Author: literarymasters

Long List Out for Non-Fiction Award!

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The long list has been announced for the Samuel Johnson Prize, which is the UK’s most prestigious award for non-fiction.  Click here for the website and more info.  As you know, Literary Masters always has one non-fiction selection and this season we’ll be reading In the Heart of the Sea by Nathaniel Philbrick, which won the National Book Award in 2000.  Two years ago the Literary Masters non-fiction selection was Nothing to Envy by Barbara Demick, which won the Samuel Johnson Prize that same year.  Take a look at this long list and let me know what you think…

The 14 titles on this year’s longlist are:

  • Behind the Beautiful Forevers, by Katherine Boo (Portobello Books)
  • One on One, by Craig Brown (Fourth Estate)
  • Into the Silence: The Great War, Mallory and the Conquest of Everest, by Wade Davis (The Bodley Head)
  • The Man Without a Face: The Unlikely Rise of Vladimir Putin, by Masha Gessen (Granta Books)
  • Feathers, by Thor Hansen (Basic Books)
  • Thinking, Fast and Slow, by Daniel Kahneman (Allen Lane)
  • The Old Ways, by Robert MacFarlane (Hamish Hamilton) Inside the Centre: The Life of J. Robert Oppenheimer, by Ray Monk (Jonathan Cape)
  • Grand Pursuit: The Story of Economic Genuis, by Sylvia Nasar (Fourth Estate)
  • Winter King, by Thomas Penn (Allen Lane)
  • The Better Angels of our Nature, by Steven Pinker (Allen Lane)
  • The Spanish Holocaust, by Paul Preston (HarperPress)
  • Strindberg A Life, by Sue Prideaux (Yale University Press)
  • Joseph Anton, by Salman Rushdie (Jonathan Cape)

Autumn Abundance

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If you look to the right of this post, on the sidebar, you’ll find the list of books that Literary Masters members are reading this season.  You’ll notice that the last two months are TBA, to be announced.  I purposely left those months blank because there are a lot of literary awards given in the fall, and I may want to select one of the winners.

Not only that.  This fall there is a plethora of books by my favorite authors being published.  Ian McEwan.  Salman Rushdie.  Barbara Kingsolver.  Junot Diaz.  Alice Munro!!!  Wait–there’s more!  Tom Wolfe and Zadie Smith will release new works, and J.K. Rowling’s first book for grown-ups will hit the shelves.

I don’t know about you, but I am so excited!

Here’s an article about the fall “literary traffic jam” from the NY Times.

Why I Read, and Why I Talk About What I Read

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Jane Brody has an piece in the NY Times about why she exercises.  Perhaps because I am “benched” for the time being–no running for me due to a uncooperative knee–I clicked on the article.  At the end, she sums up her reasons thus:

“It’s how these activities make me feel: more energized, less stressed, more productive, more engaged and, yes, happier — better able to smell the roses and cope with the inevitable frustrations of daily life.”

I can relate to this.  But not with regard to exercise.  (I exercise mainly because I love sweets!)  All these exercise benefits that Brody states are what I get from reading, and from discussing with others what I’ve read.  If you’ve ever been in a book group, well, if you’ve ever been in a Literary Masters book group or salon, you know exactly what I mean.  The connection we make–to the book, to each other, to our own, unknown selves–is a forever rejuvenating and rewarding experience.

If you’d like to read Brody’s article, click here.

Summer Reading Suggestions!

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The year has flown by, and the 2011/ 2012 season of Literary Masters has come to an end.  What a fabulous season it was!  And now, as promised, I have taken LM members’ suggestions for summer reading and have compiled a list here.  There’s not a synopsis or anything to go with the books (although sometimes there’s a quote alongside the title), but you can rest assured that any recommendation from a Literary Masters member has to be good, yes?

The one title that was mentioned in every single salon was Fifty Shades of Grey.  This was the only book that was simultaneously liked and disliked.  And it was universally tittered over.  Described as mommy-porn (what is that???—rhetorical question; please don’t answer it) and evidently featuring sado-masochistic themes, I’m not sure anyone who is an LM member has actually read this book, but we had fun imagining what it is about. 

I could do an entire blog post on “What Exactly is Summer Reading, Anyway?” but suffice to say here that most people think of it as lighter reading, you know, books that are not so taxing on our brains.  Others consider it to be reading that transports us somewhere else.  I always associate summer reading with books set in hot places.

