writing for Google since 2003
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I asked the following question on Twitter and then realized the 140 character limit might make it hard to answer:
What are 5 book/literary blogs you think are under-appreciated? And 5 that you couldn’t live without?
So consider this post a chance to answer the question with as many characters as you need.
(Don’t be shy, feel free to recommend yourself.)
Be sure to read Mark Athitakis: The Way of the Litblog. This quote is worth the price of admission:
I suspect that when somebody says that blogging had a “golden age,” the person means that there was a time (circa 2002) when it felt new and exciting, and the media wanted to do stories about it, and some people got a lot of attention really quickly (book deals! movie options!), and everybody got to have lively discussions and post pictures of puppies or argue about string theory, and it was a thrill because we all had a brand-new toy to play with and we knew who was reading us and we were finally, finally, getting some interesting e-mail. That moment has passed, so it’s easy for media folk to say blogging is old hat and move on to the new. But blogging remains a valid form, and Twitter is no replacement for it. (Twitter is more a supplemental form, I think—a supplement to a supplement.) What other online format besides blogging allows people to write at various lengths, distribute to a wide audience, and spark conversations? I suppose Facebook might qualify, but it’s a poor vehicle for lengthy, considered thought, and its system is designed to push your ideas only to your closest friends. If blogging is over, nobody’s created a suitable replacement for what blogging does.
Image via Wikipedia
I have not posted in a while. A variety of things contributed to that which I will not bore you with. On the bright side, I really like the new look of the site and WP 2.8 is working well.
I have for the most part tried to keep partisan politics off this blog. This is for a number of reasons. I started this blog to get away from politics and feel that books can be a source of common ground for people who disagree politically.
I started The Right Reads as a place to review and discuss non-fiction dealing with right of center politics. It seems better to keep that separate from a site that still mostly reviews fiction, history and creative non-fiction rather than political activism and philosophy. I will link to content here when it seems appropriate – and vice versa – that way readers are aware of it and can read it if they so choose but it doesn’t distract from the focus
With that in mind, here are some links from a couple of memoirs tied to William F. Buckley Jr.:
–> Right Time, Right Place by Richard Brookhiser
As the subtitle – Coming of Age with William F. Buckley Jr. and the Conservative Movement –indicates, RTRP is a blend of history, memoir, and political commentary. I find this type of “creative non-fiction” can lack focus, often jumping between subjects and styles, but Brookhiser’s unique perspective, style and flair for language make this a remarkably focused and powerful read.
It is a very personal and honest look at the man and magazine at the heart of the conservative movement’s rise to power, and eventual return to earth, while at the same time a meditation on the dangers of hero worship and the nature of mature relationships.
–> Q&A with Richard Brookhiser on Right Time, Right Place
–> Losing Mum and Pup by Christopher Buckley
I was prepared to be angry about Christopher Buckley’s latest book Losing Mum and Pup. I have been a fan – idealized is probably more accurate – of his father’s since a very young age and worried about any attempt at sullying that reputation. I was so sure a tell-all book about losing both of his parents within a year would be offensive. Throw in Christo’s (the name his parents used for him) less than astute political judgment of late and I had all but pronounced him beyond the pale.
But I decided to read the book first. And, despite the difficult nature of the subject, I am glad I did.
I really enjoyed Laila Lalami’s new novel Secret Son and so inquired about having her answer some questions via email. She graciously agreed.
Here is a brief bio for those who may be unfamiliar with her work or background:
Laila Lalami was born and raised in Morocco. She earned her B.A. in English from Université Mohammed V in Rabat, her M.A. from University College, London, and her Ph.D. in linguistics from the University of Southern California. Her work has appeared in The Boston Globe, The Los Angeles Times, The Nation, The New York Times, The Washington Post and elsewhere. She is the recipient of an Oregon Literary Arts grant and a Fulbright Fellowship. She was short-listed for the Caine Prize for African Writing (the “African Booker”) in 2006. Her debut collection of short stories, Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits, was published in the fall of 2005 and has since been translated into Spanish, Dutch, French, Portuguese, Italian, and Norwegian. Her first novel, Secret Son, will be published in the spring of 2009. She is currently Assistant Professor of Creative Writing at the University of California Riverside.
My questions and her answers are below.
1) What is the most challenging part about moving from the short story format to a novel and what is the best aspect?
The structure of my short story collection made it possible to take out one story and revise it, or even get rid of it and replace it with another, without having this affect the shape of the entire book. But with the novel, changes to one chapter inevitably meant changes somewhere else in the novel, so the revision process was much more labor-intensive. On the other hand, working on a novel really enabled me to stay with the same story for a long time, to inhabit it, if you will, and to keep adding layers to it.
