Go Tell It on the Mountain, James Baldwin. As the title suggests, Baldwin's novel is deeply steeped in religious overtones, undertones & every nook & cranny between tones. In other words, it's lots more religious than I like, which is not to say that Baldwin isn't a great writer or that the novel itself isn't worthy of a read.
Tao Te Ching, Lao Tzu, trans. Stephen Mitchell. I like Mitchell's translations, if that's what they are, so I thought I'd give his take on Tao Te Ching a shake since The Tao of Pooh failed to enlighten me. I'm still waiting . . .
The Overcoat, Nikolai Gogol. As to the plight of the poor & powerless, is there justice?
I, Robot, Isaac Asimov. The cover of the edition I read shows Will Smith as Det. Spooner from the Hollywood "adaptation" of the novel, even though Spooner doesn't exist in the book--nor do the other movie characters--& the film's plot, well, I'd go as far as to say that paranoia about a robot revolution runs antithetical to the theme of Asimov's collection of stories about robots.
Snow White, Donald Barthleme. I remember when Barthleme, after a reading, signed a couple of books for me, saying in his sonorous voice as I walked away, "An extraordinary pleasure, sir." I don't know why, but that always makes me snicker. Ditto this book.
Novelsmithing, David Sheppard. Sheppard assures the reader that his method of novel writing is the bee's tried & true knees before delving into analyzing how novels work, citing numerous examples from movies rather than, I don't know, maybe novels, to illustrate his points. Apparently, much novel writing can be learned from sitting down with pencil & popcorn to watch James Cameron's Titanic, yet Sheppard never explains--at least he hadn't by the time I quit reading--the movie's flawed point of view, for how can the survivor of the big blundering boat recall scenes when, in many cases, she wasn't even there when they happened?
Honey & Salt, Carl Sandburg. Back when I was in high school, teachers would assign Sandburg for those days when we were to appreciate poetry. I'm not sure--does anyone still do that? Sandburg's probably the most prosaic poet out there, even more so than Robinson Jeffers or, one of my faves, William Stafford.
White Stone: The Alice Poems, Stephanie Bolster. Outside of maybe Denise Duhamel's Kinky, I don't usually like books dedicated to a single topic, but I found this collection of poems about two Alices--the one Lewis Carroll created & the real life person his character was based upon--informative & entertaining.
Darkwater: Voices from Within the Veil, W.E.B. Du Bois. This collection of memoirs, stories, allegories, essays, etc., centered around the inequality that racism, sexism, & classism create, provides insightful analysis & social commentary.
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Tao Te Ching, Lao Tzu, trans. Stephen Mitchell. I like Mitchell's translations, if that's what they are, so I thought I'd give his take on Tao Te Ching a shake since The Tao of Pooh failed to enlighten me. I'm still waiting . . .
The Overcoat, Nikolai Gogol. As to the plight of the poor & powerless, is there justice?
I, Robot, Isaac Asimov. The cover of the edition I read shows Will Smith as Det. Spooner from the Hollywood "adaptation" of the novel, even though Spooner doesn't exist in the book--nor do the other movie characters--& the film's plot, well, I'd go as far as to say that paranoia about a robot revolution runs antithetical to the theme of Asimov's collection of stories about robots.
Snow White, Donald Barthleme. I remember when Barthleme, after a reading, signed a couple of books for me, saying in his sonorous voice as I walked away, "An extraordinary pleasure, sir." I don't know why, but that always makes me snicker. Ditto this book.
Novelsmithing, David Sheppard. Sheppard assures the reader that his method of novel writing is the bee's tried & true knees before delving into analyzing how novels work, citing numerous examples from movies rather than, I don't know, maybe novels, to illustrate his points. Apparently, much novel writing can be learned from sitting down with pencil & popcorn to watch James Cameron's Titanic, yet Sheppard never explains--at least he hadn't by the time I quit reading--the movie's flawed point of view, for how can the survivor of the big blundering boat recall scenes when, in many cases, she wasn't even there when they happened?
Honey & Salt, Carl Sandburg. Back when I was in high school, teachers would assign Sandburg for those days when we were to appreciate poetry. I'm not sure--does anyone still do that? Sandburg's probably the most prosaic poet out there, even more so than Robinson Jeffers or, one of my faves, William Stafford.
White Stone: The Alice Poems, Stephanie Bolster. Outside of maybe Denise Duhamel's Kinky, I don't usually like books dedicated to a single topic, but I found this collection of poems about two Alices--the one Lewis Carroll created & the real life person his character was based upon--informative & entertaining.
Darkwater: Voices from Within the Veil, W.E.B. Du Bois. This collection of memoirs, stories, allegories, essays, etc., centered around the inequality that racism, sexism, & classism create, provides insightful analysis & social commentary.
Want more? Click here.
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