I (heart) several books

It’s here, my big day in South Florida biblio-journalism. First, a review in the Miami Herald of Larry’s Kidney, an entertaining account of two cousins and their quest in China for a kidney, a bride and a better understanding of their relationship. And by the way props to The Herald and to the hardworking book (and Weekend section) editor Connie Ogle for keeping on keeping on in this economic climate. The Sun-Sentinel recently laid off longtime book editor Chauncey Mabe — he’ll still be doing freelance book reviews for them but it’s a major institutional loss for South Florida readers.

From the Mulletwrapper to the Daily Beast

So how cool is this? First Publisher’s Weekly comes out with a rave review for The Lost Chalice, my friend Vern’s new book about the antiquities smuggling trade in Italy, where he has lived and reported for the last several years. And then, just a few weeks before the official publication date, Tina Brown’s cool new site The Daily Beast, features another rave in its Book Beast section. Worth checking just for the photo! You go, Vern! And to think the contract for this book was signed at my dining room table … (Vern, a very good friend indeed, flew in from Rome for our big 40th birthday party. For the weekend. And I’m using “our” not in the royal we sense but because it was also my husband’s and friend Jason’s birthdays so that’s why we had a big bash, OK?!)

Just wait till Sunday

If you happened to be a regular reader of this blog, no doubt you’ve give up by now. But just in case: just wait. Until Sunday. Or keep your eye on the (old school) press, printed paper, local (Solares Hill) and regional (Miami Herald). And for those of you who don’t feel like doing that I’ll be posting some links.

I spent a lot of the spring reading, by the way, although a lot of the reading was what many, including me, might consider junk. I’m still considering writing a piece about my winter/spring of junk reading. I truly don’t know if it was some sort of reaction to the economy or just a personal thing. I’m mostly pulling out of it but the lure is still strong.

Especially since I have untrammeled access to pretty much any kind of book, including lots of junk, at my NEW JOB at the MONROE COUNTY LIBRARY, the MAY HILL RUSSELL BRANCH in Key West!!! Woo hoo! Yes, I’m now a library assistant at the circulation desk and this, aside from a couple of epic stories like the 1994 Cuban Rafter Crisis and some hurricanes, is the most physically demanding job I’ve had since high school. But fun! Really fun! I see books all day, lots of books, and readers and people I’ve known for years and people I’m just meeting and I bike home for lunch. Life is good.

OK I might as well mention some of my recent reading. “Julie & Julia” — I really did not expect to like this one for a bunch of reasons, and I wound up liking it a lot. Now I’m a little afraid to see the movie. “Larry’s Kidney” by Daniel Asa Rose. Stay tuned. “Martyr” by Rory Clements — I’ve already confessed in print about my fondness for Tudor Trash (Philippa Gregory et. al.) but this was different — a crime novel! Set in the Tudor era. With John Shakespeare, Will’s older brother, as the detective! OK, he’s an agent for Sir Francis Walsingham (that was Geoffrey Rush in the movie). No doubt chock full of historical howlers for a real historian but I enjoyed it and it really illustrated the daily dilemmas faced by ordinary people (not just scheming royalty) in a time of massive religious, social and political upheaval. Naomi Novik’s Temeraire books. Patrick O’Brian with dragons. Yes, dragons. Seriously, check them out.

See a great movie made from a great book for a great cause

My husband and I have a long-running, never-to-be-resolved argument about which Tom McGuane novel set in Key West is better. He likes Panama, I prefer 92 in the Shade. But there’s no dispute about which was made into a better movie, mainly because, to my knowledge, they never made a movie of Panama. The movie version of 92 in the Shade, however, is not only an entertaining film with a knockout cast (Peter Fonda! Warren Oates! Harry Dean Stanton! Elizabeth Ashley! Margot Kidder!). It’s essential viewing for anyone interested in Key West’s recent history, especially of that really really interesting era when the Navy was leaving, the new bridges and water line weren’t here yet and marijuana smuggling was completely out of hand.

McGuane himself wrote the screenplay AND directed (no comment here on whether that’s a good idea) and lots of it was shot in Key West. In other words, a great document of classic 1970s Key West. Plus an entertaining movie.

It was distributed on VHS — unfortunately the copy at the Monroe County Library seems to have gone missing — but has not, to my knowledge been released on DVD. You can, however, see the film right here in Key West with a bunch of other Key Westers this Saturday, March 28 – in a special showing that will benefit Heron Peacock Supported Living. VIP tickets are $60; regular admission is $25 and it all takes place at the Doubletree Grand Key Resort. For tickets or more information call Sherry Read at 305-294-2648 or email her at sherrykw2 at aol.com.

The jungle

OK I got nothing for St. Patrick’s Day — other than a hearty recommendation that anyone near Key West stop by Finnegan’s Wake tonight on the good chance that a very good band, Skraeling, will be playing their usual St. Patrick’s Day gig there. What I do have is a link to my review in Sunday’s Miami Herald of The Lost City of Z by David Grann. It’s a great tale about the last of the great Victorian explorers, Percy Fawcett, who disappeared into the Amazon rainforest in 1925 looking for, essentially, El Dorado. Grann retraces his steps both on the ground and in the archives and does an excellent job telling the tale.

A reading list

A couple weeks ago my friend Erin asked me for some book recommendations. Since I don’t really know her taste in reading matter, I made a wide ranging and long list of everything I like that I could remember offhand. Since I haven’t posted anything here in awhile (curse you, Facebook!) I figured I might as well. So here it is:

 

A reading list for Erin

 

Not chick lit but good writing by women:

 

Lorrie Moore — especially Birds of America, a book of short stories

Alice Munro — any of her books, almost all of which are stories

Andrea Barrett — anything, though you should start with Ship Fever, also a book of stories

Jhumpa Lahiri – She has one novel, The Namesake, and two collections of stories, The Interpreter of Maladies and Unaccustomed Earth. All great.

