How to Dress for Success by Edith Head with Joe Hyams

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Disclaimer: The May 2012 Book Giveaway #2 lasts from May 16-31, 2012. There is one copy of this book available for the giveaway. The winner will be selected at random at the end of the giveaway period.

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Participating in the giveaway is completely free and we won’t use your contact details for any reason other than to send you your book. Winners are not announced on the site, so you don’t have to worry about people finding out about how lucky you are. Giveaways are open to anyone in any country. The Uncustomary Book Review isn’t responsible for books getting lost in transit or books sent to undeliverable addresses. One entry per person please.

Author: Alma Alexander
Publisher: Sky Warrior Books (2011)
Number of Pages: 347
How long it took me to read: 1 month, 2 weeks, 2 days
Where I got this book: Uncustomary Book Submission
ISBN: 9780615534930

Like a Moth to a Flame

Many people all over the world are living in fear of the eve of what they believe will be the end of the world. A great deal has been professed about what will happen on December 21, 2012, and not much of it is good. Facing the prospect of the end of your life forces you to review the choices you’ve made and the regrets you harbor. This story touches upon these and other profound ideas about the power of choice and perception. Whenever I can, I want to explore these concepts, if for no other reason then to remind myself of the importance to keep moving forward.

Favorite Five

Whittling 8 down to 5…I propose that the top 5 quotes from this book are:

5. “Nothing is ever perfect. You might make it better, but it will be a different kind of perfect then. There are times you just need to know when to let go.” (p.79)

4. “…you’re looking down two different roads and responding to each of them as a very different person. But the moment you take the first step on either one of those roads—the moment a choice is made-there’s only one you, only one life, only one set of memories. You might remember stray thoughts from the other—life lessons, if you want to think of it that way—but you will never know where they came from…” (p.239)

3.“There ought to have been a notebook in her bag—there always was, she carried one by what was part instinct and part ritual, but when she rooted around for it this time, in the moment when she really needed it, the thing seemed to have disappeared.

“No matter. Her mind’s eye would do. She would transcribe later; it might not be the same, it might not be as good as it came in the instant when she was standing here resting her eyes on the scenery, but enough would remain. In the meantime, she rolled up her mental sleeves and sat down in front of a blank screen in the back of her mind, her hands poised over a keyboard that wasn’t there.” (pp.11-2)

2. “It’s all just a sandy beach, and you leave tracks behind you as you walk by the ocean’s edge, but the tide always comes in and then there’s a new reality to leave your mark in, after.” (p.345)

…and my pick for the No.1 quote is…

1. “…if you were allowed full knowledge and free memory you would be paralyzed, you would never be able to take another step in any direction at all because you would be second-guessing yourself too hard…” (p.281)

New Words

Words are wondrous creatures. Put them together and they paint a picture. Rearrange them and the scene changes. But to be able to see what they are saying, we must first know what they mean.

New Word: snick (noun, verb)

Definition (Source: WordBook iPhone App): (n) a small cut, a glancing contact with the ball off the edge of the cricket bat; (v) hit a glancing blow with the edge of the bat, cut slightly with a razor
Synonyms: (n) notch, nick; (v) nick
Origins (Source: TheFreeDictionary.com): likely of Scandinavian origin; Old Norse ‘snikka’ to whittle; Swedish ‘snicka’
As in: “And the door to the second restroom, the one with the cheerful yellow ‘Out of Order’ sign swinging from the doorknob, snicked shut, the small sound lost in the noise of the eve of the end of the world.” (p.200)

New Word: flense (verb)

Definition (Source: Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 11th Ed.): to strip (as a whale) of blubber or skin
Origins: 1820; Dutch ‘flensen’; Dan & Norwegian ‘flense’
As in: “Rejecting him was the only thing to do, but she remembered feeling like dirt, stammering, groping blindly for words that would not slice like flensing knives and yet would not come out resembling anything remotely like an intention to even seriously consider the question.” (p.16)

New Word: susurrus (noun)

Definition (Source: Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 11th Ed.): a whispering or rustling sound
Origins: 1826; from Latin ‘hum’ whisper
As in: “Then a rising and falling susurrus of voices, coming closer to his door and drifting away, footsteps on the stairs (he knew the creaky second stair from the top, recognized its sound), more whispers.” (p.41)

Conversation with the Reader

While I read, I write, and as I write, I read. Here’s some of what I wrote while I read this book:

“I’m learning so much about myself from this book. The pleasure I’m getting from reading about the character who’s a writer is ridiculous. I think I’m so starved for the company of other writers that getting to know Simon feels like I’m making a new friend.

“Although the first chapter was a bit difficult for me to get through, the rest of the book looks like it’s written in more of my style. I really struggle with reading books that feature many characters. The first chapter of 2012 introduces all of its main characters at once, which was really hard for me to follow, but now I’m reading the first chapter on what happens in the alternate universe of the first featured character, and I’m completely engrossed. If I were really dedicated, I’d go back and re-read the first chapter again, but I just really want to know what happens next.”

“Life’s crossroads, I can accept. Not looking back to spare the pain of regret is a lesson I’m slowly learning. But do you think that making certain choices at specific crossroads really does mean needing to renounce the refuted paths forever? Is there really a chance I’ll never be able to walk the streets of Cambridge again to feel as though they’re still my own? Will the stale smell of the Tube gushing through its wind tunnels never blow through my hair again? Have I lost a second chance to lose myself in the buttery warmth of Viennese chestnuts washed down with steaming gluhwein?

“Choices become megalithic risks, promising the weight of decades of pain when you think about them as right or wrong, always or never. But how can you not when you’ve felt the chill of their merciless breath on your clenched jaw more times than you’d like to admit?

“I think the only thing that saves us in that moment when we have to make a decision is not knowing how it will turn out. The undefined outcome and all the new choices that come along with it allow us to have hope that there’s always a chance the choice we make will be the right one. It’s in those moments when I fear that the experiences I love most in this world have dissolved into translucent memories that hope of another crossroad gets me through. Maybe one day, a new crossroad will lead me back to them.”

“If I had to choose between a life in which I changed the world around me versus one in which I had to change to fit the world, I’d need no more than a split second to decide. However I suspect that when I made that choice in preparation for this life, I chose the opposite of what I would today. I wish each day that I lived in a world I had the power to change—to inspire and empower people through words. I make choices that try to align with a reality I wish were not only mine. Most days, though, it feels as though I’m confronted with scenes from a reality to which I’m meant to adapt. Sometimes (although not as often as I should) I choose acceptance and play the game according to the rules of the reality around me, but between you and me, I never once lose hope that my reality will one day blossom and overcrowd the rubble I sift through each day.”

“Sometimes at lunch, I take a walk. Sometimes I turn left and weave through cottage-lined, canopy-coated residential streets. Other times, my nose guides me to a grassy carpet dotted with toddlers and puppies and fenced with benches perfect for resting my eyes. And then, there are the occasional days when I brave the rushed streets of ambitious storefronts and starved restaurants. That’s where I discovered a tear in the fabric of time.

“There’s a used bookshop that I pass by sometimes. Floor-to-ceiling bookshelves line every inch of its aging walls like proud soldiers standing tall for duty. Handfuls of the tallest ladders I’ve ever seen lean lazily against them, suitable only for the most courageous of climbers among us. I’ve never brought myself to step through its threshold and be embraced by the millions of pages within. Being in the presence of so many leather-bound and gold-trimmed books, with what I can only presume are very complicated pasts, seems like something one should properly prepare for first. But each week, I make sure I pass by the display window, just to take a peak at what I might find one brave day on those towering shelves.

“When I’m feeling particularly bold, I slow my stride to soak up the story the shop owner wants to tell. There was once an homage to Paris that I couldn’t resist stopping to see, with it’s black and white images of the Eiffel Tower and others of cobbles tickling the dainty heels of well-dressed Parisian dames. Another time, foreign cookbooks from before my grandmother’s time tripped over ladles and antique china just to be seen. I think this might be Dorothea Rochas’ store.”

