The Fire This Time

Before the end of the month, I wanted to mention the final book I read for Black History Month, The Fire This Time: A New Generation Speaks about Race, edited by Jesmyn Ward. I know that this is a current sort of book, talking about the Black experience and psyche in today's America but I do feel that reading about what happened yesterday is just as important as studying what happened in 1965. This collection of essays and poems range from topics such as slavery and police profiling, to family and music. Together, they begin to paint a picture of the required mindset and physical realities of being Black in America today.

There were so many beautiful and sorrowful pieces in this book. There were small glimmers of hope for a better future, especially for today's children, but these were all also tempered with a dose of reality. I personally found it to be a call to action -- both to be a better and truer ally to communities of color and to work harder to change the system through civil and political action so that everyone can truly know that they "have a right to be here" (Edwidge Danticat).

With a heavy heart,
K

New Release: The View From the Cheap Seats

I was very lucky and got an early review copy of Neil Gaiman's collection of selected nonfiction, The View From the Cheap Seats, which is out today. I always enjoy Neil's introductions and essays and am glad to have many of them in one place now. And though I've read some of the speeches and introductions before, I am finding that sitting and reading them as a collection is helping me really appreciate what a brilliant and thoughtful man he is, how he uses his words to present big ideas in ways that all readers and listeners can understand, and how invested he is in the entire world of books, stories, authors, and readers.

From the introduction --

This book contains speeches, essays and introductions. Some of the introductions made it into this volume because I love the author or the book in question, and I hope my love will be contagious. Others are here because, somewhere in that introduction, I did my best to explain something that I believe to be true, something that might even be important.

The fact that this is an introduction to a group of introductions just struck me as funny. Anyway ... if you haven't yet tried Diana Wynne Jones or Terry Pratchett or Douglas Adams, Neil's kind and adoring words about them might get you interested in finally picking up one of their books. And if you weren't already familiar with the art of Dave McKean, you'll probably find yourself curious enough to start Googling. And if you've never thought about the definition of genre, you just might find yourself discussing it with your hubby at 2am when you should be sleeping (this one could just be me).

And, in a strange, coincidental way, Jenny's Law about DWJ has turned out to be Neil's Law about Gene Wolfe --

How to Read Gene Wolfe:
...
3. Reread. It's better the second time. It will be even better the third time. And anyway, the books will subtly reshape themselves while you are away from them.

(Neil's Law dates back to at least 2002 when he wrote this for the program book of The World Horror Convention but it doesn't make Jenny any less of a genius.)

So, while The Art of Neil Gaiman is about everything that Neil has produced, this book is about many of the things that have gone into his lovely brain over the years and steeped and become those very things that we have already enjoyed about him and his work. It is a sampling of the essence of Neil Gaiman and it can't help but make fans even more ardent.

Devouring all of the food for thought,
K

All The Books I Haven't Reviewed Yet This Year

My friends, I have not been the best blogger this year. I started out well but my productivity dropped off when real life stepped up with a few stresses and challenges. Consequently, I've ended up with a nice stack of books that haven't been reviewed. I want to at least mention the books because many of them are fantastic. I also want to put this stack of books away and start fresh in the new year. So bear with me as I take you on a whirlwind tour of a dozen or so books!

(Apologies for the poor quality pictures. I was in a hurry to get this post going. The notebook on the left that is propping up all of the books is my short story journal.)

First up are the children's books, three of which Z and I read together at bedtime --

Cosmic by Frank Cottrell Boyce was a super fantastic book about a twelve-year-old boy, Liam, who pretends he's an adult (he looks old for his age) and ends up lost in space with four other children. This book is his attempt to explain how he got there. Z and I both loved this book. It's very British and also very engaging.

Fortunately, the Milk by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Chris Riddell (in the UK), was hilarious and also very British since I ordered a beautiful slipcased edition (signed by both author and illustrator) from Foyle's Bookstore and had it shipped over the pond! Though the book was a little young for Z, he didn't mind one bit. Personally, I loved how Riddell made the dad look like Neil himself.

