|
|
An Education In Books
  A couple of years ago, I was a member of a book-of-the-month club. One book I got during that time was called THE WELL-EDUCATED MIND by Susan Wise Bauer. I recently, finally, picked it up again. The subtitle on the book is "A Guide to the Classical Education You Never Had." Specifically, it refers to an education in literature and how to interpret and think logically about what you have read. I don't know about you guys, but my education didn't include the classics like it did for some people. I was that kid in the back row of the class, reading Stephen King or romance novels while everyone else was reading SILAS MARNER. I didn't read much of the assigned reading, and when I did, I mostly skimmed through it. And my college experience was abbreviated, at best.  However, I have always felt this lack and I found the concept of Ms. Bauer's book to be interesting. Each chapter includes theory, history and exercises for critical thinking, along with book descriptions and reading lists. Despite feeling like my brain is a mite sluggish (therefore causing me to have to reread paragraphs a couple times to make sure I get the point), the book is pretty well organized and easy to digest. Ms. Bauer suggests setting a few times a week to read and study, concentrating on learning the subject matter. She specifically suggests the morning for this, but anyone who knows me knows I don't do mornings. For those who have wanted to brush up on their classic literature, this book is a wonderful source. Whether you went to a university or the college of life, this book can help you with finding classics to explore as well as the skills needed to appreciate them. Even if you aren't a fan of school, this might be just the ticket for you, as it allows you to move at your own pace and pick the books you are going to learn about. Nicole
RT BOOKreviews August 08 Issue
How Many Have You Read?
  There is a book I have seen loitering around the various tables at the bookstore called 1001 BOOKS YOU MUST READ BEFORE YOU DIE. This isn't the type of book I would normally buy, but it is one of interest. Everyone had a different outlook on what is required reading and what is not. When I saw that some bloggers were checking off what books they had read from the list, I thought it was a good idea to see where I stood. I have read or attempted to read approximately 95 of the books on the list. Not sure what this says about me or the list itself. I did note a few things about this list of books, though. - It's definitely biased towards American and European literature. Very little from anywhere else. - Heavily focused on early to mid-1900s. But then, it usually takes time for a book to evolve into a classic. - No Shakespeare? Really? - I have read books by many of the authors on the list, just not necessarily the ones listed there. - A lot of the books mentioned are school reading books. However, my education skipped forward right as many of these books became standard fare. Therefore there are many classics on here that most people read in school, but I didn't. Of course, that's also partially because when I was supposed to be reading the assigned books, I was often reading Stephen King or the like. I like the idea of the book and I think it's a great resource for people looking to expand their literary knowledge or find something new to read. However, I do think you should also look beyond this list to further your literacy. And, if you haven't read many books on the list, that's okay, too. It's reading that's important, not whether it's a "classic". Nicole
Watch Interview With Author Eric Jerome Dickey
Short-Term Literary Relationships
  I don't just read a lot of books, I also read several magazines. Years ago I got weaseled into subscribing to a bunch of magazines through a service. Since then I have continued to have around 5 magazines coming in at any given time. Having read lots of types of magazines, I thought I would share some of my favorites with you. Besides Romantic Times, of course, I also love... SEED - Seed is a science magazine unlike any I have ever seen. The articles aren't above your head like the trade magazines are but they aren't dumbed down like some you might find in other science-related magazines for the masses. The layout is very reader-friendly, also. But the best part is the pictures. The photos in this magazine are so beautiful you want to frame them and put them on the wall. It's not just readable (and the book review section feeds my Amazon wish list each month), it's gorgeously put together. ALLURE - This may seem a shallow magazine, but I have read some fascinating articles between those pages. The articles focus on in-depth looks into things like the history of perfume, what actually goes into an eye shadow, what lipstick can mean to a woman. They are very well-written and fascinating. GLIMMER TRAIN - This literary journal contains wonderful short stories. In fact, in the most recent edition of BEST AMERICAN SHORT STORIES, they contributed the most entries. It's a quarterly magazine, but I look forward to each and I savor them when they come in.  I also read ELLE (also contains some incredible articles), GLAMOUR (the interviews are some of the best around) and SELF (a well-rounded look at wellness and health). I miss PREMIERE, a monthly entertainment magazine that went under last year, but sometimes ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY makes up for it - especially now that Michael Ausiello of TV GUIDE fame has joined their ranks. Books are wonderful long-term friends, but magazines are great for acquaintances, too. Nicole
