Pam Webb

a writer's journey as a reader

Archive for the tag “Literature”

28 Jul 2014
13 Comments

Blog Spotlight: Book to the Future


My latest spotlight is on another blogger whom I’ve exchanged commentaries since the beginning of my blogging foray.

In his own words:

Everyone calls me Ste J.
I am an obsessive book creature, in fact I spend more time between the (book) covers (I read in bed as well though) than I do with ‘real’ people.
Which means I probably spend more time with you guys than anyone else. Feel privileged.

Ste J is a bona fide bibliophiliac. He loves books. That’s a bonafide fact. Proof: he once read 100 books in 362 days, just to see if he could do it.  His blog is neatly organized into genre and with a mere click, a person can investigate reviews and titles. His tastes are eclectic, his insights meaningful, and his replies clever.

For a sampling of his classics page, click here.

Lately, his posts have wandered a bit off the original track of being primarily bookish in content and he writes on whim. I can relate.  I too have strayed from my original intent of providing astute book reviews that would dazzle and benefit bookdom and have taken to writing as serendipity taps the muse.

So, I hope you will check out Book to the Future and meet the intrepid Ste J, where as his banner states “more book than a mad ‘orse.”

Posted in Blogging, Books, reflections, reviews, technology, Uncategorized, writers, Writing and tagged , , , , ,
21 Jul 2014
17 Comments

Remaining the Orphaned Narrator


It is always exciting to discover a new-to-me author. In this case it’s Kazuo Ishiguro. I know, I know. I’m a bit late in my discovering; however, better late than never in finding an author of mesmerizing style.


I knew the movie Remains of the Day, before finding the novel and didn’t realize the movie was the adaptation.
How could I possibly pass up a film starring Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson?
Flash forward five years later and I’m perusing the AP Literature list (“read that one, will never read this one, not reading this one again”), when I recognized the title Remains of the Day and connected it to the movie. Then I read the author’s name and I must admit I expected something like Adrian Smythe or Winston Greene, not Kazuo Ishiguro. After all, the novel is about a very proper English butler and his reflections of what it takes to become the best of English butlers. Wouldn’t one need to be English to understand that sort of nationalistic pride? I’m not getting points here for narrow-minded thinking, am I?

It turns out Ishiguro is quite well-suited to the task of writing about the English since he moved to England when he was around six years old. This gives him the ability to have an insider’s view with a somewhat detached perspective. The result is  basically a stream-of-consciousness narrative concerning the tunnel vision of a man’s quest for the unattainable. Trying to live a life that is beyond reproach, to achieve a status of perfection, requires sacrifice. Can sacrifice be made without regret? This is the hidden truth Stevens, the butler is searching for, except he does not realize it.
A quest novel of notice did not go unnoticed, for Ishiguro’s debut garnered him the Man Booker Prize and set a bar. Would he be a one shot wonder or would this be the first work of a noteworthy word smith?

image: goodreads.com This cover indicates the layers found within the story.

My literary taste buds curious for more, I trotted down to the library. Grabbing any title of his that caught my eye on the  shelf, I opened up his fifth novel When We Were Orphans. I immersed myself in reading it to the point the MEPA queried, “Still a good book?” Yes, thank you. Prognosis? After reading two novels, indications are Ishiguro is wordsmithing wonder.

Here are some bio facts and  stats:

  • Two novels have been adapted to the screen, Remains of the Day, and the more recent Never Let Me Go. Both have been received well, considering Ishiguro’s stories are mainly first person narratives, making them difficult to translate into a cinematic plot.
  • His novels are historical in nature, with attention to detail.
  • The stylistic viewpoint is that of the unreliable first-person narrator, one who is flawed in outlook.
  • Although born in Japan, he did not return until thirty years later.
  • He has received four Man Booker Prize nominations
  • The Times ranked him 32 on the list of the 50 most influential British writers since 1945.

As for an actual review of When We Were Orphans, I leave it to the more qualified:
New York Times review:

I plan on continuing my course of exploring Ishiguro’s work and look forward to introducing a contemporary author to my APters, who, I’m sure, would like a break from dead white folk now and then.

Any thoughts on Ishiguro’s writing? Any suggestions for the next title I should read of his?

Posted in Awards, Books, creativity, Libraries, Literature, Movies, Reading, reviews, Teachers, writers, Writing and tagged , , , , , , , ,
30 Mar 2014
15 Comments

Way Too Cool Library(ians)


I am a bona fide bibliophile. I not only love (phile) books (biblio) I adore all that  is connected to them: writing, reading, bookstores, and libraries. If we go on vacation I seek out the library. Some seek out shopping, eating, beaching, hiking, or cycling–I seek out reading. My idea of the perfect vacation tour would be to visit libraries all around the world.  The cool part about libraries is the librarians. There are plenty of movies about super heroes as well as super agents, along with super smart folk who solve crime, save the world, etc.–but rarely is the librarian given credit where credit is due. Being a librarian at heart, I had a fair amount of fun watching The Librarian series–all that knowledge put to good use saving the world. Yeah, librarians do have skills.

image: pinterest.com

Libraries around the world preview:

  • clementinum int 10 of the world's most spectacular libraries

    This is in Prague. Oh, yes, I do want to go. I do. I do.