“I don’t believe that the other life vanishes if you don’t choose it. I believe all our present lives coexist, and sometimes, intermingle. I believe that when you see someone you’ve never met before and recognize a spark of something familiar in their eyes, you just touched another one of your lives. I believe that when you visit a place for the first time and a wave of happiness, or sadness, pummels you, it’s because you’ve remembered something that may have happened, or that might be happening in another now. What I’m not quite sure about is why we can’t remember them all, but I have a feeling that if we did, we’d end up being far less productive where it matters.”

“One thing this books reminds me of is that we’re constantly being asked to make choices—some grand and some seemingly inconsequential—that dictate how our lives unravel, all the while knowing nothing of the impact our decisions will have. But that’s OK. Make your choice anyway, right now, in this tiny window of time.

“Logic has absolutely nothing to do with any of it, at least not once you get passed the rudimentary stages of knowing that fire will burn you if you get too close. In the end, drunk on our ignorant stupor of blind-sightedness, all we have are the messages from the heart. It’s not what you think is best, it’s what you feel is best. That feeling is valid on so many levels unbeknownst to our pedestrian selves that I can only begin to imagine all there is that we don’t understand.

“So, in an effort to move away from stagnation, I choose to move forward, one blind decision at a time. The good news is that I think I’ve figured out a way to feel whether I’ve made the correct choice for me—if I feel the still, calm, warming joy deep within while time stands motionless around me, I can be sure I’m doing something right.”

“I would have really wanted to know more about Olivia and her relationship with Ariel. I think that’s what I was hoping the book would be about—not that particular relationship, per se, but rather the nature of it; the esoteric conversations that go on behind the veil.

“The idea of deciding which life to choose—or more to the point, which life to give up—isn’t something you need 2012 to experience. Each time you decide which walk to take, each time you choose one person over another, you end one world and begin the birth of the next. The end of the world isn’t as scary as you think; it’s just about starting the next chapter.”

Authors: Katherine Mansfield, Kate Chopin, Elizabeth Gaskell, Virginia Woolf, Dorothy Parker, Willa Cather and Charlotte Mew. Read by Eve Karpf and Liza Ross
Publisher: Pickwick Group Limited (ABM) (2000)
Length of Audiobook: 2 hours, 35 minutes
How long it took me to listen to: 4 days
Where I downloaded it: Several months ago I was in a second-hand music store, flipping through the bargain bin of CDs when I stumbled upon this audio book.
ISBN: 190129725X

Like a Moth to a Flame

Looking at the audio book, it’s surprising that it caught my attention. Its jewel case was cracked and falling apart, and its cover and back artwork plain and somewhat generic. Perhaps it was because of the authors, most of whom I’d heard of or read. I was unfamiliar with the stories listed, but when you have authors like Virginia Woolf, Dorothy Parker and Kate Chopin, and the 2-cd set of 7 stories costs you less than a cup of coffee, how can you go wrong?

Favorite Five

My favorite 5 quotes from this book are:

5. “And she seemed at that moment to be sitting on the grass beside the mysteriously Black Sea, black as velvet, and rippling against the banks in silent, velvet waves. She saw the carriage drawn up to one side of the road, and the little group on the grass, their faces and hands white in the moonlight. She saw the pale dress of the woman outspread and her folded parasol, lying on the grass like a huge pearl crochet hook. Apart from them, with his supper in a cloth on his knees, sat the coachman. “Have a dill pickle,” said he, and although she was not certain what a dill pickle was, she saw the greenish glass jar with a red chili like a parrot’s beak glimmering through.” (From A Dill Pickle)

4. “He pushed her hair back from her face that was warm and steaming. Her lips were as red and moist as pomegranate seed. Her white neck and a glimpse of her full, firm bosom disturbed him powerfully. As she glanced up at him the fear in her liquid blue eyes had given place to a drowsy gleam that unconsciously betrayed a sensuous desire. He looked down into her eyes and there was nothing for him to do but to gather her lips in a kiss.” (From The Storm)

3. “I pulled out my knife to spur on the old mare, that it might end one way or the other, for the water was stealing sullenly up to the very axle-tree, let alone the white waves that knew no mercy in their steady advance. That one quarter of an hour, sir, seemed as long as all my life since. Thoughts, and fancies, and dreams, and memory ran into each other. The mist, the heavy mist, that was like a ghastly curtain, shutting us in for death, seemed to bring with it the scents of the flowers that grew around our own threshold; it might be, for it was falling on them like blessed dew, though to us it was a shroud. Letty told me at after, she heard her baby crying for her, above the gurgling of the rising waters, as plain as ever she heard anything; but the sea-birds were skirling, and the pig shrieking; I never caught it; it was miles away, at any rate.” (From Sexton’s Hero)

2. “The first number was the Tannhauser overture. When the horns drew out the first strain of the Pilgrim’s Chorus, my Aunt Georgiana clutched my coat sleeve. Then it was that I first realized that for her this broke a silence of thirty years; the inconceivable silence of the plains. With the battle between the two motives, with the frenzy of the Venusberg theme and its ripping of strings, there came to me an overwhelming sense of the waste and wear we are so powerless to combat; and I saw again the tall, naked house on the prairie, black and grim as a wooden fortress; the black pond where I had learned to swim, its margin pitted with sun-dried cattle tracks; the rain-gullied clay banks about the naked house, the four dwarf ash seedlings where the dishcloths were always hung to dry before the kitchen door. The world there was the flat world of the ancients; to the east, a cornfield that stretched to daybreak; to the west, a corral that reached to sunset; between, the conquests of peace, dearer bought than those of war.” (From A Wagner Matinee)

…and my pick for the No.1 quote is…

1. “But how had the piece of china been broken into this remarkable shape? A careful examination put it beyond doubt that the star shape was accidental, which made it all the more strange, and it seemed unlikely that there should be another such in existence. Set at the opposite end of the mantelpiece from the lump of glass that had been dug from the sand, it looked like a creature from another world—freakish and fantastic as a harlequin. It seemed to be pirouetting through space, winking light like a fitful star. The contrast between the china so vivid and alert, and the glass so mute and contemplative, fascinated him, and wondering and amazed he asked himself how the two came to exist in the same world, let alone to stand upon the same narrow strip of marble in the same room. The question remained unanswered.” (From Solid Objects)

Conversation with the Reader

While I read, I write, and as I write, I read. Here’s some of what I wrote while I read this book:

“I’m learning Adobe InDesign and the project I’m working on is a CD package, which involves either creating a CD and album artwork or taking an existing CD and re-envisioning its album artwork. In either scenario, the album artwork—including all text and graphics—must be my own original material. I’ve decided to do the latter with this audio book. With numerous ideas percolating in my head, I stay up all night figuring out the narrative structure, design layout and graphics to put into the two CD booklets I plan to create. I want to include a bio on each author, and perhaps include some of their quotes on writing. It is, as with most of my creative projects, a bit of an ambitious plan.

“Eager to share my ideas with my teacher, I am suddenly at a loss for words when he asks me a simple question, ‘Have you listened to the CDs?’ I answer with a surprised and sheepish shake of my head. He suggests that when I do, to listen for elements in the story I can include as images in the CD artwork. It seems so obvious to me now, and his suggestion reminds me of an exercise in grad school I once had to do, which was to read a story and take note of all the images that stood out.”

“A Dill Pickle involves two ex-lovers who unexpectedly meet again at a café. The images that stand out for me are his orange, her gloves and, of course, a pickle. The story explores the element of power, in the form of mental control within sexual relationships. As with her other fiction, Mansfield imbues her story with interesting psychological nuances. I had to read a dozen of Mansfield’s stories in about a week for a class. I remember getting a kind of reader’s fatigue with her language. A couple of my classmates told me they couldn’t stand her writing, and I have to admit some of her stories were a challenge to get through, even to understand fully. The work of her contemporaries like Virginia Woolf resonated more with me. However, now, after listening to Mansfield’s story, I have a greater appreciation for her subtle touch and her complex yet economically-rendered characters.”

