Reading Copy Book Blog

Today is a s-s-s-l-l-l-o-o-ow-w-w-w day in terms of blog fodder, so I decided to treat you to a Weird Book Room Update one (working ) day early!

This time around, our update’s weird book of the week is “What Not to Wear on a Horse” by Ginny Oakley and Stephanie Soskin, just in case you were worried your jodphurs might clash with your riding crop. Is it appropriate to wear argyle on an appaloosa? Plaid on a pony? Stripes on a stallion? You’ll have to read the book to find out.

Rounding out the selection are Flow: The Cultural Story of Menstruation by Elissa Stein and Susan Kim, (for everything you ever wanted to know about the joy of menses), The How and Why Wonder Book of Guns by Irving Robbin, and of course, Was Karl Marx a Satanist?

For the others from this week’s update, and over 75 weird books to choose from, head over to the AbeBooks Weird Book Room.

Oh, I love McSweeney’s more than I can say. So funny! so clever! So literary, sometimes even intimidatingly so!

The feature that cracked me up today? Famous Authors Narrate the Funny Pages.

I think my favourites are the Peanuts and the Family Circus.

Peanuts
by Jane Austen

Miss Lucy van Pelt, young, witty, and handsome, found it unavoidable that she play a game of foot-ball with Mr. Charles Brown, the dreadfully wishy-washy companion of her otherwise commendable brother Mr. Linus van Pelt. Wishing to be rid of this bothersome neighbor, she lifted the foot-ball just as Mr. Brown ventured to kick it, leaving him out of sorts as she tittered with laughter and went to hear Mr. Schroeder play at the pianoforte.

- - -

Beetle Bailey
by Ernest Hemingway

“It’s a mighty sorry business, Sarge being blown up like that,” Beetle said. The other soldiers in the café nodded silently. He ordered another bottle of vermouth and drank the vermouth. It was a good vermouth.

- - -

The Family Circus
by William Faulkner

“Incest and miscegenation!” Pa yelled as he entered the room where Billy and Dolly sat. Billy fled through the doorway, too panicked for ratiocination, and wound a peregrinating dotted line around the yard and by P.J., the deaf and dumb youngest brother.

- - -

Cathy
by Virginia Woolf

A rain fell over the city, streaking the office window. Cathy looked up from the computer screen with its instructions on how to knit a brown sock. “My God, to be a stereotypical woman makes me feel as though I have no nose!”
- - -

Dilbert
by Charles Dickens

There was much to be done in the halls of Business in expectation of a visit from Mister Catchclaw, the enterprising Vice President of the Corporation. The clerk Dilbert was requested to turn out spread-sheet upon spread-sheet until, his eyes scarcely able to focus on his computing screen, he requested to his supervisor, Mister Lapwroth, that he be allowed to return home to care for his round companion Dogbert. “Home!” exclaimed Lapwroth, “Home is for those who work smarter, not harder!”
- - -

Doonesbury
by Jorge Luis Borges

I awoke one day and regarded the morning news on my television, which I keep on a shelf in my library. The images were those of men, but men who had been replaced by floating feathers, cowboy hats, and giant cigarettes. Truly now, I knew that I had entered into the labyrinthine Fiefdom of Metonymy.
- - -

Dennis the Menace
by Marcel Proust

Upon accidentally dropping a glass onto my kitchen floor, a most regrettable and yet unavoidable occurrence over the course of one’s lifetime of glassware use, I chanced to hear a sound that was just the same as the clatter of glass when, as a boy, I threw a leather ball through the window of our neighbor Monsieur Wilson, who responded with a thundering yell of the Christian name of I, your narrator.
- - -

Hagar the Horrible
by Leo Tolstoy

Two Vikings sat upon an island and recalled how they came to be there. They arrived there through History, which is but the manifestation of the great divine force which drives us, a force which may be called “God” by the cavemen of B.C.
- - -

Garfield
by James Joyce

Stately plump Garfield hated Mondays and lasagna I said lasagna I will Lasagna.
- - - -

The Tin House Books blog posted an interesting article by Cory Doctorow about writing science fiction in a world that’s changing so fast, and what it can means in terms of trying to predict the future - and instead perhaps predicting the present. Having just read Fahrenheit 451 and noticing disturbing similarities between his book (discussions of articles reduced to headlines, headlines banished, books banned, interactive whole-wall television as family) and the actual world (Twitter’s 140-character limit, projector televisions, the slowing of newspaper and print media, reality television), I was interested to read what he had to say. Seems he felt that literal interpretations might make the reader miss the point, somewhat.

“Mary Shelley wasn’t worried about reanimated corpses stalking Europe, but by casting a technological innovation in the starring role of Frankenstein, she was able to tap into present-day fears about technology overpowering its masters and the hubris of the inventor. Orwell didn’t worry about a future dominated by the view-screens from 1984, he worried about a present in which technology was changing the balance of power, creating opportunities for the state to enforce its power over individuals at ever-more-granular levels.”

Read the whole article on Tin House Books blog.