Posted in Books, Libraries, Movies, Reading, reflections, travel and tagged , , , , ,
26 Mar 2014
5 Comments

Neil Gaiman: Why We Need Libraries


  • image: greenbaywriters.wordpress.com

Neil Gaiman is one of those buzzword authors. Unfortunately, I have not harkened to becoming a reader of his works. I have tried, really I have. However, I do perk up when it comes to successful authors speaking up about reading, particularly about libraries. Last year, Gaiman spoke eloquently about the need for libraries and the lecture,  “Why Our Future Depends on Libraries, Reading and Daydreaming” was reprinted in The Guardian.  

Excerpt:

The simplest way to make sure that we raise literate children is to teach them to read, and to show them that reading is a pleasurable activity. And that means, at its simplest, finding books that they enjoy, giving them access to those books, and letting them read them.

Another excerpt:

Libraries are places that people go to for information. Books are only the tip of the information iceberg: they are there, and libraries can provide you freely and legally with books. More children are borrowing books from libraries than ever before – books of all kinds: paper and digital and audio. But libraries are also, for example, places that people, who may not have computers, who may not have internet connections, can go online without paying anything: hugely important when the way you find out about jobs, apply for jobs or apply for benefits is increasingly migrating exclusively online. Librarians can help these people navigate that world.

  • image: pinterest.com

Check out the lecture. You will be cheering by the end of reading it. You might even feel like running down to your library and say to it, “Thanks for being here.” Don’t forget to hug and a librarian and say the same.

Posted in Books, Libraries, Literature, Reading, reflections, writers and tagged , , , , , ,
01 Mar 2014
1 Comment

Life Long Loving of the Library of Congress


Main Library of Congress building at the start...

Main Library of Congress building at the start of the 20th century (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

And yet another reason I continue my praises of the Library of Congress. In recent Internet research sleuthing I stumbled across their Festival Author Booklist. Yippee! I love bookish gatherings, especially when I don’t have to do much traveling to enjoy it.  If you do want to travel, then get your arrangements made for Washington D.C. because that’s the happening spot. Last year the festival ran the weekend of September 21 and 22.  For more information: National Book Festival

Author and Reading Celebration

Since 2001,  authors, illustrators and poets make presentations on the National Mall in various pavilions. In 2013 over a 100 authors represented  Teens & Children, Fiction & Mystery, History & Biography, Contemporary Life, Poetry & Prose, Graphic Novels & Science Fiction and Special Programs.

Library of Congress Pavilion

If a person has longing to know all about the Library of Congress, then a visit to their LOC Pavilion is in order. There is so much moAt the Library of Congress Pavilion than books.

Wait!

There is more bookish good stuff from the LOC. Want handy access to classic reads? Then you need to click on the Read.gov link and start enjoying a range of reading from the John Carter series to Aesop Fables and what lies in between.

Contest!

Are you a teacher, a parent? If books are an important part of your education input, you will want to perk up and take time to read the guidelines about the LOC contest Letters About Literature.  Prizes too! I look forward to introducing this to my students.

Stay tuned for more love notes about the nation’s library.

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Posted in America, Books, celebrations, Libraries, Reading, Teachers, writers, Writing and tagged , , , , , , , ,
27 Feb 2014
6 Comments

YAy for Dystopian


Once upon time when writers wrote about the world going wrong and trying to make a go of it in the aftermath the novels usually found its way on the college reading list. Ruined landscapes, fragmented governments, odd creatures mucking about, abundance of shortages and the like just wasn’t fit for kiddos. Think about the titles: Brave New World, 1984, Time Machine, Fahrenheit 451, A Clockwork Orange. Right. Yes. Some of them do end up on high school lists, but not when they first came out. There is a reason for that.

Lately, the shelves are full of dystopian novels and those shelves are usually in the YA section.  There is a reason for that too.

Back in the once upon a time, the world wasn’t that scary, even with the Cold War, we still had a pretty good idea of feeling on top of the world, so we could poke a bit around the edges of the “what ifs.” Then the world did get scary. AIDS, a couple of wars in a few out-of-the-way places, recession, terrorists, weather disasters, recalls–dystopian became popular among YA because the future is not looking so bright anymore. I’m just saying.

In fact, the adults are now reading the YA list (even though some don’t admit it): The Giver, Hunger Games, Maze Runner, Divergent are some names that pop to the surface.

