I’ve never met him. I don’t know what he looks like, how old he is, or pretty much anything about him (or her?). Except that every few months he calls me an idiot on his website.

With a little bit of research (30 seconds on Google), it seems like Lev could have found out a lot more about Ed, but maybe that’s the magic of having a nemesis. You don’t need to know who they are, just that they’re out there. I really want one!

Providence Ahoy!

I’m off tomorrow morning for the regional trade show run by NEBA, the New England Booksellers Association in Providence, Rhode Island. It’s always a fun affair, more casual and smaller than BEA. I love talking to fellow booksellers and book people and am especially looking forward to the Emerging Leader cocktail party tomorrow night. It’s a chance to talk to some of the younger set about bookselling—always a good time. So if you see me (I posted a picture of myself and Ed a few days ago, so you can see what I look like), be sure and say hello.

The Mission Song by John le Carre

It’s difficult not to associate John le Carre with British spy novels. With titles like The Spy Who Came in from the Cold and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, it’s no wonder. I’m sure I’m not the first person to suggest that le Carres recent books surpass the genre and I don’t use the word “surpass” to disparage spy novels. I just think that his themes go beyond a simple tale about a spy.

His latest book The Mission Song (on sale 9/19) attempts to expose the dynamics of multinational corporations and their hold on governments and politics. He explores this theme through language—what’s spoken and unspoken and the subtexts with his narrator Bruno Salvador, a young translator born of an Irish priest and a Congolese woman. Married to a rising star in journalism, he works for a variety of companies including the British government. The novel revolves around one job he does for the government as an interpreter at a secret conference of African warlords attempting to wrest control of the Congo before the upcoming elections. As I was reading the book, I expected more action, but the conference takes up about two thirds of the book and most of the action is their conversations. Bruno listens in covertly on secret talks between the various warlords, even overhearing one man be tortured. Growing disillusioned with the government, Bruno decides to take some action, but I won’t give away what happens.

Le Carre uses Salvo’s occupation as an interpreter to show the power language has especially with regards to governments and corporations. Both can use language to persuade, to convince, to lie, to subjugate, and most often to control (I sound paranoid I know, but the current government has made me this way). Salvo never really belongs, in his life as the husband of the rising journalist, in his childhood in the Congo as the bastard son of a priest, even as a spy. And I think that’s to reinforce the idea that Bruno is a conduit. He’s interpreting statements—repeating what others say, not formulating his own. Suddenly he’s forced to make his own statement and it’s his background as a Congolese that informs it. It suggests that though we may have clear opinions about the way the world works, what would we do if we could actually have some impact on it? Perhaps I’m overthinking the book, but these are the themes that came to mind as I finished The Mission Song, obviously a thought-provoking read.

Mr. Bookdwarf Chimes In

No, we’re not married, but it’s too much fun calling him Mr. Bookdwarf. He’s been reading a great deal lately and in what I hope will become a regular feature, I’ve asked him to write up each book in a few sentences:

  • Deogratias by J.P. Stassen: Haunting graphic novel set in post-genocide Rwanda. Brilliantly done in a style that looks like old woodcuts.
  • Abandon the old in Tokyo by Yoshihiro Tatsumi: The second in a series of influential early manga, translated to English and published in the US for the first time. The stories are short, cryptic, and haunting.
  • The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan: This is a life-changing book that examines in great detail what Americans eat and where it comes from. Despite the fact that the fourth section doesn’t live up to the promise of the first three, this book earns comparisons with Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle. If enough people read it, maybe we’ll get some better food policy in this country. Maybe.
  • Shenzhen by Guy Delisle : Homesickness and alienation are the order of the day as a French artist supervises outsourced Chinese animation workers. Comes across as self-involved sometimes.
  • American Born Chinese by Gene Yang: A teenager hungry for acceptance is faced with a visiting relative who represents every awful stereotype he’s trying to leave behind. In stories that bring together mythology and popular culture, Yang gives us a sensitive look into the life of second-generation Chinese-American teenager–plus a monkey who’s a kung-fu expert. Enough said.
  • Chinatown Beat by Henry Chang: I’m not usually a mystery reader, but this is very well-written. Set in the NYC Chinatown. The author does tend to overuse brands (the Fury police car, the CK sunglasses, etc. etc.) as setting, but that’s forgivable: you can almost smell the tofu cooking.