In any vid–er, excuse me, DVD — rental place, or reco–er…excuse me, CD shop –the “Staff Picks’ is always my favourite section. When I see three movies/albums I adore on someone’s shelf, surrounded by things I’ve never heard of, it feels like a gift. So much more to watch/listen to! I’m not sure the joy I take in movies/music/books is entirely healthy, but I’m not out robbing banks or doing “the drugs”, so let’s not worry too much.

Anyway, today NPR posted the first (there are going to be more! *swoon*) issue of “What We’re Reading”, which is exactly what it sounds like. And through it, I found out the new Barbara Kingsolver novel, The Lacuna is out today. Very exciting! I loved her last book, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, detailing her family’s efforts to eat locally, but I have sorely missed her fiction. Sadly, NPR links to a review which calls The Lacuna Kingsolver’s ‘Disappointing Return’. I hope I disagree. I love her writing so much. She’s very descriptive, whether she’s writing about lush forests, arid deserts, the smell of a ripe tomato plant or an old woman’s hair. I like the vividness and the –sincerity? Earnestness? Maybe frankness is the word I want — of her style.

Other books on the NPR folks lists at the moment include Jonathan Safran Foer’s Eating Animals (I’ll probably check this out - I liked Everything is Illuminated a lot), Googled: The End of the World As We Know It by Ken Auletta, The Humbling by Philip Roth (I’ll be skipping this one - Portnoy’s Complaint , and Invisible by Paul Auster.

As for the AbeBooks side, my the most successful of my recent forays have included Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, which was so absorbing and compelling that I read it in about 6 hours. It was my first time reading it (I know, I know), and it was a bit chilling how many of Bradbury’s dystopian, science-fictional inventions in the book are now not far off reality (Twitter, reality television, the slowing of print media…). I wish I had read it a long time ago, as well, but am so happy to have read it now. I definitely recommend this as a read - or re-read - for everybody who enjoys dark, thoughtful, creative fiction. And now I’m about 90% of the way through Walter M. Miller’s A Canticle for Leibowitz, which started off so intriguing and strong that I couldn’t wait to dig deeper, but I confess my fascination has waned somewhat. It’s also science fiction, set in a wasted future that feels like the past because of its rudimentary, humble surroundings, but is quickly revealed as the future, a desolate result of the Flame Deluge of the twentieth century - nuclear war. I’m still enjoying reading it, but it’s lost some of its early excitement. I also took time for a fun, dark, gritty noir read in Richard Stark’s Parker novel The Hunter, which is perfect if you like your men square-jawed, inscrutable and spitting nails, your women blonde, bosomy and untrustworthy, and your violence gory and plentiful. I’m going to read Darwyn Cooke’s new graphic novel adaptation next, about which I have heard nothing but awe-inspired raves.

Richard’s reading Tragically I Was an Only Twin, an anthology of comedian Peter Cook’s performances, Krakatoa by Simon Winchester and Sound Bites: Eating on Tour with Franz Ferdinand. Kathleen is reading Amsterdam by Ian McEwan, and Flesh Market Close by Ian Rankin. And Scott rounds us out literarily - he’s currently reading Following the Equator by Mark Twain.

….to which we all naturally said “ooooh! La-di-DAH! Mark TWAIN, my my!” and waved our hands about, while Scott rolled his eyes.

It’s good to work here.

And you? What are you reading? Leave us a comment! (NOTE: we are having some strangeness with our comment capability - please write your comment, COPY it, then submit - if you receive an error, use your browser’s back button to try again. We are so sorry for the inconvenience and are trying to fix this - we love hearing from you!).

Yann Martel, enigmatic author of the bestselling 2001 novel Life of Pi is going to have a new book out in June. Martel’s new book, Beatrice and Virgil , is due out in June and said to be set in WWII, the midst of the Nazi Holocaust.

While Martel and his publisher are so far fairly tight-lipped about the details, rumour has it that the book is every bit as intriguing, engrossing and satisfying as Pi, which is no small feat. It’s an exciting time for Yann Martel - director Ang Lee has signed on to make the film version of Life of Pi.

That was a book I very much enjoyed, and I’ll be sure to check out Beatrice and Virgil as well. I wonder what the premise/story of the book will be? This is a dangerous topic to sound cynical or jaded about, but the fact is, your standard terrifying and heartbreaking retelling of the horrors of the Holocaust has been done too many times now - there needs to be a different focus, a different perspective, a new way of looking and understanding - for the book to make a unique impact.

Strangely, my two most powerful experiences with Holocaust stories came in the form of a love story - Roberto Benigni’s film Life is Beautiful, which was among the most beautiful, painful and moving films I’ve ever seen; and a graphic novel - Art Spiegelman’s illustrated ode to his father and his time in the Nazi work camps, Maus.

Apparently, November 18th has been dubbed ‘International Science Fiction Reshelving Day’ by…well, it doesn’t really say by whom, that I could see, but I think “by nerds” is a safe assumption.

In short, a bunch of science fiction fans feel deeply wronged that books belonging to their genre of choice are being shelved in fiction (general) rather than the separate sci-fi section.