Maggie O’Farrell — most recent: The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox

Emma Donoghue — most recent: The Sealed Letter

Kate Atkinson – she has a trilogy of mysteries, though they’re really character studies: Case Histories, One Good Turn, When Will There Be Good News

P.D. James — slightly more traditional mysteries featuring Adam Dalgleish

Dorothy Sayers — older mysteries that are good and well written, featuring Lord Peter Wimsy.

Scarlett Thomas – The End of Mr. Y – not really sure how to describe this book except that it verges on fantasy/surrealism. But I really, really liked it.

Alison Lurie – Foreign Affairs, The War Between the Tates and a couple set down here includes The Truth About Loren Jones and The Last Resort.

 

If you like mysteries, Swedish mysteries are kind of fun – I liked The Princess of Burundi by Kjell Erikssen. There are lots of others out there.

 

Narrative nonfiction

 

Ian Frazier — Great Plains, Family or On The Rez

Tony Horwitz — Confederates in the Attic, Blue Latitudes or A Voyage Long and Strange. I think Confederates is his best so far.

Sarah Vowell – best known from This American Life – her latest book, The Wordy Shipmates, is about the Puritan settlers in Massachusetts. Assassination Vacation is a historical travelogue with great interesting information about presidential assassins, especially the lesser knowns. Her other books are essay collections that deal with politics and popular culture, Take The Cannoli and The Partly Cloudy Patriot.

 

An accounting, and a warning

I wish my obsessive-compulsive tendencies were in the housecleaning vein, but unfortunately they are limited to useless tasks like carefully keeping track of what I have read. And why? Am I supposed to be earning gold stars from someone? I don’t know why I do this. But I do — and this year, I kept more careful track than ever, with each book noted by fiction vs. nonfiction, if it came from a library, whether I read it for review, etc. etc. I can only blame this on working in a library, where our job is to keep track of things, and classify them. It turns out I like cataloging.

The good news: I read almost twice as much this year as last. That, too, is probably due to my new job. Not that I read on the job — a common but mistaken belief about working in a library — but being surrounded by books all day and learning about lots of newly published books probably inspired me. Not to mention having a job that truly is limited to 40 hours a week most of the time, unlike any job in journalism.

Looking for a place to stay in DC for the inauguration?

Here’s a way to get a place in Washington for the inauguration — and support the Monroe County Library at the same time! Just received this email from Christopher at Voltaire Books:

Give the gift of history this holiday season. 
The owners of Voltaire Books are auctioning off their guest room in Washington, DC, for a lucky couple who wants to attend the Inauguration of Barack Obama as the next President of the United States (Tuesday, January 20, 2009).  100% of proceeds benefit Friends of the Key West Library.
• Washington, DC, guest room available for January 19th – January 21st   (two nights, three days, limit two people)
• Located in Chevy Chase Circle, DC, (near Military Road and Connecticut Ave., in upper NW)
• Walking distance to Friendship Heights Metro Station
• There is a golden retriever puppy in the house
• Does not include Ball tickets or reserved Mall tickets

 
• Bidding NOW OPEN at Voltaire Book (330 Simonton St. at Eaton)
• Auction closes: Monday, December 29th, 5 PM (ET)
• Bidding begins at $250
• All bids require $25 increase
• Pictures of the house are posted in the store
• Gift is not tax deductible

How do I love my local public library? Let me count the ways.

The great, smart, public spirited, hardworking people at the Monroe County Public Library aren’t letting budget blues or holiday overload get them down — instead they’re keeping up great public service, like this online display of books by writers who will appear at the upcoming Key West Literary Seminar (spaces still open for the second session! free Sunday afternoon sessions both weekends!). My man Christopher, owner of the increasingly essential Voltaire Books, just stopped by and told me they have books by all the seminar writers — what a great Christmas gift!

And if that’s not enough reason to love this library, here’s another: Saturday is the season’s first book sale in the Palm Garden. Woo hoo! Lord knows I don’t need more books in my house but these are still irresistible bargains for any bibliophile (and you never know when you might find, say, a signed first edition Elizabeth Bishop in there). It has happened. As a weekday gal, it’s also good to see these events back on Saturdays.

I’m baaaack.

Yes, yes I’ve been neglecting the blog. So sue me. Or cut my blog pay in half. Does that feel better? Besides you should really use this blog the same way I do — as a handy set of links to the more responsible bloggers in the blogroll.

That said, I have been reading — quite a bit. Not as much as I hoped over the Thanksgiving break, but something. I read “The Last Queen,” a historical novel about Juana of Spain, sometimes referred to as Juana the Mad, known to us devotees of Tudor Trash as the older sister of Katharine of Aragon, Henry VIII’s first wife. It wasn’t great art but it was a good read and provided a plausible explanation for why she never really inherited the throne she should have inherited.

But the best reading I’ve done recently has all been set in the 19th century — The Sealed Letter by Emma Donoghue, another work of historical fiction using real people as characters. The novel centers on a scandalous divorce and it pulls off a nice trick — multiple perspectives, all of them plausibly providing the individual characters’ motives and feelings.

The Sealed Letter is in the collection at the FKCC Library and they’ve got it at the Monroe County Library too.

The other thing I’ve been doing is Christmas shopping and this year I’m trying to do as much as possible at my local independent bookstore, Voltaire Books. I’m sure Amazon will get some traffic in my family — those wishlists are awfully handy for faraway relatives — but these days anything we can do to keep the remaining indies with us is well worth it.