Archive

June 2004

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6.30.04 – Want this, want that

For someone like me, who is always browsing the “New Books” shelves at the book stores, checking out book catalogues is probably not the thing to do. It’s not like my to be read pile is getting any smaller but this week I’ve been sidetracked by a couple of these book catalogues.

First there is the Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers booklet. This comes out four times a year and covers new literary talents, mostly in fiction and non-fiction. These short synopses aren’t meant to be critical, they always say good things about the books, but I still like this booklet. Anything to help me find out about new books.

After this I picked up BookPage, from my local library. BookPage is a monthly magazine covering author interviews, book reviews and features. I like how you can easily find a review about the latest political book, turn the page and there you have the latest scoop on the latest mystery novel. You can check them out on their web site at www.bookpage.com

Now for the pièce de résistance, there is The Persephone Quarterly. This London-based publishing house prints mainly forgotten fiction and non-fiction by female writers. Each book is carefully chosen and not only that, but they are beautiful to look at too. They are done in simple silvery covers with colorful endpapers on the inside. I’ve read a couple of Persephone books and have enjoyed each one immensely. You can find a list of all their books on their web site at www.persephonebooks.co.uk

Now I really have to get back my current book but in case you are wondering which books I’ve put on my to be read list after reading the catalogues, some of them are:
From the BN booklet ¯ Holy Cow: An Indian Adventure by Sarah Macdonald
From BookPage ¯ Bobbed Hair and Bathtub Gin: Writers Running Wild in the Twenties by Marion Meade
From The Persephone Quarterly ¯ Bricks and Mortar by Hilda Bernstein

Tell me what latest book discovery you’ve made, I may want to add that to my list.

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6.25.04 – Nostalgia

An old Mexican love ballad, the smell of mangos or a sip of an icy limeade. Any of these things can quickly send me back to another time, another place. And, now I’ll have to add Caramelo by Sandra Cisneros to that list of things that conjure up the past.

Reading her book has made me feel like she had somehow crept into my childhood home and gotten a hold of my old diaries and set her characters into my past life.

For Celaya Reyes, Cisnero’s main character, summer means a long car drive from Chicago to visit her relatives in Mexico City. A long road trip punctuated by arguments with her boisterous brothers, the impending doom of a summer under the Awful Grandmother’s watchful eye and listening to the many storytellers in her family.

Luckily for me, my family was not as colorful as hers, although my husband may have some thoughts about that. But just like Celaya, every summer on the last day of school I’d run home in time to help my parents pack up the car. That same night we’d be off to Monterrey, taking Highway 35 from Dallas straight through only stopping at a couple of gas stations to fill up, use the restrooms and buy candy for me and coffee for dad.

Even though our road trips were long, and I was all but sucking in my breath to take up as little space as possible to make room for all the gifts, I remember how much fun it was to sit next to my dad and hear him singing along with his cassette tapes. When he put in his tape of Norteno music I was riveted by the tales sung of betrayal, love and revenge. His singing occasionally interrupted by my mom calling out, “slow down,” or “watch out for those loco drivers.”

I remember so many adventures we had on our trips, a flat tire in Dilley, which is basically the middle of nowhere, spending hours in Laredo while waiting for the border guards to let us into Mexico. Meanwhile my mom muttering under her breath, “we are Mexicans. why can’t we go into our country as we please.”

It’s time for summer vacations so for those of you who have long road trips ahead enjoy the miles. Thank you Ms. Cisneros for taking me back to my childhood days spent in Monterrey.

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6.23.04 - Book Happy

Know what makes a BookGirl happy? Well, all kinds of book activity throughout the week. For example, earlier in the week, I got a birthday present from my best friend - a Barnes & Noble gift card. Although, that usually sends me into a tailspin because there are so many shiny, lovely books to pick. Then all day at work I thought about how on my way home I'd stop off at the library and pick up the latest David Sedaris book, Dress Your Family in Corduroy. The book is now on my nightstand. And, finally, last night was book group night.

Our group discussed Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie. This slim but beautifully crafted novel tells the story of two young men living in China during Mao's Cultural Revolution. Both boys come from educated and prosperous families and are sent to a remote mountain village for re-education. Their lives are filled with arduous work and the ever-present fear of being accused as enemies of the people.

They soon make a discovery of a suitcase filled with books of Western classics in Chinese translation. These banned classics, and a flirtation they begin with a young seamstress helps them survive their grim surroundings.

While the novel has a lot of harsh images of what these boys endured, it is also told with a lot of warmth and humor. Best of all for me, is the true appreciation of literature that is present throughout the book as the boys discover Balzac, Dickens, Kipling, and other writers.

Here's just one passage that describes their passion for books:
" ...I was carried away, swept along by the mighty stream of words pouring from the hundreds of pages. To me it was the ultimate book: once you had read it, neither your own life nor the world you lived in would ever look the same."

That is just wonderful. Hope you are all being swept away by wonderful books, magazine articles or any other literary pursuits this week.

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6.20.04 - Sugar Rush

If you are on a diet go ahead and stop reading this now. No willpower when it comes to sweets and chocolate? Really, stop reading before this becomes dangerous to your health.

I love candy. Not just chocolates and fancy truffles, but even hard candy and other kinds of sugary confections. So it was only natural that when I saw Candy and Me: A Love Story by Hilary Liftin on the library bookshelf this weekend, I knew I had to have it. Kind of like when I see peanut M&Ms or dark chocolate.

I drove home and started reading it as soon as I came in the house, no matter that I had another book liked up to read. As I got further into the book, I couldn't believe how unprepared I was for reading this. Where was my bag of gumdrops, Skittles or even a good ol' Snickers candy bar? Could it be possible that we didn't have a single piece of candy in the house?

Each chapter is devoted to a love for a certain candy at a specific time in her life. Sometimes it is about breaking up and finding comfort in white chocolate or Smarties as a breakfast fare during her college years. I had some crazy obsessions too - remember Pop Rocks?

I concede though that I have met my match. This woman really loves candy. This book is probably not for everyone, but for those of you who have a sweet tooth you can safely indulge in the descriptions without causing much damage to those pearly whites. Or you can run out and get your favorite sweet. I know I'll be looking for Blow Pops and peanut butter cups the next time I go to the store. What will you get?

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6.16.04 - Firsts

Appropriately enough for my first entry I want to share with you a book about firsts. First dates, first periods, first high heels, first solo trip and how all of these and other firsts have led girls into womanhood. The book is Virgin Territory: Stories from the Road to Womahood by Cathy Alter and it is a collection of essays written by women of all ages, religions, and ethnicities who share their experiences of firsts. I think that regardless of who the reader is anyone can feel connected by these encounters.

I laughed out loud as one writer shared her story of her first French kiss and cried when another woman wrote about her first wig she had to buy as a result of losing her hair to chemotherapy.

This book made me think about some of the same experiences I've had, how I reacted to them and how they have shaped my life. As I was reading this book, I constantly wanted to put it down, because I wanted to reach for my journal and record my firsts and look back at some of my first experiences and revel in the similarities.

How did I feel the first time I moved to another country? How did I feel the first time I got a 100 on a test? How did I feel the first time I saw my father cry?

This book made me feel connected to other women, just like I hope to feel connected to other bookworms out there. Got any firsts you want to share?

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