What’s on My Desk or There Isn’t Enough Time in the Day

While away in California, my desk became the breeding ground for piles of packages. Because I am one of the buyers for the store and because of this blog, I get a lot of books in the mail. And Tuesday (and most days) I lamented the fact that I didn’t have more time each day to read. There is no way I can possibly read every book and review it. Read Frank Wilson’s explanation for how he runs the review pages for the Philadelphia Inquirer. I don’t get as many books as he does, I’m sure, but I get so many books, some bad, but many good. Here’s a sampling:

  • Postwar: A History of Europe Since 1945 by Tony Judt–I’ve been wanting to read this book for a while, but frankly the size of the hardcover made it difficult. Luckily a paperback copy showed up.
  • The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai—I hear this is amazing. Has anyone else read it?
  • The Children’s Hospital by Chris Adrian—How could one not want to read a book about a hospital floating on the 7 miles of water that have flooded the Earth? Who?
  • Christine Falls by Benjamin Black—John Banville’s debut crime novel written under a new pen name (though they’re not hiding who the author is which makes me question the whole pen name thing).
  • The Trojan War by Barry Strauss—I like Classics.
  • Sacred Games by Vikram Chandra—this much buzzed book has a cool gold slipcase complete with bullet holes.
  • After the Storm edited by David Troutt—A collection of essays by black intellectuals writing about Hurricane Katrina and it’s effects.
  • The Wonderland Quartet by Joyce Carol Oates—Some lovely soul at the Modern Libary sent me all four books in the repackaged Oates’ quartet.
  • The Mystery of the Sardine by Stefan Themerson—A poodle blows up in it. Do I need to say more?
  • The Curtain: An Essay in Seven Parts by Milan Kundera—This exploration of the novel from Kundera looks promising.

This is but a small drop in the ever flowing sea of books that move across my desk. How can I find more time to read all of these possible gems? I already read while brushing my teeth. And slightly off topic, but still relevant, how do I decide what’s worth mentioning here? Ed posts his own review/podcasting policies. This also brings up larger issues like disappearing review coverage in papers, the effects blogs and less mainstream media is having on books (if any), etc. But that’s possibly for another post. I still have to find time to read all of these books. Is there any book you’re excited about reading, old or new?

Back to School

I’m back from vacation. Yesterday I spent sorting through gads of emails, about a million voicemails, and sat through a rather long meeting. All to say that I haven’t posted because I’m busy with post-vacation catch up. I had a great time in San Francisco. Did you know they have a thousand bookstores out there? Just kidding, but they do have a lot of great stores. I know everyone’s too busy lamenting the closing of several of them, but there’s still some great stores left: Green Apple Books and Music, City Lights, Cody’s on Stockton Street, The Booksmith, Book Passage plus the countless used stores I walked past.

What did I read while away you might ask? I’m ashamed to say that I only read two and a half books while gone. For the flight over, I read one of Rupert Thomson’s earlier novels Air and Fire. Since I had to get up at 4 am to catch the plane, I didn’t read for very long before passing out. I didn’t find this tale set in 19th century Baja California as good as his later novels, but it’s interesting to see the evolution of his writing.

While in San Francisco, I thought I would correct an egregious oversight that has allowed me to go this long without reading and Joan Didion. Slouching Towards Bethlehem seemed like the perfect book to read while exploring the city (I’m a dork like that). How wonderful to read the title essay in which Didion describes her impressions of the Haight-Ashbury scene while actually walking around the area. I wish I had read her years ago now.

I chose to read Michael Pollan’s Second Nature on the plane back to Boston because I’ve been doing a little gardening lately and I was interested to hear his opinions on the matter. Sometimes dry and sometimes wildly entertaining, I think Pollan is at his best musing about gardenings roots (no pun intended) while referring to his own earthy exploits.

I should also add that I met up with Ed while out there for some delicious Thai food. I’m only sorry that I didn’t get to go with him to the Marish Pessl reading at The Booksmith. He toured me around his neighborhood though and we had great fun picking up books we had read and wanted to read. Here’s a photo of us:
Bookdwarf and Ed
All in all, it was a great, relaxing vacation. I spent time with my sister and her husband, drank a lot of wine, ate some delicious food, and wandered around an immensely walkable city.