The Templeton Twins Have an Idea by Ellis Weiner, illustrated by Jeremy Holmes, was a fun enough read but it never quite grabbed Z's interest. There is a saucy narrator that just seemed to annoy him though I'm sure other kids would find that voice hilarious. I loved how the kids each used their own individual talents to their advantage.

A Great and Complicated Adventure by Toon Tellegen, illustrated by Jessica Ahlberg and translated by Martin Cleaver, is a book of very short bedtime tales that were originally published in Dutch. I read them quickly on my own one afternoon and ended up perplexed but amused. The stories are quite strange and yet I had one or two kids come immediately to mind who would probably enjoy them immensely.

Next is a non-fiction read --

I finally finished Reflections: On the Magic of Writing by Diana Wynne Jones, which I began during DWJ March. I savored this book all year long and learned so much, both about DWJ and about storytelling. And, of course, a highlight of my year was having the foreword signed by Neil Gaiman.

I have two books of short stories on the stack --

Under My Hat: Tales from the Cauldron, edited by Jonathan Strahan is a wonderful collection of witch stories. I was pleasantly surprised by the diversity and quality. There was only one story I didn't enjoy. The ones I loved most were from Diana Peterfreund, Garth Nix, Patricia A. McKillip, Tim Pratt, Isobelle Carmody, Jim Butcher and Peter S. Beagle. Close on their heels were tales by Charles de Lint, Neil Gaiman, Ellen Kushner, Jane Yolen and Margo Lanagan. As you can see from the names, this is a star-studded collection!

Revenge: Eleven Dark Tales by Yoko Ogawa was a read-together with Natalie but she also had real life get in the way and so we never got the chance to write about these strange and definitely dark tales. The word "disturbing" pops up more than once in the blurbs on the back of the book and it's a fantastic descriptor. I also used the word "creepy" in my notes. The stories begin as separate entities but then start weaving together in big and small ways. I found my biggest confusion arose from the question of gender in many of the stories. There weren't enough clues and many times I was reading the story from the wrong gender perspective until sometime near the end when it was revealed clearly. It was very disorienting and I'm not sure if that was purposeful on Ogawa's part or if it was a consequence of translation.

Then we have the adult fiction --

Doomsday Book by Connie Willis is another of her time travel "series" (in quotes because they really all are perfect stand-alone books with only brief reference to the other adventures and some character sharing). This was a trip back to the Middle Ages and it was amazing but long. It's my least favorite of the time travel novels but probably only because the others are set in times that I know more about.

The Counterfeit Guest by Rose Melikan is also a series book but would work well as a stand-alone. It's a fun adventure/mystery with a strong female lead and a wee bit of romance. If you want to start at the beginning, the first book is The Blackstone Key.

The Mystery of Edwin Drood by Charles Dickens is only half of a story and though I thoroughly enjoyed it, I felt out of sorts for days after finishing it. I finally realized that it was because I was annoyed at not being able to continue with the story! I think that Dickens wrote some of his most complex characters for this novel and his pacing was perfect. It is a tragedy that he never finished writing the story.

Bellman and Black by Diane Setterfield is one I purposefully avoided reviewing. I just don't know what to say about it. It was okay but not great or memorable in the way that her first novel was.

And finally a few series books --

The Grey King and Silver on the Tree by Susan Cooper were the last two books in the Dark is Rising Sequence. The Grey King was amazing and made me want to travel to Wales immediately. Silver on the Tree suffered a bit from my timing in picking it up, being the book that I read over the Christmas holiday. I was busy and it took longer than it should have and so I kept losing track of the story. Still, I think this was an amazingly deep and complex series and I truly hope that Z enjoys it in the coming years.

Seventy-Seven Clocks by Christopher Fowler is the third Peculiar Crimes Unit Mystery though these are books that could be read on their own as they skip around in time. This one takes place in the middle of Arthur Bryant and John May's careers -- 1970's London. It was a crazy roller-coaster story of murders and phobias and I am definitely looking forward to picking up the next book.

