SPEAKING OF BOOKS: A Cyber Book Club

  Posted by Glenda Burns Minniece

To view May 2009 SOB click here.

June 2009, SWAN SONG

Swan Song – The final work of a person, as before retirement.

The love of reading often comes from being read aloud to as a child.  Some of my earliest memories are of Mother reading aloud to us three children. Although I love to read, I’ve never been, by any stretch of the imagination, a literary expert, nor do I claim to be.  My personal taste in books has always been very eclectic. 

 

Getting Involved:

We all know that Karla tries to find ways to get more of us to contribute to the blog.  When she suggested that I might lead a book discussion, I was at first amused, and then I thought “Why not, if it will generate chatter?”  So, acting on her prompting, I’ve proposed titles and authors for your consideration since August of last year, and have read and appreciated the suggestions you’ve made in return.  But this is my last submission – my swan song – to Speaking of Books.  The time has come to pass the torch.  In doing so I’d like to leave you with the following:

 

On-Line Resources:

When you want to find something interesting to read,   www.npr.orgis an excellent location.  Under ‘Browse Topics,’ click on ‘Books.’  A lot of interesting things are there.  One of my favorites is the London cab driver, Will Grozier, who, in radio interviews, tells about books he is currently reading. 

An excellent source for book reviews is www.wsj.com.  Click on the heading ‘Life and Style,’ then on ‘Books.’  ‘Book Lover’ is a good link or you can go directly to www.booklover.wsj.com. 

Did any of you happen to see the December 26th issue of the Wall Street Journal?  If so, there was an interesting article about what President Bush had been reading.  Many of our Presidents have been inveterate readers.  I can recall seeing lists of what Presidents Kennedy, Nixon, Carter, and Reagan read.

 

If you Google “book reviews,” you will find a lot of different links that you could explore to find book reviews and recommendations.  Also Google “You Must Read This.”  Up comes an NPR site that offers weekly conversations with writers about the books they love.  All are archived and available at the click of your mouse.

 

Final Recommendations:

1. If you can find a copy, get Jock of the Bushveld by Sir Percy Fitzpatrick.  You’ll relish these true stories about the author and his dog in the early settlement days of South Africa.  The little ones in your life would also love for you to read the stories aloud to them.  (Do you know that I still enjoy being read aloud to?  When we lived in Marfa, I’d go over to a friend’s home some evenings, and her husband would read short stories to us.  Pleasant memories.)

2. I’ve never discussed poetry in Speaking of Books.  Vagabond’s House, Don Blanding’s small collection of his lyric poetry, was a gift from a friend.  When she quoted from memory (!) the title poem to me, I cried.  It’s the story of my life.  For laughter, I have Russell Baker’s Light Verse.  Any anthology of poetry is delightful for the variety.

 

3. What’s currently waiting for me on my bedside table:

 

Warlord: A Life of Winston Churchill at War, 1874-1945 by Carlo D’Este. (D’Este is a retired U. S. Army lieutenant colonel who has written biographies of George Patton and Dwight Eisenhower. 

 

The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 by Lawrence Wright.

 

All ten (!) of Alan Furst’s European intrigue novels, set in the ‘30s and ‘40s.  John read them all and is put out with me because I haven’t yet found the time to get to them.  (And he’s pushing me to read his Vince Flynn thrillers as well as his Charles McCarry espionage books.  Ay-yi-yi.)

 

A Question:

Now I have a question for you:  a couple of years ago I was driving back from Broaddus on a Sunday morning, listening to a woman being interviewed on NPR.  She had written a book about her life and the lives of other women who have the same name.  Many people have a first and last name that other people share.  That author took that premise and contacted all of the women around the U.S. that she  could who have the same name, then wrote about their contrasting lives.  An interesting concept.  Regrettably, I didn’t write down either the author’s name or the title of the book so I’ve been unable to locate it, but would like to.  Can you help me???

 

Sayonara, vaya con Dios, shalom, aloha, and blessings to you all.   

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Comments

[Laura McNeil Burns]

Sorry to see you give this up, Glenda. Wish I knew about the book from NPR -- maybe you could go to their web page and send someone an e-mail to find it. (Then they will know where you are when they are looking for contributions, but probably you donate anyway?)
I think Wallace Stevens is probably my favorite poet.
I find the spy novels of Eric Ambler compelling. I also like Elmore Leonard's novels, but when I have recommended them to people some find them too violent. Currently reading Tom Wolfe's 1998 novel A Man in Full, told a friend about it, but he dismissed Wolfe as Mailer-lite. So to each his own, I suppose.

[Glenda Burns Minniece]

Thanks, Laura, for the suggestion of contacting NPR (I did but they couldn't help) as well as for the other recommendations for reading.

I adore Elmore Leonard. Am currently reading Eric Ambler's The Lavanter. It's on Alan Furst's list of the top five spy tales. The others are: Our Man in Havana by Graham Greene, The Miernik Dossier by Charles McCarry, The Honourable Schoolboy by John le Carre, and Moura by Nina Berberova.