So, I love to recommend books set in Africa or India.  Actually, I’d love to visit both those places, but I’ll have to settle for an imaginary trip…here are some books that have taken me there (or nearby)…

West with the Night by Beryl Markham.  I blogged on it here
Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight by Alexandra Fuller
When a Crocodile Eats the Sun by Peter Godwin
Brick Lane by Monica Ali
Family Matters by Rohinton Mistry
Mothsmoke by Mohsin Hamid

The following titles will take us to lands near and far:

Many of you have recommended for non-fiction:

The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson
In the Garden of the Beast by Erik Larson
To End All Wars by Adam Hochschild
Catherine the Great by Robert K. Massie
Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand

I am very impressed by how many of you are reading the fourth book in Robert Caro’s series on Lyndon Johnson, The Passage of Power. 

more non-fiction:
Coming Apart by Charles Murray
Citizens of London by Lynne Olson
Midnight Rising by Tony Horwitz
Bury the Chains by Adam Hochschild
Imagine: How Creativity Works by Jonah Lehrer
Dearie: The Remarkable Life of Julia Child by Bob Spitz (this book is not published until August)

and a ‘hot’ book right now:
Wild: from Lost to Found on the Pacific Coast Trail by Cheryl Strayed (although one LM member finished this recently and wonders what all the fuss is about…)

Some fiction (I’m not sure how “light” these are, but members highly recommended these novels):

On Canaan’s Side by Sebastian Barry (if you liked Brooklyn by Colm Toibin and The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne by Brian Moore–I blogged on that here–I think you’ll like this latest from Barry)
The Stranger’s Child by Alan Hollinghurst
The Line of Beauty by Alan Hollinghurst (even better than TSC in my opinion)
Trapeze by Simon Mawer (he wrote The Glass Room, which so many of us loved last season)
Arcadia by Lauren Groff
We the Animals by Justin Torres “a quick, moving read”
The Paris Wife by Paula McLain
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell (he wrote The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet which we also loved last season; many consider Cloud Atlas to be his best)

Moby Dick by Herman Melville (extra credit for members who read this!!!)
Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand by Helen Simonson: “charming, really sweet”
The Schmidt books by Louis Begley; the latest is Schmidt Steps Back
Carry the One by Carol Anshaw
The Mistress of Nothing by Kate Pullinger
Someone Knows My Name by Lawrence Hill
The Uninvited Guests by Sadie Jones
On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan (one of my favorite authors)
Mudwoman by Joyce Carol Oates “creepy, compelling, and thought-provoking”
The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes (some of you read this with me; click here for my blog post on it)

More fiction:
Skin Tight by Carl Hiaasen
Strip Tease by Carl Hiaasen
The Queen’s Vow: A Novel of Isabella of Castile by C. W. Gortner (this book isn’t published until June)
The Jump Off Creek by Molly Gloss
Restless by William Boyd
People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks (definitely in my TBR pile!)
How It All Began by Penelope Lively: “delightful”
What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank by Nathan Englander
The Submission by Amy Waldman
There But For The by Ali Smith
Winter’s Bone: a Novel by Daniel Woodrell
Bleak House by Charles Dickens
Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin
Only Time Will Tell and Sins of the Father, two novels by Jeffrey Archer

We should all laugh more this summer:
Lunatics by Dave Barry and Alan Zweibel (fiction)
I’ll Mature When I’m Dead by Dave Barry (non-fiction)
Bossypants by Tina Fey

Well, this should get you started for the summer.  Thank you for everything this season–reading just wouldn’t be the same without you.  Here’s wishing all of you a safe, healthy, and happy summer filled with good books, good friends, and much laughter!

Should Your Book Club Read West With the Night by Beryl Markham?

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How long have I had this book on my TBR shelf, and who gave it to me?  I have a vague recollection of someone in my graduate program handing it to me saying she had more copies at home, and that everyone should read this book.  Ernest Hemingway would agree, evidently.  He wrote to Maxwell Perkins that Beryl Markham could “write rings around all of us who consider ourselves writers” and implored Perkins to get the book and read it because “it is really a bloody wonderful book.”

I thoroughly agree with Mr. Hemingway.

This bloody wonderful book is not so much a story as a collection of vignettes; it is Beryl Markham’s (Beru to the indigenous Africans) memoir about growing up in Kenya when it was still British East Africa.  What I love about the book is…everything.  So, should your book club read it?  I don’t know.  I don’t feel like I need to discuss it with anyone, yet I do feel that it will be a book I return to again and again to experience it as much as possible.  I wonder if the fact that it is a memoir, a genre I don’t read often, makes me feel like I just enjoyed a journey with someone (the author) and therefore don’t feel the need to discuss it with others.  Hmm, I don’t know; I’ll have to give that some thought.

I do highly, highly recommend the book–five stars without a doubt–so read it on your own or with others, if you choose.  If you are an aspiring writer, you should run to your nearest book store to get this book.  Then you should read it out loud so that the language–clay in the hands of the master sculptress Markham–makes a lasting impression on you.