Is Dystopian bad for teens? I don’t think so.  I didn’t get ruined from reading Brave New World in college, although 1984 and Clockwork Orange had me thinking hard at times. 

What do you think? Is there a difference between YA dystopian fiction and adult dystopian? Or is a bad world after the fact good reading for both adults and teens?

 

Posted in Books, Literature, Reading, reflections, reviews, Writing and tagged , , , , , , , ,
20 Feb 2014

Fifty Shades of Greatness


The particulars: 1,311 voters. 1,200 suggested books. The result: the top 50 books which reflect great reads, great choices–nothing shady about good taste (BookRiot). Though I didn’t vote in the first round I shall add in my votes.

  1. To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee (126 votes)
  2. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
  3. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
  4. The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
  5. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
  6. The Lord of the Rings series by J.R.R. Tolkien
  7. Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
  8. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
  9. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
  10. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
  11. One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
  12. The Secret History by Donna Tartt
  13. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
  14. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
  15. Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
  16. A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving
  17. The Stand by Stephen King
  18. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
  19. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
  20. Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace
  21. Persuasion by Jane Austen
  22. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
  23. The Brothers Karamozov by Fyodor Dostoevsky
  24. The Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon
  25. East of Eden by John Steinbeck
  26. The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
  27. The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
  28. American Gods by Neil Gaiman
  29. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
  30. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
  31. 1984 by George Orwell
  32. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
  33. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
  34. Moby-Dick by Herman Melville
  35. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
  36. The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
  37. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series by Douglas Adams
  38. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
  39. Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
  40. Ulysses by James Joyce
  41. Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
  42. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
  43. Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card
  44. Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
  45. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon
  46. Dune by Frank Herbert
  47. Gilead by Marilynne Robinson
  48. Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
  49. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
  50. The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver (13 votes)

I would have put in votes for The Alchemist and a few of Shakespeare’s plays, like Hamlet, Much Ado About Nothing, Othello. Come to think of it I’ve yet to come across a Greats list for plays.

Now, your turn. What votes would you cast off the 50 Greats?  And then–what plays would you vote for? Because aren’t plays stories to be acted out?

Posted in Blogging, Literature, reviews, writers and tagged , , , , | Leave a comment
16 Jan 2014
10 Comments

Trio of Tomboys


Is it just me or do the more popular female lit protagonists share this particular trait in common: they tend to step outside of the expected norms of behavior. Here is a quick lit list:

Katniss Everdeen: hunter
Elizabeth Bennett: outspoken
Antonia: ran the farm
Hattie Inez: homesteader; journalist
Pippi Longstocking: indefatigable personality
Thursday Next: amazing skills
Jo March: independent spirit (psst–a writer when it wasn’t in vogue)

Hmm, most of these ladies might be under the broad category of tomboy (I rather liked than unintentional pun, thank you)

Tomboy

image: kidzworld.com

Tomboy. Is it a label of distinction or derision? What is a tomboy? According to one source (TVTrope.org), it’s a derivative of tomcat, which is odd because a tomcat is all out male. I’m trying to catch on to the logic here–cats usually associated with female and by designating a girl as tomboy it’s saying she’s a boy cat instead of a girl cat? I’ll put a pause on that line of thought and jump right in the learned fact that there are different categories of tomboy. TVTropes.org lists over a dozen types of tomboys. I had no idea.

My favorite reads usually involve spunky heroines and among my childhood reads are a trio of tomboys. I think I appreciated them so much because we shared so many characteristics:

Scout: overalls are indeed comfortable, I have two sets in my closet
Laura Ingalls: playing ball at recess beats the snot out of gossiping with the girls at lunch
Caddie Woodlawn: running around outside having adventures is a much better way of growing up

I have settled down somewhat, although I would still be playing church softball league if I hadn’t messed up my shoulder, and I have a difficult time passing up a playground, let alone skipping rocks. and climbing trees. And yeah, I would prefer watching Red Dawn II instead of Legally Blonde II. The male progeny are realizing theirs is not a normal, or at least expected mum. Is that a problem? I can make brownies or meat loaf when needed, but I’d rather be up to bat.

Maybe that’s why my character, Rebecca, in my historical novel is a tomboy–often a little of “me” goes into the “who” I create on the pages in my stories.

What are your thoughts on tomboys? Who can I add to my lit list of fave tomboys in the annals of literary girls who just can conform to the expected norm?

Posted in Books, Literature, Reading, reflections, Writing and tagged , , , , , ,
20 Jul 2013
3 Comments

Treaured Tomes


bookbooster

While I tend to pass up most blog challenges, I couldn’t resist the one passed on by Reading Interrupted by another blogger: show us your bookshelves.