Rumo & His Miraculous Adventures by Walter Moers is the second Zamonia book and I put off reading it for a long time because Rumo was not a very exciting character in the first book. That was a mistake because this book was fantastic. I don't even know how to begin to explain this book or series but if you are looking for something completely different, this is it. If you don't enjoy the absurd or fantastic, then don't read it.

If you're still reading, thank you,
K

New Release: Paris Was Ours

After the complexity of my last read, I decided that I wanted to pick up something that was the polar opposite and so I chose Paris Was Ours: Thirty-Two Writers Reflect on the City of Light, a non-fiction collection of essays gathered by Penelope Rowlands. These are essays from writers young and old, male and female, gay and straight, students and professionals, mothers and daughters.

I enjoyed some of the essays more than others but I think that it took all of them as a group to present the picture of Paris that they did. From the experiences of Americans, French expats, Iranians, Cubans and Brits, a universal vision of Paris from the point of view of a visitor is gathered -- one of love, loneliness, awe and fear. After reading this collection, I am now familiar with café culture, Parisian fashion, expensive but tiny maid's rooms, French parenting methods and architecture.

My favorite essay was from Zoé Valdés, a Cuban diplomat's wife and author who had to reconcile her upbringing and indoctrination in the communist nation with the beauty, freedom and consumerism that she experienced in Paris. I also really enjoyed the piece by Roxane Farmanfarmaian about her experience of being basically locked out of Iran while staying in Paris. Each unique point of view in this book is surprisingly similar and one can only finish this book in awe of those who choose to relocate to the City of Light.

Craving a fresh baguette and some chocolate,
K


Support our site and buy Paris Was Ours on Amazon or find it at your local library. We received a copy from the publisher for review.

Burn This Book (Or Don't)

If you care about the freedom to read and write whatever you choose, you may be interested in this new book -- Burn This Book: PEN Writers Speak Out on the Power of the World. Released in May and edited by Toni Morrison, this collection fights for the rights of the author and the rights of the reader.

From the publicist:
Burn This Book was born out of a speech last April that Nobel Prize winner Toni Morrison gave at the PEN International Festival dinner. Morrison observed that night, "A writer's life and work are not a gift to mankind; they are its necessity." As she paid tribute to the difficulties and challenges writers face in many parts of the world, she also reflected on the steep price we all pay when voices are silenced. This powerful, incantatory talk sparked a notion for a book of essays that would explore the issue and impact of censorship in the world.

Published in conjunction with the PEN American Center, Toni Morrison's speech now opens this collection of extraordinary voices from around the world: John Updike (in one of his final pieces), David Grossman, Francine Prose, Pico Iyer, Russell Banks, Paul Auster, Orhan Pamuk, Salman Rushdie, Ed Park, and Nadine Gordimer. The writers represent Nobel and other prize winners and they include writers who have had first-hand experience of censorship and its consequences.

Why protect free speech? What is the power of the word? The approaches they all take to these questions are as varied as their works of literature. Here, the personal and the political mingle and collide; philosophical reflection is partnered with the conundrums of experience. Across the pages there is a rush of ideas, emotions and perspectives that disallow assumptions to stand or acquiesce to any force, whether external or internal.

About PEN:
PEN is the leading voice for literature and a major force for free expression and the unhampered exchange of ideas and opinions worldwide. Founded in 1921, it is the world's oldest ongoing human rights organization, and it currently has 144 PEN centers in 102 countries dedicated to protecting the right of all humanity to create and communicate freely. By mobilizing the world's most influential literary voiced and an international network of writers, readers, and human rights supporters, PEN makes a difference every day in the lives of writers who are facing persecution around the world. For more information about PEN, visit www.pen.org

For more information please visit The Harper Studio.

Fighting for the freedom of books,
K


Buy Burn This Book: PEN Writers Speak Out on the Power of the Word on Amazon or find it at your local library.