2) How would you describe your writing style? What authors have influenced your writing?
Perhaps it is up to critics to describe my writing style. I have a hard time looking at my work with a critical eye, since there is no possibility of being completely objective. My favorite authors-and I think these are the people who have influenced me the most, since I go back to them often-are J.M. Coetzee, Chinua Achebe, Ahdaf Soueif, Graham Greene, Joseph Conrad, Leila Abouzeid, Mohammed Choukri, Tayeb Salih, among others.
3) What sparked the idea for the character of Youssef?
I think I started with this image of a young man walking back home to the slum where he lives, having just watched a movie. In some sense, this journey from idealized dreams to stark reality-from lies to truths, if you will-takes place throughout the book. For instance, when Youssef’s mother reveals to him that he is the illegitimate son of a wealthy businessman, she only gives him a small part of the story of his birth, and then she changes that story several times in the book. Or when Hatim promises Youssef that he will publish an article about what happened at the university, the piece that comes out bears only a small resemblance to the events as Youssef experienced them.
My son Max loves his books via Flickr
I haven’t done one of these in ages but saw this at Brandywine Books and thought it would be interesting.
1. To mark your page you: use a bookmark, bend the page corner, leave the book open face down?
I tend to use bookmarks (I have a lot of them lying around from books stores, publicists, etc.) but have been known to do all of the above at one time or the other.
2. Do you lend your books?
I will confess I am shy about loaning out books as I am loathe to lose them.
3. You find an interesting passage: you write in your book or NO WRITING IN BOOKS!
I will confess I use light pencil marks to make notations in non-fiction. It is the easiest way for me to find what I need to write reviews or get quotes later. I don’t write in fiction for the most part (might occasionally turn down a corner for a choice passage).
4. Dust jackets – leave it on or take it off.
Always take them off.
5. Hard cover, paperback, skip it and get the audio book?
I prefer hardbacks for those I buy. I haven’t really gotten into audio books yet.
6. Do you shelve your books by subject, author, or size and color of the book spines?
Non-fiction by subject, then author. Fiction by genre roughly, then author. I also try to get the various sizes to be aesthetically pleasing on the shelf.
7. Buy it or borrow it from the library later?
My first instinct is to buy – if I don’t get it from a publisher – but have been using the library a lot more lately out of necessity.
8. Do you put your name on your books – scribble your name in the cover, fancy bookplate, or stamp?
None of the above. Hence the nervousness about lending them out.
9. Most of the books you own are rare and out-of-print books or recent publications?
A lot of history and conservative classics are out of print. Most fiction is in print.
10. Page edges – deckled or straight?
Either works for me.
11. How many books do you read at one time?
I used to strictly read one book at a time, but recently that has changed. Normally, I will be reading just one fiction and one non but have at times been reading 3 or 4.
12. Be honest, ever tear a page from a book?
Nope. My wife has some friends that create altered books as art. The very concept disrturbs me.
Have a blog? Post your answers and link here. If not, leave them in the comments.
The Shack
Sometimes I just never seem to get around to reviewing books that I have read. This is particularly true of non-fiction as it often takes more work – at least in my mind – to do these type of books justice.
One of the books I have been meaning to discuss is The Shack. In lieu of such a review, howeve, I offer Richard Lewis’s mini-rant:
THE SHACK is what I call “guru fiction.” It does for Christianity what THE CELESTINE PROPHECY does for New Age, and what Paul Coehlo’s books do for Neo Age Feel Goodism. These are books that use a thin cosmetic makeup of fiction to present didactic teaching.
As fiction, THE SHACK sucks. It’s not even good allegory. Fiction, even as allegory, needs characters in moral dilemmas (or at least life threatening situations), and when Mack makes it to the shack, God as the trinity of Papa, Jesus and Sarayu are so full of love and goodness and humor that there’s no dramatic tension. It’s all lesson lesson lesson for wounded Mack, who asks all the right questions at all the right places for even more lessons. I got to thinking, why couldn’t Papa and Jesus have a good old family argument over something? Some shouting and plate smashing? Or must the Trinity be lovey-dovey all the time? I think I’m straying into heretical waters here.
I’d read this book for my Christian Theology 101 course, but not for my lit class.
I was thinking this weekend about how blogging has changed my reading habits.  Right now, the two books I am reading - The Magician’s Book: A Skeptic’s Adventures in Narnia