By the way, I HAVE started reading all of John's Alan Furst novels, too, as John suggested. I've read one so far. :)
With the current economic crisis, some of you might be interested in the following reading list:

- The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason, 1926. This book is a classic and should be a must-read for everyone.

- The Education of a Speculator by Victor Niederhoffer. This is one of the books John is reading now. (He usually has three or four books going at a time.)

- On April 7th (2009), The Wall Street Journal listed nine books recommended by financial experts to help us understand how this mess came about. (Go to www. WSJ.com/Reports) One on the list is Manias, Panics and Crashes: A History of Financial Crises by Charles P. Kindleberger which reminds me of another must-read classic written in 1841: Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds by Charles Mackay.

John and I may go to Kemah to hear Sonny Jones' band this Saturday eve if we can find out what time. Glenda

[Laura McNeil Burns]

Harking back to the discussion about the epistolary novel, I noticed this in the GoodReads e-newsletter:

Overqualified
by Joey Comeau
This epistolary experiment—a novel written entirely in cover letters—from webcomic writer Comeau (A Softer World) shares not only a litany of job qualifications, but also a glimpse into the troubled mind of a man reeling from an unexpected tragedy. Courtney says the letters are "presented in a grim, tongue-in-cheek, smart, sharp and whimsical, sorta nostalgic way. Mostly it is bleak and hilarious and heartbreaking. Comeau does not waste a word."

[Jon Dansby]

Thanks for your contribution, Glenda. I read your reviews with great interest. I just finished Cormac McCarthy's Border Trilogy. I'm reading John Steinbeck's Tortilla Flat as a humorous balance to McCarthy's stark violence. Shakespeare and I are reading Lord Of The Flies, a classic book on human nature.

[Glenda Minniece]

Hi Jon! I had read your biography some while back, but had forgotten that your son's name is Shakespeare. Karla reminded me to go back and re-read your bio which I did and loved it all over again. And I say amen! to Sonny Jones' comments about you and Wally and the service you're doing for the youth of the East End. Thank you!

[Brenda Collins Burnett]

I seem to play "catch-up", reading books I should have already read (somewhere). I have become good friends with Amazon (used books), diving into Dickens after all these years. I love short stories (Ellen Gilchrist) and biographies. I'm still going to school, so THEY tell me what to read much of the time! Should graduate "soon" (BA in English).

[Linda Strickland]

Glenda,
I love cookbooks, not the best cook in the world, raised four kids and they were all healthy.
At this time reading Amish Country Cookbook VolumeII, recipes gathered by Das Dutchman Essenhaus. Little profound saying throughout.
" Old age is golden I have heard it said, But sometimes I wonder as I get into bed-- My "ears" on the dresser, my "teeth" in a cup, My "eyes" on the table until I wake up. Ere sleep comes each night I say to myself, "Is there anything else I should lay on the shelf?" Yet I am happy to know as I close the door, My friends are the same as in days of yore." Linda

[mike roberts]

Linda, such truthful wit you found in a cook book, however, our friends are the same as in days of yore only with respect to our memories and fondness. Like you and I, not all must leave their teeth in a cup and eyes on the night table, I , though needing help with my ears have not yet jumped on the assistance mentioned here.

We have traveled lifes tracks and continue the journey constantly wearing at the very senses mentioned. In youth we may not have realized the importance of same but with loss it all becomes clear, value the precious reality of feelings, senses and old friends. Thank you Linda, keep the wise passages coming, your faithful pal, Mike

[WALLACE SISK]

Quit listening to NPR.

[WALLACE SISK]

Lysteria is ramping up in US-it contracts via bacteria in food (usually from the distributor or suppliers)-It is most dangerous to seniors and pregnant women--it is deadly--and even more deadly than ecoli.
Please keep aware of this disease-a killer of older adults.

[WALLACE SISK]

If any watched the Lamar vs Chavez game two weeks ago on a Channel 13 digital channel--you witnessed a fight between the two squads--Chavez is famous for starting fights-It is being investigated by HISD; however, if you watched you will see the Chavez player hitting a Lamar player in back after play is dead. I have photos (several years ago) during a girls soccer game a Chavez player attacked a Milby player--the Chavez player picked the wrong Milby player-the Lady buff repelled the punch by the Lady Lobo and promptly through her to the ground and then ate her lunch--the Chavez player was ejected. Chavez is where the "new" Milby was supposed to be-once again--Boyce Honea who was coaching then can tell all the details--and they are worth hearing--also Owen Conerly can tell you how Park Place Elementary was saved from a similar fate. If you don't believe how Chavez plays Milby--several gridiron seasons ago--Chavez was leading Milby 44-0 with five seconds left in half--the Lobo coach called a time out--since the Lobos were on the Milby fifteen yard line and kicked a field goal--Do you wonder why two miles down the road is Milby's biggest rival?

[Laura McNeil Burns]

I love NPR. Don't listen if you don't like it.