Last year I posted an entry about bookshelves and it really resonated with readers, and to date it ranks among my highest hits and responses posts.  What is it about peering at someone else’s bookshelves. Reading Interrupted believes it’s a way to look into our literary soul, which makes me nervous.  However, being a Book Booster, how can I not show off some of the books I own?

I have bookshelves all over the house: kitchen for the cookbooks, living room holds the eclectics ranging from Calvin and Hobbes to bird identification guides, the bedroom has my stack of bible references and current reads, the office is filled with review favorites (mostly children’s books) and tools of the trade, and the back bedroom is the MEPA’s storehouse of ruggedness, all those pursuits of fishing, hunting, politics and such. And then there are  my pretties, my treasures which are displayed on the table next to my inherited piano from my great aunt.  I was fortunate enough to receive her wonderful collection of books. My iPhone photo does not show the titles well, but you must admit they are gorgeous in binding.  They just about shout, “Open me, read me, all who enter these pages will be satiated.” I’ve been dipping into them over the years, savoring them for I do not want to go through them too quickly. Also, I confess, some are rather daunting.

bookshelf

For example, The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci, The Works of Tolstoi, a study on Ralph Waldo Emerson, selected works of Matthew Arnold.  There are also Ibsen plays, poem collections by Browning, Dickinson, and selected verse from Canadian poets, along with stories from Dumas.  As you can see if I were to consume too quickly such a rich collection I might go by way of gout.

My fave librarian, ET, knowing I am a Book Booster, surprised me one day with a gifting of more of these finely bound treasures. She passed on a blessing to me and I, of course, was thrilled with the serendipity of new friends. You must admit it is a handsome collection.  To think, this is how books used to be, all stately and elegant back when reading books was the prime entertainment and erudition pursuit of most people.

Although these aren’t personally selected favorites, they are indeed treasures.  I suppose I treat them more as my book museum as I respect them and the fragile condition they are in. Does anyone else have a treasure of books they have inherited or perhaps picked up along their travels in life?

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Posted in Blogging, Books, Libraries, Literature, Reading, reflections, Uncategorized and tagged , , ,
08 Jul 2013
2 Comments

A Woolf in Read’s Clothing


photo: imdb.com

My first vague acquaintance with Virginia Woolf is associated with Elizabeth Taylor. Both are pivotal influences in their chosen professions.  As a last wave baby boomer I recall a bit of a fuss when the movie Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? came out.  Not being a Disney-generated flick my parents did not take me to see it.  In my childhood bliss of perceptual naiveté I believed Elizabeth Taylor to be Virginia Woolf and from the TV trailers she appeared to be a daunting person.  I could see why some might be afraid of her.

image: aroom.org

My second encounter with Virginia Woolf came way later when I began teaching high school English. Woolf’s essay “A Room of Her Own” was part of the senior lit curriculum, a prelude to a brief study in feminist writing.  Still getting my bearings about Shakespeare, I discovered through Woolf’s essay Shakespeare had a sister! I thought him to be like Atlantis, known but unknown, shrouded in mystery, waiting to be actually proven.  He had a sister?  It sent me scurrying to dedicated research and though Woolf got it all wrong about Willie’s sis, I now know much more about the Bard.

image: etsy.com

The third encounter came way of Meryl Streep.  She’s a fave, so I couldn’t resist picking up The Hours at the library.  Fascinating film (I admit some parts tweaked my comfort zone and my daughter squeaked, “you watched The Hours!”–my prudery is too well-pegged by family members). What truly fascinated me was Nicole Kidman as Virginia Woolf. No wonder she received the Academy Award for her performance. A tortured artist always leaves me wondering the why/what behind the reason of taking his or her  life instead of living it.

image: notreciinema.com

Finding Virginia a bit overwhelming I didn’t do my usual research and read up on her. To be honest, although she intrigued me, she also made me nervous, much like James Joyce.  So much, almost too much in their writing for me to comprehend and absorb.  I felt unprepared to read her works.

At present I am a tiny bit more confident having experienced an AP Institute training plus one year of AP Senior Lit and Comp seated firmly on the resume. I thought, “Okay, Ginny, let’s give it a whirl.”  I pulled down Orlando off the shelf and settled in for my summer chaise in the shade read.

Sigh.

I wonder if her writing would have been published if her husband had not set up Hogarth Press expressly for that purpose? Her writing is amazing, this is true. It’s rich, masterful, and paradigm pushing. Deemed ahead of its time, both Virginia and her writing nevertheless appeared to be respected and applauded. Overall, I will have to pass on Virginia Woolf and her modernist approach to literature. She and James Joyce are just enough of a different cup of tea to not be on my reread list.

I followed through on my research since I did not commit to reading her work. However, I will definitely include her in my overviews on modernists. While Virginia Woolf may not be among my chosen authors, I do acknowledge her place in the literary hall of fame.

image: standrewsrarebooks.wordpress.com

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