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Archive for January, 2012

Jan 31

dance part1
9 Comments

Book 1 of “A Dance”: A Question of Upbringing

At the first of the year, I told you I was proclaiming 2012 as “The Year of The Dance.” The thought being that I, along with you if you are so interested, will read through Anthony Powell’s behemoth 3,000 page novel, A Dance To The Music Of Time.

With the novel being broken into 12 separate “books,” I think it’s totally doable in one year. So I’m simply reading one book a month.

With that, today’s post is my brief look back at the first book in this series. If Time wants to consider Dance as one book on their list, then that would make A Question of Upbringing the first chapter. A 230 page chapter at that.

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Jan 30

35 books
3 Comments

Ranking The First 35 Novels

So it’s time to dive in the wonderful world of my highly subjective and completely pointless rankings of the first 35 books I’ve read from the Time list.

If you’re interested, you can see previous updates through book 31: Never Let Me Go.

Now, to somehow justify my rankings for books 32-35.

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Jan 27

jason-alexander
40 Comments

It’s Not You. It’s Me.

“It’s Not You. It’s Me.”

Have you ever felt that way about a book?

You know, the old clichéd way that the girl always breaks up with the boy, like George got the news broken to him in that one episode of Seinfeld. A short monologue is accompanied by a kiss on the cheek, and off she goes into the sunset.

When it comes to reading, though, have you ever felt like that? You appreciate the book. You think you understand why other people like it. But it’s just not for you.

If so, where do you draw the line? How can you tell if something is genuinely a piece of crap, and the people who like it must be border-line illiterate, or whether it’s just not your proverbial cup of tea?

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Jan 26

The-power-and-the-glory
6 Comments

Next Up: The Power And The Glory

Back to back books about traveling priests? Why not.

The Power and the Glory is one of Graham Green’s signature novels. Greene was a prolific author who also wrote several other novels about Catholicism: Brighton Rock, The Heart of the Matter and The End of the Affair.

Most interesting thing about this novel, and I had no idea, is that The Power and the Glory was the basis for the 1947 classic film, The Fugitive—which later brought about the American TV series by the same name in the 1960s and was also remade into a movie starring Harrison Ford in the 1990s.

That was news to me. Anyway, here are some other interesting facts about The Power and the Glory—a novel that I’m totally unfamiliar with:

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Jan 25

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12 Comments

Book #35: Death Comes For The Archbishop

Shhh! Be quiet! I’m reading Death Comes for the Archbishop. Don’t bother me.

Had I wanted the environment in which I was reading book 35 to match the novel itself, I probably would’ve said something like that. Willa Cather’s Death Comes For The Archbishop is a quiet, soft-spoken novel. And I’m not saying that in a critical way.

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Jan 24

janeaustenonsto1373174c
11 Comments

Was Jane Austen Poisoned?

Thought we might talk about something a little light-hearted today: Hey, did you know Jane Austen might’ve been poisoned?

Well, at least a new theory surrounding her death says that’s a possibility. For years, Austen experts haven’t been able to pinpoint a cause of her death—some say cancer or Addison’s Disease.

But crime writer Lindsay Ashford has another idea, after reading through some of Austen’s old letters. One particular sentence in a letter stood out:

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Jan 23

snooki-borders-columbus-circle
16 Comments

Will Snooki Kill The Printed Book?

That just might happen.

According to this eye-opening article, celebrities like Snooki could eventually be the death of the paper book. It sounds like the publishing industry has figured out how to adapt, so books in paper form could go the way of the vinyl record.

I hate that, and don’t want to be believe it. But maybe I’m in denial.

Sarah Lacy over at Pando Daily had this to say:

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Jan 20

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6 Comments

Death Match! Aslan Battles Napoleon!

It’s time for another death match!

If you’ll remember, Infinite Jest took out Gone With The Wind in the first death match. Today’s battle features two literary superstars: the fierce, intimidating God-like lion, Aslan, from C.S. Lewis’ Narnia series, versus the evil, manipulative and propaganda-spewing pig, Napoleon, from Animal Farm.

A lion versus a pig? Come on, right? The King of the Serengeti versus the King of Boone’s Farm? Is it a no brainer?

Well, let’s break it down.

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Jan 19

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5 Comments

The Quotable Willa Cather

Got to be honest with you: Death Comes For The Archbishop isn’t doing much for me.

I don’t dislike it in a Mrs. Dalloway sort of way, but it’s struggling to keep my attention. Or, more accurately, I’m struggling to keep my attention while reading it.

That said, in the middle of what could be considered a dry book (set in the desert…pun intended), Cather really throws in some incredible sentences.  There’s something about a western-themed novel that sets up the writer to really paint some beautiful word pictures. And Cather does just that. She’s an elegant, visual writer, kind of like Cormac McCarthy without all the blood and gore.

Here’s a brief sampling:

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Jan 17

7 Comments

Why I Won’t Be Posting Tomorrow.

Hey Friends,

101 Books will be blacked out tomorrow, as I’ll be participating in the internet blackout against SOPA, which will also include sites like Wikipedia and Reddit. And, as such, I owe you an explanation.

If you’ve read the news at all in the last few weeks, you’ve probably heard about SOPA, which stands for the “Stop Online Piracy Act.”

It’s a proposed bill here in the U.S.that was designed mainly as a way to stop online pirating of movies and music. But the vagaries and far-stretching dirty little fingers of the bill could drastically change the internet forever, which would have consequences outside of U.S. borders.

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