“The Storm involves, you guessed it, a storm. But this isn’t your average storm. The storm, being a metaphor for repressed sexual desires, illustrates what can happen when women are faced with what society expects from them and what they really desire. Ah, the Victorian Age. How did we ever keep a lid on women’s sexual nature for so long? Warning, don’t play certain parts of this story in your car while you have the windows down. It took me several long seconds fumbling for the volume control while the person in the next car over got an earful of Victorian erotica.”

“The Sexton’s Hero is a story within a story. Gaskell uses a kind of parable structure, which makes sense considering her Christian message. But what makes her message interesting is the story, which centers around the question of what is heroism. What defines a man as a true hero? For Gaskell and the character telling the story, a hero embodies the very ideals of Christianity: resolution and self-sacrifice. Gaskell’s story works much more beautifully than a contemporary novel I recently read, because the focus is on the story, with the Christian message coming through the characters’ actions and reflections.”

“I’m listening to Solid Objects by Virginia Woolf while I wade through my photo collection, which spans over five years, to find the ones to go into the CD booklets. The new jewel case I ordered finally arrived in the mail. It will hold two CDs and two booklets as planned.

“Solid Objects is a story about a politician who becomes obsessed with collecting discarded, broken objects. It’s easy to see the story as an illustration of a man’s journey into madness, but when I think about it, I wonder if he was all that crazy. After this past year, it strikes me that being in politics requires quite a bit of the crazy.

“When the story ends, I find a picture that is perfect for my Virginia Woolf section. It is of a rock in a river in Sedona. Half of it sits outside the water. Since it was in the middle of August, the river wasn’t as high as it was in the winter. We found some shade from the hundred-degree heat under the tree near where this rock sat. It was hard to imagine that just the day before, we’d sat on the balcony of our hotel room watching the most spectacular thunder and lightning storm.”

“I am listening to the second CD while I’m putting the finishing touches on my re-envisioned CD package. The graphics are coming together. The layout is challenging because of all the information I have. I’ve turned on my editing eye and mercilessly chopped off half of my researched material. I’d rather the listener experience this audio book on a multi-dimensional level, as I am. While listening to these stories, I’m looking at pictures which take me back in time: an overlook in Pt. Reyes, a Norwegian café in Spain, a train ride to Barcelona, a sunset over the Grand Canyon, and screeching seagulls over Caribbean waters. Then it dawns on me; almost every component in this CD package has had a prior life in some way. There’s a kind of beauty in this transformation from one form or purpose to another to create something completely fresh and different.

“This makes me think of Virginia Woolf’s story again. One could argue the central character went from being a politician to an artist. Today there are artists who create art simply out of found items. So how is it a discarded object, with no apparent value, can be elevated to a piece of art? Is it because once it has found its new place, its new use, it becomes something greater than it once was? Is it because its reincarnation is appreciated, even loved, by the artist and in turn, by the outside world?

“I haven’t any answers. All I know is that when I look at the new CD package, with the album artwork I’ve just created, I feel a sense of completion, perhaps a little pride, and also a kind of love, I suppose. A love for what I have been able to create, which I imagine is what the authors, the readers, the album producer, and everyone else who had a part in creating these items I’ve reused, must have felt. And in that, it is as if we are all connected, strung together on a thin wire of time and an enormous love for art.”

Shereen Travels Cheap by Shereen Rayle

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Disclaimer: The May 2012 Book Giveaway #1 lasts from May 1-15, 2012. There are three copies of this book available for the giveaway. The first two winners will receive signed copies, and the third winner will get the review copy. Winners are selected at random at the end of the giveaway period.

If you win, we’ll send you a congratulatory email letting you know that your book is on its way! You’ll be asked to respond to the email and send us the address to which you’d like your book to be sent. If you don’t respond to the email within 72 hours, you forfeit your prize and a runner-up winner will be selected.

Participating in the giveaway is completely free and we won’t use your contact details for any reason other than to send you your book. Winners are not announced on the site, so you don’t have to worry about people finding out about how lucky you are. Giveaways are open to anyone in any country. The Uncustomary Book Review isn’t responsible for books getting lost in transit or books sent to undeliverable addresses. One entry per person please.

Full Title: Wax: Pearl Harbor Changed Everything
Author: Therese Ambrose Smith
Publisher: Blue Star Books (2011)
Number of Pages: 324
How long it took me to read: 1 week, 5 days
Where I got this book: Uncustomary Book Submission
ISBN: 978-0-9844000-7-2

Like a Moth to a Flame

When I received the book in the mail, I was excited to read historical fiction. I hadn’t read one in a while. An endorsement from Dr. James Tipton on the back cover was a good sign. He was one of my creative writing teachers as an undergrad. The author’s bio states she went through UCLA’s “Writer’s Program.” I wasn’t sure if this was a college extension program or an actual MFA. Either way, it sounded promising.

Favorite Five

I propose that the top 5 quotes from this book (cut from a shortlist of 14 and a long list of about fifty) are:

5. “The first time Sylvia saw her, Tilly was forcing a canvas duffel through the door of Airstream No. 27. The bag was as wide as the door, but fortunately, it was soft sided. Sylvia watched as Tilly manipulated the bulk of it and pushed it through. The operation reminded her of the chef stuffing sausage back at the Kansas City steakhouse that, until last month, has been her place of employment for over a decade.” (p.39)

4. “They said little as they drove north through San Pedro Point, Linda Mar, Valley Mar and other small communities north of Montara Mountain. Each village now hosted seaward facing bunkers. Carved from the Salinian granite and sedimentary rock underlying the bluffs, the bunkers were reinforced with concrete, protecting the coast from a foreign enemy. The Pacific Ocean wasn’t enough.” (p.29)

3. “The building superintendent responded slowly to the bell; they waited on the mat. A peeling blue door opened to reveal an unshaven man unlatching the chain. He was wearing a white, cotton undershirt with deep-cut armholes and dark hair curling at the neck.” (p.73)

2. “But Tilly couldn’t take her eyes off Sylvia, who was wearing a new emerald green dress that clung to her ample curves. She touched up the roots of her bottle-red hair and wore perfume that was more spicy than sweet. Tilly decided that Sylvia might be the sexiest woman she’d ever met. Not sexy like a pinup, but sexy like a real woman.” (p.94)

…and my pick for the No.1 quote is…

1. “The Blue Diamond was about escape, excess and extravagance. There were no windows to the outside world and the lighting was low. If sound could be described as a color, what she heard would be smoky blue. Fabrics were heavy, velvety, lush, and they deadened the ambient noise so that intimate conversation was possible; couples sat close together. The carpet felt like down underfoot.” (p.94)

Conversation with the Reader

While I read, I write, and as I write, I read. Here’s some of what I wrote while I read this book:

“From the first couple of chapters, I can see a nice use of contrast. We are given glimpses of right before and right after tremendous change in American history. Smith starts each chapter with a specific date, which helps because of the jumping around in time.

“Smith also uses cultural icons to help situate us in the forties. I’m currently working on a short story that is set in the seventies, and I’ve been working on cultural images and icons to sprinkle into the narrative. I also like that Smith’s novel is set in Northern California, and I am able to recognize the towns her characters are from.”

“There are so many clichés in the narrative that are making me flinch, each time taking me out of the story. Why doesn’t the narrator ever dig deeper into the characters’ thoughts, motivations and more meaningful self-reflections? This would help tremendously to make their actions more visceral and believable. There is such an ambivalence between the characters, especially in what should be emotionally-charged moments.”