The setting is so vivid, you will feel like you are in Africa, and Markham’s evident love and respect for that country gives it a quality that brings it to life in a lovely way.  Her descriptions will make you want to go there to see the places that she played in as a child and worked in as an adult  For example, Lake Nakuru with its throngs of pink flamingos.  I never do this, but I was so intrigued by Markham’s description of that place, I “google imaged” it.  Check it out:

And what a adventurous childhood Markham had!  From encounters with lions to wild boar hunting with native friends, Markham recounts her tales with just the right amount of suspense and intrigue.  Talk about intrepid–this is not your everyday little league upbringing.  I am amazed Markham survived some of her adventures!

When she starts to fly over the bush to track elephants for wealthy tourists who want to shoot them, one realizes that this is, indeed, a life lived in a different era.  Colonialism, WWII looming, the frontiers of the skies to be conquered…Markham just touches on the rich history of the geo-politics of Africa at this time.

What Markham does not cover in the memoir is her personal life.  I was surprised when I googled her to find out that she was married three times, and allegedly had romantic involvement with some of the characters in her tale.  Hmm, interesting what she decided to leave out of the memoir.

Bottom line:  if you liked Let’s Not Go to the Dogs Tonight, another wonderful memoir by Alexandra Fuller, I think you will like this book.  And if you haven’t read Let’s Not Go to the Dogs Tonight, you really should!

WHIRL Girl

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I have been thinking about themes for my next season of Literary Masters book groups.  I have fond memories of the time I did “Literary Masters Falls in Love“–I mean, who can resist that?  I was considering books about marriage, but thought that might get too, I don’t know, personal???  Anyway, all of a sudden, just by chance, I ended up reading a bunch of books that fall right into that category.  I don’t have time for a long post, so I am just going to WHIRL here, but if you want “Points to Ponder,” please let me know.

The Awakening by Kate Chopin.  I just love this title.  The book is quite good, if a tad dated.  (Is that heretical?)  Four stars, but would probably bump up to five if we discussed it in one of my Literary Masters book groups.  The books always improve in my salons!  I couldn’t help but think of other books I’ve read while I was reading this, such as The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne, or Coral Glynn.

On Canaan’s Side by Sebastian Barry.  Four stars.  Again, I kept thinking of other books, like Brooklyn.  This is a quiet yet compelling story, and the writing is beautiful.  I almost feel I should read it again, and I might bump it up to five stars.  This book is about much more than marriage, but it deals with that institution in a certain time frame as well.  This book has been on long or short lists for many prestigious prizes, and I can see why.

Mudwoman by Joyce Carol Oates.  Wow.  This is one hefty book, yet I tore through it.  I had always wanted to read something by this prolific author, and now I have.  I’m glad I chose this book; it was really…creepy, compelling, thought-provoking, and quite a page-turner.  I am considering this for my next season of Literary Masters.

What about YOU?  What have YOU read lately?

Springtime WHIRL with the Stars!

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For those of you who are new to this site, welcome!  WHIRL stand for “What Have I Read Lately,” and it’s just a quick round-up of my reading that I don’t have time to make longer posts for. (If you’d like “Points to Ponder–in-depth, thought-provoking questions for your book club–for any of these books, please let me know.)  So…here goes:

The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides.  If I gave stars like other sites do, I would give Middlesex by this author five stars, but I would only give The Marriage Plot three stars.  It was extremely disjointed, and although the section on one of the character’s descent into depression was so well-written that I felt like I was descending into madness myself, I still think the book as a whole was just not…stellar.

The Road Home by Rose Tremain.  Again, I’d have to give this novel three stars.  That is, if I gave stars.  Hmm, perhaps I’ll start.  Anyway, this novel is from another author whom I look forward to reading, but–and this speaks to my philosophy of “low expectations are a good thing”–I was disappointed in this book. Immigrant from Eastern Europe tries to make a success of his life in England.  It went on a bit too long, and I was just glad to be done with it.  Actually, that’s too harsh.  I did enjoy the book until the very end, which dragged.  Maybe three and a half or four stars.  Tremain’s writing is always good, and her character development is great. 

Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates.  Brutal.  Brilliant but brutal.  Five stars.  Read it.  And see the movie.  I may choose this book for my Literary Masters book groups next season.  I’m not sure, though, because it really is emotionally wrenching.  The portrait of a marriage, and the individuals within it.  A period piece that resonates for anyone in any era who strives to be special, amazing, the best he/she can be…

Coral Glynn by Peter Cameron.  Another period piece that resonates with anyone who has ever felt trapped–within a relationship, within a job, within one’s own expectations.  Four and a half stars.  At first I thought this novel was rather simplistic, but it stayed with me a long time after I finished it.  If you liked Brooklyn and The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne, I think you will like this book.

So, what about you?  What have YOU read lately?