Or, taken directly from the FAQ of the horse’s mouth:

1.What is International Science Fiction Reshelving Day?
International Science Fiction Reshelving Day (ISFRD) is a day each year when science fiction and fantasy readers reshelve all the books that should be in the science fiction section of bookstores but which are not.

For example, The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood explores dystopic future in which the United States has been replaced by a theocracy named Gilead, in which women do not possess even basic human rights. Science fiction, right? Not in most bookstores, at least in the United States.

ISFRD is the day when we quietly take these books from where they are shelved in bookstores and reshelve them in the science fiction section.

2.So, you just move the books?
Yes. We move books from where they are to where we believe they belong.

3.Why?
When a genre fiction book is shelved as general fiction, it does a disservice to two types of reason. Those who enjoy genre fiction may not find the book and non-genre readers may not recognize that they might enjoy other books of that genre.

In addition, it reinforced the notion that non-genre books are somehow better than genre books. It does this by suggesting, however passively, that the misshelved genre books are good enough to have escaped the genre sections of the bookstore.

We do not expect to stop misshelving, but we hope to bring attention to the problem. Consider it an act of protest.

And so, in an act of protest likely accompanied by giggling and snorting, the plan is to swarm unsuspecting bookstores and stealthily reshelve the books where THEY think they should go, thereby….um….annoying the employees/owners of the store, adding extra work to their day, and accomplishing little, that I can see.

A world of “sheesh”.

I love this story from the UK where Martin Amis - the highly regarded author and darling of the literary media - has made it very clear that he hates Jordan / Katie Price - the former glamour model whose ghosted novels and frequently published memoirs sell by the truckload.

“She has no waist… an interesting face… but all we are really worshipping is two bags of silicone,” he told the Hay Festival in London this week where he was actually supposed to promoting his latest novel.

Her latest novel Sapphire is still riding high in the bestsellers list, three months after publication, while her first novel outsold the entire Booker prize shortlist.

In trying to understand this, Amis has read both volumes of Price’s autobiographies, and avidly follows her exploits in the tabloids. He even admits she has inspired a character, Threnody, in his upcoming novella State Of England - saying she ‘isn’t based on, but you should bear in mind, Jordan’.

I’m glad he has at least read her books. I love the idea of Martin Amis sitting down in his extensive library surrounded by Hemingways, WH Auden collections and probably a few Sartres with a Katie Price book in his hand - I can imagine him muttering and cursing under his breath as he remembers that Katie has sold thousands of books in 2009 and that he’s probably sold a couple of hundred.

Here’s my take. For years everyone made fun of Katie Price as a witless peroxide blonde with huge knockers and guess what? She turns out to be an astute businesswoman who cleverly develops her own brand and works relentless to promote herself. She even develops a new set of fans away from the men who loved her topless photos - now young girls love her for her horse-themed books and women buy her autobiographies.

Years ago, I was promoting a charity netball game in London where lots of celebs turned up to play. Katie Price came along - at the time she was still Jordan with unfeasibly large breasts. She got stuck in and played as best as she could considering several pounds of silicon slowed her running ability and also hampered her ball-handing, but none of the other celebs would pass the ball to her. After the final whistle, they completely shunned her. You could just tell they hated her.

Well, Katie Price has the last laugh now. Personally, I’m happy to see people reading - even if the books are ghosted and rubbish. Like a lot of other people in the UK, she probably doesn’t even know who Martin Amis is. I’m sure Price will be completely unfazed by Amis’ comments because….. she’s too busy being Katie Price.

Courtesy of the BBC, an article about what your bookshelf says about you.

“Books somehow reflect an aspect of our personality that people don’t easily see. I have a friend who has a reputation for being an ice queen, but when I went to her place, I noticed all these cheesy romantic novels in her bookcases.”

Thanks to The Daily Beast for the heads-up on the latest in the world of comics - Stephen King!

The man just can’t stop writing, and it works, so I guess he decided to try something new. He’s been publishing books left, right and center for 35 years, since his first book - the chilling tale of a telekinetic teen with a psychotic mother, Carrie - first hit the shelves in 1974. In that time he’s written upwards of 60 novels, as well as loads of short fiction, writing instructions and more. And now, perhaps bored and looking for something fresh, perhaps titillated by a comic he’s read, perhaps aware that both comics and vampires are enjoying a lot of popularity of late and jumping on the ol’ bandwagon (*ahem*), he’s writing a vampire comic book.

The book, titled American Vampire will begin releasing issues in March, through Vertigo (an imprint of DC), and King is on board for the first five issues.

I have to admit - I’m curious. I haven’t read anything new of Stephen King in years because it all started to seem the same to me, but if he’s excited about something fresh in a new medium, he might just rock it - back in the days of Misery, It and Cujo, he could scare the bejesus out of me with the best of them.

I’m already scared, in fact, because the fellow on the left up there looks a lot like Kid Rock.
That would terrify anybody.

On October 29, Asterix will be 50 years old. The BBC reports.