“Clearly, Smith has done her homework. Her research is quite extensive, so much so, that we must be reminded of it on nearly every page. Dialogue is often used to convey such information, from characters who either wouldn’t know the historical information or wouldn’t care to look it up, which I imagine was a much more complicated process in the 1940’s. It’s not like these characters could’ve ‘googled’ their information. This leads me to another issue with the dialogue. The characters are too modern in their speech and in their reactions to going against social norms. Why would Tilly have such an ‘open-minded’ uncle? Perhaps I’d believe it if we could’ve delved into his background for a sentence or two. And that’s the crux of the issue I’m having with this book. It is mostly devoid of any concrete, tangible details that immerse the reader in the story. Any descriptions are painted with a very broad brush (and I am being very generous when I use that metaphor).”

“It is evident Smith knows her history. But does she know how to write fiction? She name-drops Bay Area cities as if they’re one-name celebrities we all should know, like Cher or Bono or Madonna who need no explanation because they are icons, and all we need to do is fill in the blanks. I happen to live in the Bay Area, so when names like Richmond, San Francisco, Monterey are mentioned, I can fill in the blanks with my own notions of what it might have been like in those places in the forties. But what about the readers who aren’t from around here, and who didn’t spend their formative years memorizing the names and dates of California history? To them, I imagine, these are just names floating in their imagination.

“This brings me around to my question. One of the first basic lessons I learned in creative writing is that a story needs to be grounded in specific, concrete details. Teachers drum this into your head, from high school through grad school. (I learned this from Dr. Tipton, so his endorsement of the book is surprising.) If there aren’t any setting details, physical attributes, or sensory details, what can the reader connect to? How does the reader sink into the story? And saying ‘you are leaving it up to the reader’s imagination’ is a poor excuse. It means the writer isn’t doing his job, which is to create a fictional world with language.

“Smith simply hasn’t done all the work. She leaves too many blanks for me to have to fill in. I want to read what Tilly is actually experiencing in the moment, and I want those moments to be meaningful, authentic, and painful, if necessary, because they reveal to me a complex human being that I can relate to and sympathize with, but Smith avoids revealing any emotional complexity in her characters. For example, after telling (as opposed to showing) us of Tilly’s ambivalence to Mark, her boyfriend, she discards him like yesterday’s newspaper. However, we don’t get to actually experience this through scene. All we get is Tilly sitting in front of her mirror, brushing her hair (and that’s all we ever get for a descriptor for Tilly: her long, dark hair), imagining or projecting her break-up conversation with Mark. The next scene is her mother observing how happy her daughter seems after her break-up. Talk about a complete avoidance of an emotionally charged moment. A missed opportunity. Beginning writers avoid such moments, partly to protect their characters and partly because it is difficult to write scenes that require vulnerability and honesty of the writer herself.

“It’s obvious from the beginning that Mark is a minor character. He never rises above the Cro-Magnon, monosyllabic grunts of a stock character. And in that, he becomes little more than setting details, which we have so little of already. But to not let the reader experience the actual break up and to not let us read Mark’s reaction and the consequences of Tilly’s decision to completely change the direction of her life, is a wasted opportunity for deeper characterization and for creating a more meaningful relationship between character and action.”

“Amazing how we get such clear, descriptive details for very minor characters, while central characters only get the typical and shallow clichés about eyes and hair.”

“I just endured the melodrama of Tilly’s temporary blindness. Tilly might’ve gotten my sympathy when this happened, except I was again subjected to another history lecture. I can feel the author’s obvious hand when Tilly is helped by a minor character, who she can’t see but is later surprised to find out her good Samaritan is a black woman. The problem is that I was not at all surprised. I saw it coming paragraphs away. I’m getting rather tired of the tidbits of history that do nothing to push the story forward or provide meaningful characterization. I wanted to read a historical novel not a history book disguised as a novel.”

“Wax has no interesting characters, even when they should be. Sylvia, the closeted lesbian, or maybe she’s bisexual, is the closest we get. Either way, you would think it would be worthy, even revealing, to read how it might have been to live in an era, where being anything other than heterosexual needed to be repressed, hidden and denied for fear of societal reprisal. I suppose that would be far too interesting for Smith to explore. Instead Sylvia has meaningless sex with a young soldier who reminds her of her newly deceased nephew. I’d say that was a pretty odd way to start the grieving process, not to mention the ‘ick’ factor in such an act. If one of my nephews died in a war, the last thing I’d want to do is to have sex with someone who reminded me of him.

“One of the problems with this scene is that I have no prior engagement with this nephew to help me sympathize with Sylvia’s grief. On the page, her emotion appears shallow and unauthentic. Since Smith refuses to ground her scenes with specific descriptive details, I have nothing to imagine, nothing to carry me off into that world. If Smith is unwilling to invest in the characters and their relationships, why should the reader?”

“Now after eighty pages, there is an inkling of an actual story: an uncle, who Doris never met, dies and leaves Doris with a mystery to solve. Only I don’t care. Nor do I believe any of it. As I slog through pages of shallow scenes and meaningless, mundane actions from her characters, I am resentful of having to endure a narrative of empty fillers and unnecessary historical facts. In truth, history overtakes the story, not that there is much of it. It is painfully obvious Smith wanted to get all her research out on paper. And that’s a big problem here. This isn’t an academic paper. It’s supposed to be a work of art, of fiction.”

“The scene breaks are inconsistent and confusing. Smith employs either white space or three dots to indicate a scene break. To a short fiction writer, who looks for meaning in everything in a narrative, I want to know what the significance is between the two. Then there are the dates that start out each chapter. They are starting to annoy me, especially since they’re completely unnecessary. After the temporal jumping around in the first couple of chapters, the plot becomes completely linear. I don’t need to know that a scene is occurring in December if the characters are celebrating Christmas together.”

“I have to talk myself into picking up this book, if only to read a few more pages. That can’t be a good sign. I really want to give this story a chance, so here I am, waiting at the dentist and dreading the next page more than the dentist’s drill.”

“I keep asking myself, where was an editor in all this? The book clearly needed more serious editing rounds before being published. A good editor would have coached Smith about all the deficiencies – many of them basic fiction writing mistakes and misfires – in her narrative. An editor should have told Smith that a good story will connect the reader to the essential who, what and where: characterization, ground situation, setting, etc.

“Simply put, I need to know what it’s like to walk in the character’s shoes. Tell me the physical, the immediate and the surrounding environment or situation, but don’t tell me the emotion the character is feeling. Don’t say she’s angry, confused or sad, and especially in those words. Show me. Show me in the way she uniquely experiences her world, like the drizzling rain for a heart-broken lover, the hustle and noise of the city to a lost child. In other words, use descriptive words, please. Bonus points for including craft tools like assonance, alliteration and lyricism. Without it, the story doesn’t breathe, doesn’t live. Instead, it is flat and lifeless, like wax.”

Guest Reviewer: Nizanth Navaratnarajah

Author: Antoine de Saint-Exupery
Publisher: Wordsworth Edition Limited (1995) [Originally published 1943]
Number of Pages: 109
How long it took me to read: 7 days
Where I bought this book: My sister lent it to me
ISBN: 1-85326-158-0

Like a Moth to a Flame

The Little Prince is classically simple and sweet, weaving an endearing message of childhood innocence through the perspective of an analytical adult mind. This was what initially attracted me to revisit the timeless story, tracing back into my memory and remembering when I first read it in elementary school. I came across the book again by accident, never thinking I would read it again. Looking for books to read, I combed my bookshelves and eventually stumbled upon the The Little Prince. It seems my sister bought this book a few years back for a literature course she was taking in university. Drawn by curiosity, I wondered how time had changed the view through the looking glass I’d soon use to peer back into this fascinating world.

