Folks, these people do some of the most interesting book reviews I’ve ever read, bar none. It also so happens that none of them have yet reached the age of 12. In addition, they produce the most interesting fan art to go along with their opinions of the books they’ve read. (It so happens that their graphic-art abilities far outstrip my own, so I won’t be giving them any competition in that arena, either.) But please take a moment today to read the latest book reviews of the Bookie-Woogie kids—Grace, Lily, and Elijah—and their dad, Aaron Wenz. You will find [...] Read more »
Book Review: Trollope’s The Way We Live Now
Anthony Trollope’s book felt like a trainwreck waiting to happen for much of its 802 pages. It seemed glaringly obvious from the beginning that there was going to be a gigantic, completely inevitable blow-up, and I feared that the characters I was coming to know and like were going to be casualties. The writing is excellent (Anthony Trollope is considered one of the first major modern novelists in the English language), the pacing is good, and the characters, including the necessary caricatures, serve their creator’s purposes (mostly) well. Reading this book reminded me of childhood reading experiences when I increasingly [...] Read more »
On Borrowing Shakespeare’s Naughtiness
Now I don’t usually support name-calling, nor do I encourage it at any age. But doggone it, reading Shakespeare is enough to force those firmly-held beliefs into flitting gently out the back window, at least for a little while. I’m certain I shall come to my senses again in the near future, when I will even more firmly go off about the complete indecency, incivility, and inappropriateness of slinging insults. Until my good sense returns, however, I intend to thoroughly enjoy myself with this inimitable Shakespearean collection of insults. If you feel that you, too, could use major help in [...] Read more »
On Fighting the Untimely Demise of Books
Thanks to Random House, Inc, I recently became aware of the sky-high stress levels of books which have been rejected in favor of, er, certain TV “programming.” Beside myself with concern and worry, I have decided to post a long-past-due visual of this dire issue that so directly and immediately affects all of us, not to mention our books. Altogether now, chant with me: “Save Our Books! Down with Jersey Shore!” Between you and me, we will do our level best to save these at-risk repositories of the most extraordinary thoughts, feelings, actions, conquests, murders, love affairs, psychological dramas, [...] Read more »
Empathy Is…Reading!
There’s some good news out there for those of you who love to read a good story. And it’s particularly great news to hear if you often don’t allow yourself the time you’d like to read because you have think you have more important life chores to complete first. You know, the kind of life chores that can drag on for months, years, and even decades. Meanwhile, your self-imposed, slightly draconian limits on reading just for fun as opposed to reading for work or research stand as mute—albeit highly depressing—testaments to your continuing efforts to to live a good work [...] Read more »
Wikipedia and Me: A Beautiful(ly Evolving) Relationship
I adore Wikipedia. Let me just say that for those of us who weren’t blessed with a photographic memory for every single fact, detail, and situation we have ever encountered or will ever encounter in our life’s sojourn here, Wikipedia exists as a most beautiful back-up. Can’t remember the capital city of India? Check. Can’t seem to find much source material on a much-maligned, scarcely-footnoted female of the early alcohol temperance movement in the United States? Check. Don’t have housing the size of a 4-story library to house all the knowledge (aka, books) you are convinced you need access to? [...] Read more »
On Scott Brown, Abuse, and Political Motivations
So Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown’s new book Against All Odds (which I have not read) comes out today. In the book he recounts a challenging life journey, and included in the challenges he writes about is his childhood experience with sexual and physical abuse. I would applaud any public figure who makes the choice to go public with such painful information, knowing that the attention paid to the topic will inevitably help others in the same situation. I also respect any public figures who choose not to reveal such information about themselves. These decisions are very personal and can only [...] Read more »
Library Curses for All
A grad-school classmate of mine, James Darlack, collected these hilarious curses of antiquity intended to be unleashed upon all ancient library users who didn’t take the required care of their books. (A librarian himself, I am sure he has been sorely tempted more than once to to utilize one or two of these fine curses himself.) Please enjoy some of the results of his research! • He who fears Marduk and Sarpanitum will not entrust [this book] to [others’] hands. • He who entrusts [this book] to [others’] hands, may all the gods who are found in Babylon curse him! [...] Read more »
Book Review: The Aspern Papers
(Disclaimer: I am not an English literature professor, nor do I play one on TV. Therefore, this book review reflects my own personal opinion, not necessarily the opinions of the latest and greatest academic critics who specialize in Henry James.) Whew. Henry James had a thing for writing about fixated characters, didn’t he? One could even say hyper-fixated characters. His protagonists have one goal in mind, and they stick to it—obsessively and exhaustively. (Sometimes I become exhausted just from reading the extensive accounts of their single-minded obsessions.) For this reason I certainly wouldn’t classify this book as a rapid page-turner—because [...] Read more »
Prologue to Future Book Reviews
As some of you may recall, I said last fall that I planned to be doing book reviews every several weeks or so, and that the next one would be Henry James’ classic The Aspern Papers. Now it’s four months later, and you may have noticed that didn’t happen, and maybe you were one of the seven-and-a-half people who actually wondered why. Did she forget? Did she get bored with the book and lose interest? Is she undergoing the early stages of dementia or some other condition that causes her to not remember what she said she was going to [...] Read more »
How to be a poet (Wendell Berry)
I recently came across this beautiful poem, and it’s too lovely not to share. For those of us who aren’t poets, this poem could just as well be titled “How to go about living.” I hope you like it as much as I do. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ i Make a place to sit down. Sit down. Be quiet. You must depend upon affection, reading, knowledge, skill—more of each than you have—inspiration, work, growing older, patience, for patience joins time to eternity. Any readers who like your poems, doubt their judgment. ii Breathe with unconditional breath the unconditioned air. Shun electric wire. Communicate [...] Read more »
Congratulations to our book giveaway winner!
And the autographed copy of Jennifer Trafton’s The Rise and Fall of Mount Majestic goes to…………(wait for it)………..Ann from Nevada!! Woo-hoo! Ann, your signed copy of Ms. Trafton’s debut novel is on its way straight to you from the Rabbit Room. For others wishing to purchase their own copies of this wonderful novel, I provided Amazon links at the end of my interview post with the author here, but for anyone who wants to buy an autographed copy, the Rabbit Room is providing signed copies of Ms. Trafton’s novel. Thanks for all the participation, everyone! Apparently a lot of you [...] Read more »
Interview with First-Time Author Jennifer Trafton
I am as giddy as a small child to introduce first-time author Jennifer Trafton, a friend of mine from grad school and the recently-published writer of the children’s novel The Rise and Fall of Mount Majestic. Intended for middle-grade children, it’s also a wonderful read-aloud for the adults in those children’s lives, not to mention a great read for those of us who just love a good story. Jennifer’s debut novel stars the delightful Persimmony Smudge, and, well, let me offer Amazon’s description as a teaser: “Ten-year-old Persimmony Smudge leads (much to her chagrin) a very dull life on the [...] Read more »
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