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Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!

March 2, 2010 in book group, childrens, classics, poetry by Kim | 5 comments

I noticed on my twitter feed this morning that it is Dr. Seuss’s birthday today.  Just his name makes me smile.  All day I tried to think of any other author who has accompanied me throughout my life, couldn’t come up with one.

My mother can still recite secctions of Green Eggs and Ham because she read it to me so many times when I was young.  I don’t remember that as much, but the phrase “I don’t like green eggs and ham” was a constant refrain in my childhood. Someone in the family said in response to something unpleasant.  Brussel sprouts comes to mind.  As an adult, attending a fancy dinner party when someone turned up his nose at the latest, fancy food concoction, I reacted with “I don’t like green eggs and ham.”  The response was smile, we all understand Sam-I-am.

A lawyer down the hall from me during my early law associate years collected Dr. Seuss books.  Without having any children of his own, he signed up for the monthly mailing of two new book and had them delivered to the office.  I loved them.  More than once after a long day when it felt like everyone in the world was already home, I snuck into his office, pulled a brightly colored book off of his shelf, and rhymed my way through a personal pity party.  It’s hard to mope when The Cat in the Hat is your companion.

When my son was born, I signed up for the requisite monthly delivery.  I had no idea there were so many Dr. Seuss books!  And who was P.D. Eastman anyway?  When reading to a toddler, Read the rest of this entry »

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Some Dating Advice for Book Lovers on Valentine’s Day

February 14, 2010 in holiday, poetry, recommended reading by Kim | 3 comments

The perfect poem for book lovers, guaranteed to bring a smile to your face:

Lending Out Books

by Hal Sirowitz

You’re always giving, my therapist said.

You have to learn how to take.  Whenever

you meet a woman, the first thing you do

is lend her your books.  You think she’ll

have to see you again in order to return them.

But what happens is, she doesn’t have the time

to read them, & she’s afraid if she sees you again

you’ll expect her to talk about them, & will

want to lend her even more.  So she

cancels the date.  You end up losing

a lot of books.  You should borrow hers.


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What I Learned in 2009

January 2, 2010 in essay, literary 2009, poetry, short story by Kim | 4 comments

I know, everyone is already focused on 2010, but my ship turned a little slowly this year.  Thinking about my New Year’s resolutions, I kept mulling over 2009.  Rather than looking forward, I continually looked back, as if I was searching for something I missed.

In an effort to put 2009 to bed, I thought I’d hash out my literary thoughts and discoveries for 2009:

Throughout the year, I made a concentrated effort to read more essays, short stories and poems.  I discovered as much about myself reading them as I did from the content of the piece.  The experience confirmed what I suspected in 2008, I’m an essay groupie.  My favorite essays are those that notice something mundane and then spin thoughts out into a beautifully connected web.  My own thinking will notice something ordinary and then spin out, but more like a tangled ball of yarn.  George Orwell, Anne Fadimen and E.B. White stood out.  Nick Hornby’s ”Believer” essays are cozy and warm, I can’t wait to read the rest of them.  I enjoyed the Essay Reading Challenge and joined again for this year (check out the Essay Challenge page to see what I’m reading.)

How I read a short story significantly effects my reaction to it.  My goal was to read a short story a day for the second third of the year.  I failed, but I am 53 stories into 100 Shots of Short.  As I look back at the list of what I read, the ones that were not part of a collection by the same author were far more meaningful to me.  I have a terrible tendency to novelize a collection of short stories.  My favorites were by the O’Connor’s:  Frank’s “First Confession,” and Flannery’s “Everything that Rises Must Converge.”  Some labeled 2009 the Year of the Short Story, and while that wouldn’t describe my experience, it certainly was a year that I delved deeper into the genre.

My enjoyment of poetry continues to grow.  I’m constantly on the look out for Ted Kooser and Mary Oliver collections.  I’ll always like hearing poetry over reading it.  My inner voice never is never as insightful as that of an excellent reader.  Guess which podcast I listen to most?  That’s right, Keillor’s Writer’s Almanac. 

Far and away, my favorite book of the year was The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery.  This work is wonderful on its own, but great books are more than their content.  The Elegance of the Hedgehog opened the door to translated literature for me.  We spent the summer on the blog reviewing translated books, some terrific, some okay, but overall the best reading experience of the year.  I’m far more aware of and interested in books from other languages and cultures than at the beginning of the 2009.  

Looking for translated books led to learning about new publishers.  It never occurred to me that I would feel loyal to a publisher, but that is 2008 thinking.  All I have to do is see Eurpoa’s funny bird and the book is with me at the cash register.  NYRB’s e-mails are the first I open.  The best literary day of the month is when Archipelago Books’ shipment arrives.