Favorite Five

I propose that the top 5 quotes from this book are:

5. “But he is the only one who does not seem ridiculous to me. Perhaps it is because he is not only concerned with himself.” (p.60)

4. “Grown-ups never understand anything by themselves and it is rather tedious for children to have to explain things to them time and again.” (p.11)

3. “Look at the sky. Ask yourselves: Has the sheep eaten the flower, yes or no? And you will see how everything changes…” (p.107)

2. “When one wants to be funny, one may have to lie a little bit from time to time.” (p.67)

…and my pick for the No.1 quote is…

1. “It is only with one’s heart that one can see clearly. What is essential is invisible to the eye.” (p.82)

Conversation with the Reader

While I read, I write, and as I write, I read. Here’s some of what I wrote while I read this book:

“As I read, I contemplate the various ways of enjoying this book. One can read the words and follow the interesting escapades of the little prince through his travels between mysterious planets. But the further I am enveloped in the story, the more abstract the message of the lonely wanderer and his encounters on Earth becomes. It seems to me the linear path towards the finish line is taking many subtle turns along the way.

“From a desert to an asteroid and then into a lavish garden, these are all surrounding to which the reader is transported. As the Little Prince explores his universe, he, along with us, comes across strange characters dispersed throughout the cosmos. Each encounter builds on the narrative of the absurdity of the adult mind as seen through the eyes of the Little Prince. His youthful naivety and thoughtful predisposition is the canvas on which his world is painted.”

“Reflecting while I read gives way to thoughts of other classic stories similar in scope to The Little Prince. Stories whose foundations are built on themes of youth, discovery, and the critical examination of our society. The words of this book serve to highlight the flaws and the unimaginative reality of being an adult in modern society. The universality of this message can be seen in other stories fashioned in the same light as The Little Prince, such as the stories of Peter Pan and Harry Potter. They all play to childhood nostalgia, and bring into focus the rites of passage we all go through as we ascend into adulthood.

“As this story chips away at the facade of the authoritarian and materialistic universe in which the Little Prince resides, the reader is able to witness the self-indulgent nature of the society surrounding our protagonist. His asteroid is a reminder, to himself and to us, of the simple things that matter and of where youthful delights still exist. In turn, when he hastily leaves this simple existence behind after an argument with his flower, his search for meaning leaves him with more questions and confusion. To comprehend the quantitative nature of the world around him becomes an arduous task. The prince’s bewilderment by adult society is what we all must grapple with as we grow up. The road taken to achieve our aspirations and gain maturity is littered with the discarded innocence of our youth.”

“As I continue reading, I begin to see the lost boy not as the Little Prince but as the pilot he meets; to me, the pilot is representative of what is lost to age. As he interacts with the Little Prince, he rediscovers his passion for art and sketches a drawing of a sheep for his new companion. I, too, remember the activities of my childhood—drawing and sketching in an attempt to find my own voice. Now, as I reread a part of my childhood, I fondly look back and realize that my youth hasn’t disappeared; it’s transformed through the winds of change.

“Just as the desert is sculpted by the blowing breeze, so are our thoughts and ideas. The ebb and flow of who we are is symbolized in the asteroids the Little Prince skips across. The characters he encounters are pieces to a greater puzzle—the authority figure, the scholar, the capitalist, the narcissist and the worker—they’re all ideas of what it means to be an adult. We take turns embodying each character until they shape us and serve their purpose. But as the pilot in the desert discovers, his childhood still exists, covered deep beneath his regrets and memories of growing up. His fateful plane crash in the desert and chance encounter with our bright-eyed traveler rekindles his faith in himself and in life’s simple pleasures. As the sun sets on his time with the Little Prince, they both part ways, altering each other’s destinies along the way.”

“Upon contemplation, I come to see that in all his travels, the Little Prince’s curiosity is what carries him through his journey. The wonderment with which he chooses to see the world around him is the quality that he leaves with the pilot and with me. As the pilot reflects on what has become of the Little Prince on his tiny asteroid, he is able to step back and realize the meaning of what was gained through helping the Little Prince. In accepting him, the pilot is able to reconcile his inner child and briefly watch adulthood through youthful eyes. It’s a journey of rediscovery as the Little Prince comes full circle, returning to tend to his flower among the stars.”

Guest Reviewer: Kin Lo

Author: Shems Friedlander
Publisher: Archetype (2006)
Number of Pages: 162
How long it took me to read: 4 weeks
Where I bought this book: Amazon.co.uk
ISBN: 0939214067

Like a Moth to a Flame

Someone had recommended the book to me many years ago and I finally got round to buying it. In fact, I was told that, ‘if there was one book you must read, it has to be When You Hear Hoofbeats.’ I stored the title at the back of my mind, until I got fed up of reading lots of scholarly books and journals on Islam. They never satiated my curiosity on Sufi Islam and so I finally decided to give the book a go. The interesting title ignited my curiosity and having read several positive reviews, I thought I would see what I made of it myself. I was intrigued to find out more about what Friedlander had written about the Sufi tradition, not having much idea about it myself, despite having many friends who consider themselves Sufi.

Favorite Five

I propose that the top 5 quotes from this book are:

5. “It’s not necessary to look for miracles outside ourselves.” (p.52)

4. “And for those who could never have enough of big houses and acres of land, one day they will have to be satisfied with six feet of earth.” (p.4)

3. “You must want more for your brother than you want for yourself, and, more important, before you want it for yourself.” (p.77)

2. “We are not just something that happened; each of us is a miracle. If we understood this, we would not take ourselves for granted.” (p.1)

…and my pick for the No.1 quote is…

1. “We have to become like the boat of Noah, so that anyone who comes near us, anyone who touches us, can be helped.” (p.104)

Conversation with the Reader

While I read, I write, and as I write, I read. Here’s some of what I wrote while I read this book:

“Before giving the book a chance, I thought it would be one of those overrated titles that wouldn’t live up to the hype. However, with its simple truths, I have found this book to be so profound. For example, you realise how we fail to value time and its importance. I find myself stepping back, taking a moment, and reflecting on the present, rather than on what I am to do next. Friedlander highlights our very human desire to rush every single thing that we do and how pointless this is.

“I also find myself thinking more about the reasons and consequences behind my words and my actions; we can choose how we respond to the events in our lives; we just need to take a moment to make that choice. For instance, at one point in the book, Friedlander talks about how we should be grateful, rather than angry or resentful, when we wake up each morning. The very act of waking from one’s sleep is, to Friedlander, a miracle—and one that the reader should also revel in. I can feel myself changing in the way I see the world around me; I’m grateful for what I have. Often, Friedlander addresses the reader directly, urging her to sit in a different spot from the one she would usually sit in, thus looking at the room from a different angle. It was in these moments that I realised how true Friedlander’s words were—humans are creatures of strange habits and I felt Friedlander urging me to instigate the process of change, no matter how simple it may seem at first.”

“The book has made me realise that valuing yourself is just as important as valuing others. It highlights the importance of loving the Creator’s creations and how this demonstrates the best in each of us. It’s all about realising the qualities that we have and how we can cultivate them for the benefit of everyone. After having read the book, I have actively tried to do this through forgiveness, honesty and treating others with more kindness. This may all sound very cliché, but it’s the way Friedlander composes his words that have such an impact on the reader. There is a sense of ancient wisdom in Friedlander’s words. He is able to weave Sufi wisdom and stories together, in a concise manner, making it understandable to those outside of the tradition. It gives a clear insight into the practices and beliefs of the Sufi tradition and the meanings behind them.”

“The Sufi stories add a different dimension to the messages Friedlander is trying to convey about how we should treat others and how we can develop ourselves. You don’t need to be religious or spiritual at all to enjoy this book. I found myself talking about the book and recommending it to all my friends, regardless of their spiritual standing. I have also come to realise why so many people are attracted to the Sufi tradition (although there are different Orders, the basic principles are the same). At the heart of being a Sufi is the quest for God, and this quest can take many different forms yet none take you away from the physical world completely. Rather, you have to remain very much a part of the world in order to find God, by interacting with others. The main lesson I have learnt from Friedlander is that this quest is universal and open to all—you do not have to be a Sufi, or adopt any label for that matter. Rather, the only thing that is required of you is you. Such a lesson has been a profound one for me and one that was so easy to understand once I read this book.”