NYC Event: Meet Liz Tuccillo, Writer From "Sex and the City"
 "' Sex and the City' writer and co-author of HE'S JUST NOT THAT INTO YOU, Liz Tuccillo presents her new novel with fellow writers from the series--just weeks after the release of the movie spin-off. Fans of the beloved TV show will not want to miss the chance to get up-close-and-personal with four of the writers as they dish about the latest installment. Special guests: Amy B. Harris, Elisa Zuritsky and Julie Rottenberg (all Sex and the City Writers)"  Word for Word Author Series: Liz Tuccillo Writer from Sex and the City
Wednesday, June 18, 12:30 pm - 2:00 pm
Bryant Park Reading Room
A Bit of Book and Movie Randomness
 Read another book that I found at the RT convention this year. I was running around, collecting books, and stumbled on a friend of mine at an author's table. She hands me a book and says, "I think you really like this." I read over the back, added the book to my pile and last week, I finally read it. I enjoyed THE DEVIL INSIDE by Jenna Black very much. I was intrigued by the premise (an exorcist who gets possessed) and the story was very well done. I especially liked how the author discussed a character's fetish in unbiased terms, while demonstrating how much her main character hates it. It was an interesting contradiction that was handled masterfully. I already have her next book on order. Other information that has come my way recently... Joining Stephen King's Gunslinger series, Marvel is adapting THE STAND into a comic series. The first one comes out in September of this year. Having seen the beautiful work Marvel has done on the Gunslinger comics, I can't wait to see how THE STAND is treated.  The well-known children's series, R.L. Stine's Goosebumps, is being adapted for the big screen. This should make both parents with young children and nostalgic grown ups very happy. I am always looking for some sort of database management system for keeping track of my books. I have tried Access, Excel, online systems like Shelfari and Librarything, but haven't found one that I have stuck with for more than a couple dozen of my books. A friend of mine can't stop raving about Bookpedia. He loves the Amazon detail integration, the book cover snapshots and how he can keep track of when he read the book as well as a rating system. Might have to try it soon. Nicole
An Interesting Study
 Before walking into the RT Convention's Book Fair this year, I had promised myself I would not buy any books. I know, I know. Instead, I would gather the names of the authors and the titles of the books that interested me and I would add them to my list of books to buy. Of course, this did not happen. I had so many books in my hands within a short period of time that I finally just could not pick up anymore. I got to one table with beautiful books on it. The first title intrigued me - POISON STUDY. There were two others, MAGIC STUDY and FIRE STUDY. I spoke briefly with the author, a lovely lady named Maria V. Snyder. I explained that I would love to read her books but I just couldn't justify any more purchases that day. I grabbed one of her cards featuring the books on it, and she very kindly signed it for me. I got home and immediately ordered the first book. Once it came in, I started reading it right away. I was 50 pages away from the end when I ordered the other two books. All three books are fascinating. The mythology, while complicated, is also easy to understand. And as the titles suggest, the books each focus on a specific type of education the main character, Yelena Saltana, experiences. Yelena is about to be executed for murder, when she is offered a choice: hang for her crime or become the food taster for the Commander of Ixia. Choosing to become the food taster, Yelena becomes the student of Valek, the Commander's chief of security. POISON STUDY is a fantastic story with action, world-building, romance, and of course, poison. I don't want to give away what happens after that, but MAGIC STUDY and FIRE STUDY continue all the wonderful elements of the first book while exploring new plot devices. The characters continue to be interesting and yet real, the challenges are intriguing and the action never flags. I am hoping there's a continuation of this series. Either way, I will be on the lookout for more from Ms. Snyder. And I have learned my lesson - I won't put a limit on what I can buy at next year's RT. Who knows what I might have missed? Nicole
|
|