So what are my 2010 resolutions?  I’m considering naming some I would actually achieve, like taking more naps.

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Translated Tuesday – Wherever I Lie Is Your Bed

December 8, 2009 in book review, poetry, short story, translation by Kim | No comments

wherever-cover-medAfter spending the last few months consciously trying to read translated books, I found the newest anthology by Center for the Art of Translation, Wherever I Lie Is Your Bed, the perfect introduction to translated literature from around the world.  The anthology is a mixture of short stories, book excerpts, and poems.  The works are stellar; one after another capturing a haunting moment, the beauty of a life, the isolation of a life alone.  Each story embodies an intimacy that some people believe cannot be translated from one language to another.  When I read a translated book, I often feel like the translator is a person in the corner watching me, knowing but silent.  I poured over the translators introductions to each entry finally feeling like an essential person in my experience was finally given voice.  As a result, I’m excited to ask one of the translators from Wherever I Lie Is Your Bed, Alison Anderson, a few questions.

Alison translated one of the most beautiful pieces of writing I have read in a long time, “The Lady in White” by Christian Bobin.  Whenever anyone mentions lyrical writing again, I’ll think of this piece.  I loved the writing so much, I bought the only other book by Bobin that I could find in English, The Very Lowly: A Meditation on Francis of Assisi.  Here are some of Alison’s thoughts on translations and, of course, bookstores:

1.  The writing in The Lady in White is so lyrical, how much leeway do you give yourself between the literal meaning versus the sound and the poetry of the writing?  Which do you believe is most important of the two?

I think, in the case of Bobin, I would always lean toward the lyrical. However, because of the clarity and evocative simplicity of his writing, there is rarely a conflict between the literal meaning and the sound and poetry. English being far less poetic than French, it’s sometimes a stretch, but I’ve usually found satisfactory solutions.

2.  Are you (or most translators) equally comfortable in both languages, and if not, is it better to be the native speaker of the original work or the translated one?

I would say I am equally comfortable in both languages, at least for speaking and understanding, but I would hesitate to write in French, for example… good translators, literary or otherwise, should always translate Read the rest of this entry »

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The Perfect Singular Gift for the Person Who Has Everything – Literary Gems from Small Presses

December 2, 2009 in gifts, mystery, poetry, press by Kim | No comments

Need to give a unique gift?  A book to someone who seems to have read everything?  Look no further, this list includes gems for which your recipient will thank you.  I love Skylight Books, everything about it, except the location, it is just too far away from me.  At least it’s close enough for an occasional foray.  My next trip will be to visit one of their monthly Literary Salons that highlight small presses.  Monica organizes the Salon and Emily contributes as a fan of small presses.  I knew Skylight Books was the perfect store to ask for recommendations and Emily was kind enough to send along her favorites and the best picks from some of the other staff members at Skylight.   (Note:  the link from the book title leads to the review of the book from Skylight Books, the link on the publisher leads to its website.)

1.  Mopus — Counterpath Press

2.  The Musical Illusionist – Hotel St. George Press : Emily says the book reminds her of the Museum of Jurassic Technology in Culver City.

3.  A Happy Man – Les Figues - Until December 7th, Les Figues is offering a holiday sale, free shipping and buy two books and get a third book for free.  An extra bonus – the books are long and slim, the perfect stocking stuffers.

thumb_waitress4.  The Waitress Was New – Archipelago – I love this publisher, so much so that I subscribed to their fall series.  Not only is the content great, they are lovely physical books.  Here’s my interview with Dave Lievens of Archipelago Books and my review of The Waitress is New.

5.  Hard Case Crime Mysteries  - This publisher specializes in hardboiled crime fiction.  The Skylight Books blog posted about the publisher.

6.  Sometimes My Heart Pushes My Ribs — MuuMuu House   Jade of Skylight Books writes: “This is the most innovative poetry book out right now. Kennedy’s poems are semi-surrealist narratives — dry, but beautiful; witty, but intense. Kennedy was born in 1989, and the speaker of her poems is generally very young and in touch with modern culture. The characters range from a generic young female to Woody Allen and Norm MacDonald. It’s semi-ridiculous, it’s (sort of) sexy, it’s post-modern-ish, it’s funny — in a way, it’s kinda cool, and it’s completely fantastic. Read it!”

Emily has also shared that she has really been enjoying stuff from Two Dollar Radio.  She hasn’t featured them at the salon (yet), but their whole collection is worth checking out.

Interested in learning about more small, independent publishers, check out our list of recommended books from last year and the list at Bread and Bread.

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