]]> http://www.uncustomarybookreview.com/2012/04/when-you-hear-hoofbeats-think-of-a-zebra/feed/ 1 http://www.uncustomarybookreview.com/2012/04/april-book-giveaway/ http://www.uncustomarybookreview.com/2012/04/april-book-giveaway/#comments Sun, 01 Apr 2012 13:06:23 +0000 Kat Kiddles http://www.uncustomarybookreview.com/?p=4376

Rock Music in American Culture by Robert G. Pielke

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Full Title: Shereen Travels Cheap: For the Budget-Minded Travel Enthusiast
Author: Shereen Rayle
Publisher: Squircle Publishing (2011)
Number of Pages: 208
How long it took me to read: 1 month
Where I got this book: Uncustomary Book Submission
ISBN: 978-0615508443

Like a Moth to a Flame

I already have my little system of looking for deals when planning trips, but I still feel like I’m overpaying, particularly for air travel. I don’t pay retail for clothes, and I’d really prefer not to for travel. Although I wouldn’t have actively searched for a book on discount travel tips, I’m glad it came my way.

Favorite Five

Whittling 11 down to 5…I propose that the top 5 quotes from this book are:

5. “If you know before you get to the airport that you will need to check your bag(s), check them in online and pay for them then instead of waiting until you get to the airport. Not only will this save you time, but also money since most airlines charge more for in-person baggage check-in by $3 or more per bag.” (p.35)

4. “If you need to resolve a problem as soon as possible with the hotel, airline, your credit card company or anything else, look up the company on GetHuman. There you will find a direct number to reach a customer service representative instead of wasting time and becoming super frustrated by having to use the automated phone service and being put in the hold queue. You can download the free app to your iPhone as well. Each company will have useful numbers to call, any available online support e-mail addresses to get answers from and reviews of each by actual customers.” (p.150)

3. “If you find a particularly low fare and can fit it into your budget, save your miles for when your ticket(s) will cost more and just buy the cheaper ticket now. The general rule is that if you must pay 25,000 miles for a $500 ticket, then you are paying $.02 a mile. Anything under a $500 ticket redemption is somewhat of a waste if you can afford to save your miles and pay for your ticket outright. No sense in only saving $200 on a ticket to Chicago when you could potentially save $500-800 on a ticket to Rome in the future.” (p.22)

2. “The best shoes I’ve found for coordinating with everything are Clarks and Aerosoles. But there are many other great shoes out there for walking. My husband swears by his New Balance. His feet never hurt. Hush Puppies, Ecco, Columbia, Ryka and Easy Spirit are great as well…” (p.110)

…and my pick for the No.1 quote is…

1. “Look only for individual tickets, even if you have two or more people in your traveling party. If you search for more than one seat, if there is one seat that is cheaper than the others it won’t show up and you end up having to pay whichever rate tier has as many seats available as you are searching for….You will have to make more than one purchase this way, too, so either open up two windows and simultaneously put in all your information and hit the buy button one right after the other or use the hold feature, if the site has one, and make sure you can get all the seats you need before going back and purchasing.” (p.26)

Conversation with the Reader

While I read, I write, and as I write, I read. Here’s some of what I wrote while I read this book:

“My experience with the book starts off with a postcard marketing the book and listing the author’s website, and her Facebook and Twitter profiles. I would normally dock points for loose-leaf inserts (would you find them in national best sellers?). Translation: inserts make you look like an amateur publisher. However, the postcard ties in nicely with the travel theme of the book. Would I recommend a branded bookmark or postcard to every self-published author? No. Does it work here? Well, I’m not docking points for it. Self-Publishing Rule No.3: if the national best sellers don’t do it, that’s reason enough for you not to either.

“The back cover of the book does have an interesting aspect to it that most self-published hardcopies don’t. There are quotes from readers/reviewers on the back praising the work. Points for trying to make it look like a professional book cover, but I have to take them right back for the nature of the reviewers who are quoted. Yes, it does make the book more approachable to have moms of multiples endorse your book on budget (family) travel, but support from legitimate travel magazines (even if they’re online publications) or newspaper travel columnists would have made a much stronger first impression.

“And a final note on opening your own publishing company (presumably in an effort to position yourself one rung higher on the self-publishing ladder): make sure the website doesn’t look like a blog, and remember to add content to it before it goes live.

“These are all aspects of the first impression your book gives off, and although it’s true that not all readers will look at your work from a critical editor’s eye, it doesn’t mean that you won’t pay a price for launching before you’re ready. That brings us to Self-Publishing Rule No.4: Don’t launch a publishing company if the only book you’ve published is your own, and the only person working for your company is you.”

“This is very much a case of a book that should have stayed a blog. There’s a ‘reference vibe’ to it, so I suppose that if you prefer paper copies of reference books, this might still appeal to you, but since there are so many unclickable links in it, it makes for a tedious paper read. Sitting next to a computer while reading it somewhat redeems the book, but I read books to remove myself from my computer, so maybe I’m not the best person to judge this book or its cover (which has gotten me some very strange looks on the train, by the way).”

“It’s certainly clear from the amount of information and advice presented in this book that the author is not only an avid traveler, but a very observant one at that. I can’t count the number of people I’ve seen get turned away from entering St. Peter’s in the Vatican who would have found Shereen’s advice about the usefulness of packing a sarong invaluable (it’s a great way to cover those bare shoulders). It’s those little things that can make or break a vacation, and she seems pretty on the ball when it comes to being prepared.”

“Shereen is an incredibly organized traveler. From her uber-functional carry-on (I wonder when the last time was that she checked a bag), to packing spare zip locks for oddball items and a #10 envelope to store all her receipts, brochures, and flyers, she’s on top of her game. I’m willing to bet that this book could be marketed to travel bloggers and it would make a killing. The detailed instructions on how to stay organized and observant would make writing detailed travel entries post-trip incredibly easy, filling them with the sorts of rich details on locations and contact information that trip planners find invaluable.”

“I just added Fluxx to my wish list. I have a feeling this could be the beginning of a whole new world!”

Full Title: A Visit From the Goon Squad: A Novel
Author: Jennifer Egan
Publisher: Vintage/Anchor Books (2011)
Number of Pages: 352
How long it took me to read: 1 week, 1 day
Where I bought this book: A friend of mine, who is also in my writers group, had lent me her copy, which she hadn’t had time to read. After a month of the book sitting by my bedside unread, I purchased my own copy during the last days of Borders Books. That way, it could sit among the stack of books I intend to read some day, without that gnawing feeling that the book was overdue to its rightful owner.
ISBN: 978-0307477477

Like a Moth to a Flame

Last year, the writers group that I belong to decided to attend a City Arts and Lectures interview with Jennifer Egan. None of us had yet read her new collection of linked short stories. It was after hearing her discuss her writing process and her approach to craft (such as on narrative voice and sense of place) that I became interested in reading her new Pulitzer Prize winning book.

Favorite Five

I propose that the top 5 quotes from this book are:

5. “Stephanie started to laugh. The idea struck her as inexplicably funny. But Bosco was abruptly serious. ‘I’m done,’ he said. ‘I’m old, I’m sad—that’s on a good day. I want out of this mess. But I don’t want to fade away, I want to flame away—I want my death to be an attraction, a spectacle, a mystery. A work of art. Now, Lady PR,’ he said, gathering up his drooping flesh and leaning toward her, eyes glittering in his overblown head, ‘you try to tell me no one’s going to be interested in that. Reality TV, hell—it doesn’t get any realer than this. Suicide is a weapon; that we all know. But what about an art?’” (p.129)

4. “Instead, I thought of Alice. This was something I almost never let myself do—just think of her, as opposed to think about not thinking about her, which I did almost constantly. The thought of Alice broke open in me, and I let it fan out until I saw her hair in the sun—gold, her hair was gold—and I smelled those oils she used to dab on her wrists with a dropper. Patchouli? Musk? I couldn’t remember the names. I saw her face with all the love still in it, no anger, no fear—none of the sorry things I learned to make her feel. Come inside, her face said, and I did. For a minute, I came inside.” (p.103)

3. “At the top of the stairs the jungle had been cleared away to accommodate a slab of concrete that might have been a landing pad. Sunlight pushed down through the humid jungle air, making wisps of steam at their feet. The general stood in the middle of the concrete, flanked by soldiers. He looked short, but that was always true of famous people. He wasn’t wearing the blue hat, or any hat, and his thick hair stood up oddly around his grim triangular face. He wore his usual military regalia, but something about it all seemed slightly askew, or in need of cleaning.” (p.157)

2. “Bennie played some early Who, the Stooges, bands he’d listened to before he was even old enough to go to a concert. Then he got into Flipper, the Mutants, Eye Protection—seventies Bay Area groups he and his gang had slam-danced to at the Mabuhay Gardens when they weren’t practicing with their own unlistenable band, the Flaming Dildos. He sensed Sasha paying attention and toyed with the idea that he was confessing to her his disillusionment—his hatred for the industry he’d given his life to. He began weighting each musical choice, drawing out his argument through the songs themselves—Patti Smith’s ragged poetry (but why did she quit?), the jock hardcore of Black Flag and the Circle Jerks giving way to alternative, that great compromise, down, down, down to the singles he’d just today been petitioning radio stations to add, husks of music, lifeless and cold as the squares of office neon cutting the blue twilight.” (p.36)

…and my pick for the No.1 quote is…

1. “As Ted sat, feeling the evolution of the afternoon, he found himself thinking of Susan. Not the slightly different version of Susan, but Susan herself—his wife—on a day many years ago, before Ted had begun folding up his desire into the tiny shape it had become. On a trip to New York, riding the Staten Island Ferry for fun, because neither one of them had ever done it, Susan turned to him suddenly and said, ‘Let’s make sure it’s always like this.” And so entwined were their thoughts at that point that Ted knew exactly why she’d said it: not because they’d made love that morning or drunk a bottle of Pouilly-Fuissé at lunch—because she’d felt the passage of time. And then Ted felt it, too, in the leaping brown water, the scudding boats and wind—motion, chaos everywhere—and he’d held Susan’s hand and said, ‘Always. It will always be like this.’” (p.231)

Conversation with the Reader

While I read, I write, and as I write, I read. Here’s some of what I wrote while I read this book:

“I get a giddy thrill when Mabuhay Gardens gets mentioned in the book. It brings back memories of a much younger me dragging a friend there before it closed to listen to music I was hearing on college radio. She didn’t know what she was in for. I didn’t either. That was a different San Francisco then. Pre-earthquake and pre-revitalization. More grit and less glitter. The hippies were long gone, although the addicts remained. Music was still on vinyl, and streaming music was stuff of science fiction. And at that time, a new kind of music was emerging. Some bands brilliantly discordant and moving; others terrible and unlistenable. It wasn’t pop or rock or anything I’d ever heard on commercial radio. It hadn’t yet been defined or boiled down into a corporate formula. The music was exciting, emotionally raw and fearless, and could only be heard live at a few open-minded venues, like the Mab.”

“In my writers group, we discussed what we are reading. I admitted that I’m finally reading this book. One of the writers who had read the book told me, ‘It’ll change your life.’ Of course he was joking. Or so I thought. Each story so far has its own unique narrative voice. Egan plays with tone, diction, style, etc. She has such a sense of balance in her language and pacing. In ‘Ask Me If I Care,’ there is beauty and ugliness at the same time. Her characters are scary-real. It’s as if you can feel them breaking and bleeding in front of you, and there’s nothing you can do except to keep on reading. And then you realize this was Egan’s aim all along: for the reader to feel the same impotent horror the central character is experiencing.”

“A story like ‘Safari’ may be a story that only literary nerds like me can appreciate. It is brilliant, I have to say. It is truly an exploration of the omniscient 3rd person point of view. I had to read the first few sections a couple of times to keep the characters straight. There are so many shifts in the perspectives. The narrative voice starts out with a distance akin to a scientific paper, which coincides with Mindy, a character who is an anthropology grad student at UC Berkeley. Then the perspective shifts, and we are seeing the scene from another character’s point of view. Egan does this throughout the story, reminding me of a snake moving through brush and grass, each brush or clump of grass being a different character. There is so much that she does in the narrative that is mimetic of the anthropology theme: the observances of complicated adult relationships, the misunderstandings or assumptions children make when witnessing these complications. Then there is the pivotal moment in the story. I won’t say much more than it involves a lioness (who is the innocent one in all of it). That particular scene stayed with me, like that leftover sting of a mosquito. While I was smarting, I had to concede the necessity of that difficult scene. It was perhaps the most honest moment for these characters.

“Egan continually turns the short story on its head. Usually the short story form covers a specific moment in the central characters’ lives, usually focusing on a limited range of themes, as opposed to a novel which can span an entire lifetime and explores any number of themes. Most of the time, in short story, you get the impression that for these characters, after the story ends, their lives continue, but we are left to imagine their futures. In ‘Safari,’ it’s not enough to tell us that they will remember the trip for the rest of their lives. Egan gives us these strange but delicious tidbits of projection into their future. As a fiction writer, I can barely handle moving my own narratives back in time, but Egan moves up and down the time scale with ease and finesse. She lets the reader see the full arc of these characters’ lives in short bursts of paragraphs with almost breathless speed, rhythm and lyricism. We see not just the past and the present but the future of these characters, giving us a much different, more layered reading experience.”

“This story collection reminds me of a music album, which may be because these characters inhabit the music world. Each story is like a song in an album which is a separate, standalone work of art, with its own theme or message. Put them all together, and the cumulative reading creates a larger body of art and suddenly, like a music album, the book is imbued with layered themes and deeper meaning.”

“‘Selling the General’ was funny and absurd until it became deadly and well, still absurd. I kept imagining Lindsay Lohan as Kitty Jackson, a minor and yet essential character. Not that the character’s life resembles Lohan’s, but somehow, that’s the face in my imagination, which seems to embody that sudden rise and fall of a young star. This story is actually the most hopeful of the collection I’ve read so far.”

“‘Out of Body’ is my least favorite of Egan’s stories, and I have only three left to go. This one was a little too ‘device-driven’ and less emotionally satisfying than the others. I couldn’t sympathize with the central character and only barely related to the minor characters, which is too bad because I happen to like 2nd person point of view. Some of my favorite stories are written in this point of view. I like the odd yet intimate feeling when the narrator addresses ‘you’ in the story. In this case, rather than bringing me closer to the character, its use mostly annoyed me and often took me out of the story.

“Using 2nd person is always a risk, and Egan is certainly not averse to risk in her writing. And that’s as it should be. I think the best writers are fearless and willing to take the leap that no one else is willing to take. I’m all for using experimental strategies in fiction, but 2nd person has to make artistic sense for my writer’s sensibilities. In other words, evoking that ‘you’ should tell the story better. 2nd person short stories like ‘Forever Overhead’ by David Foster Wallace, ‘How to Become a Writer’ by Lorrie Moore, ‘Leopard’ by Wells Tower come to mind. I can’t fathom those stories having the same impression if they’d been written in other than 2nd person. But with ‘Out of Body,’ I can imagine it better told in the 1st or 3rd person.”

“Egan redeems herself with the next two stories, of which one is a PowerPoint presentation that is nothing short of genius. How did she do it? How did Egan create a graphical representation of a short story that is just as poignant and satisfying as her other more ‘traditional’ stories? I’m in awe once again. As soon as I can pick my jaw off the floor, I’ll start on the very last story, except I almost don’t want to because once I’m finished reading it, the world of the Goon Squad will be over.”

“When I first began to read Egan’s stories, in the back of my mind, I was thinking there should be a special disclaimer to writers, like on television: ‘Don’t try this at home kids.’ But the more I read, the more it felt like Egan was daring or challenging writers to absolutely try it, and any of the other crazy stuff you know will cause debate in your next workshop. Screw the rules, or didn’t you get the memo? There aren’t any actual rules in fiction writing, only the illusion that you need them to tell your story. Then there’s Egan, who writes a damn good story whether she’s complying with the rules or inventing new ones.”

Guest Reviewer: Ronnie Kutys

Full Title: The Dressmaker: A Novel
Author: Kate Alcott
Publisher: Doubleday (2012)
Number of Pages: 320
How long it took me to read: 3 days
Where I bought this book: I was able to borrow a digital advanced reader’s copy (ARC) from the publisher.
ISBN: 978-0385535588

Like a Moth to a Flame

Everyone knows how any story of the Titanic will end. The boat must always sink, lest it not be true to history. However, The Dressmaker does not focus on the Titanic itself, but on some of the passengers and what happens after they safely escape the wreck. I don’t particularly enjoy straightforward history books and most books about the Titanic work out to be just linear accounts of what happened, but this one seemed different. Most books about the Titanic don’t touch on what happens to the survivors after they are rescued and how their lives changed, but this one draws us into their complicated worlds.

Favorite Five

I propose that the top 5 quotes from this book are:

5. “All she knew right now was that when she emerged she would be faced with the ordeal of trying to comfort the woman who only days before was the most invulnerable woman she had ever met.” (p.117)

4. “The fog lifted. And there it was, looming so high, so proud and separate, it seemed to rule the sea, not the other way around. Four huge smokestacks reaching gracefully toward the sky. Nine decks, and Tess felt her neck aching from the effort as she counted them. No wonder it was called the Titanic.” (p.10)

3. “I’ve enjoyed over the years being the quiet supporter who could make things work for you. But not anymore. It isn’t just this caterwauling American press tearing my reputation apart. It’s the fact that you see me far more as a servant than as a husband. Just one more obedient follower doing the bidding of the great Lucile…I’ve made the mistake of letting you get away with it for too long.” (p.251)

2. “Lucile’s nature wouldn’t change. It would always be to praise and criticize and goad and condemn, ensnaring everyone into a constant dance of trying to please, running harder, doing anything to please Madame. Not only could she see the web; she could feel it, and she’d not let its sticky pleasures catch her again.” (p.283)

…and my pick for the No.1 quote is…

1. “Oh, the carpet was soft. And now she could reach out and actually touch one of the velvet chairs. She could inhale the aroma of many perfumes, see the gold-crusted dining plates filled with exotic food, hear the light talk and laughter that rippled across the well-behaved room, laughter as sparkling as the sea. So much, all at once. White-clad waiters moving solicitously among the tables; diamond rings flashing each time a glass was hoisted; men hovering close to women in low-cut gowns. She didn’t recognize the music the orchestra was playing, but she loved it and knew she would never forget it.” (p.34)

Conversation with the Reader

While I read, I write, and as I write, I read. Here’s some of what I wrote while I read this book:

“Tess is that heroine that I want to root for. She’s the underdog that I want to love. When she leaves the household in Cherbourg, Tess is desperate to find passage on the Titanic. However, the only passage she can find is as Lucile Duff Gordon’s main. Dealing with Lucile’s ever-changing moods makes Tess seem like a saint! Lucile goes from happy to melancholic in seconds. Tess is not perfect, but she has the simplicity about her that makes her irresistibly lovable. She is naïve in some sense, but mostly, she just follows her heart and will do what she must for her friends. Tess is an extremely admirable character, that friend that you want to introduce to the world while keeping close watch to make sure she’s safe.”

“Though I can’t forget that the Titanic sunk and that event is one of the most pivotal moments of the book, the action lies not in the sinking of the ship, but in the aftermath. We barely know each of the characters when the Titanic sinks. The majority of the character development comes after, when each person must deal with the consequences of their actions that fateful night. It is surprising, not so much that some of the characters reacted negatively in a life and death situation, but that so many acted as heroes. Alcott does not try to hide from the fact that moral dilemmas arise in these situations; she has a masterful way of showing that there are a multitude of reactions. I find myself questioning how I would react. Would I be Tess, Jim, or Lucile?

“The three characters are all very different. Tess is such a do-good character, but her naïveté makes her seem weak at first, which made me feel sorry for her. Jim, on the other hand, is a strong character that knows what is right and will do what is right no matter what the consequences. He’s the type of character that makes me feel safe and secure in the knowledge that he will do what is necessary to make things right. Lucile is a little harder to like. She just inspires a feeling of distaste in me, especially when she talks down to Tess. Her idea of right and wrong is skewed in her favor. I’d like to think I would react as Jim or even as Tess does on the Titanic. They are both admirable, albeit in different ways.”

“Pinky is a strange character. I like her and yet I don’t. I know she has a lot to deal with between work and her ailing father, but it’s almost as if she wants Tess and Lucile to fail in overcoming the events on the Titanic. At first, I didn’t think she had a conscience, but then she does what she can to help Tess and Jim. She carries messages for each of them, even though she has a personal stake in what happens between them. It’s almost a reflection of her relationship with her father. She thinks he doesn’t care about her but there are moments when he surprises her. Pinky seems not to care about anyone, and then she surprises me by falling in love. It’s the unexpected characters that I think leave the most lasting impression with me.”

“Cosmo Duff Gordon is an enigma. Why does he let Lucile run the show? How can he put up with her? I dislike him. Did he push people off of their lifeboat? I can’t help thinking that all the accusations aimed at Lucile should be directed at Cosmo instead. Cosmo is ruthless in doing everything he can to ensure Lucile’s success. He has no qualm about hurting others, physically or mentally. My dislike for him overshadows my pity for their sham of a marriage that seems to have been one of convenience, not love. There is hardly a positive word passed between the two, which makes me dislike Cosmo even more. He gave Lucile a title when he married her, but seems to get nothing in return, not love nor appreciation.”

“This book is so different from many that I’ve read. I don’t think it is a story I will forget anytime soon. There are many books that look at the concept of morality from different perspectives. The Dressmaker looks at morality but takes it one step farther. It makes the reader question herself. Can you condemn someone for making a decision in a life-threatening situation? Can you argue that there is no way you would have made the same or similar decision? I’m constantly questioning whether or not I would be able to stick to my beliefs as Jim does or if I would lose all semblance of morality in the face of death. Can you know the right answer in life and death situations? Is there a right answer? I have realized that morality is not a simple question of right and wrong and that no matter what the situation is, you cannot judge someone else’s decisions because you don’t know what that person was feeling. You just never know.”

Author: Edith Head with Joe Hyams
Publisher: Abrams (2011) [First published under Random House 1967]
Number of Pages: 181
How long it took me to read: 3 weeks, 5 days (to read); another month and a half to face my closet
Where I bought this book: Just Fabulous—a true-to-its-name boutique in Palm Springs, CA
ISBN: 978-0-8109-2133-7

Like a Moth to a Flame

It’s purple. It’s covered in purple fabric. It feels like it knows about fashion. I don’t feel like I know about fashion. I’ve lost touch with my inner diva.

I’m on a trip to reconnect with myself. I’m tired of wearing the same things to work, week after week. I’m tired of being too tired to look through my closet and pick out something new.

It disturbs me that I squirm at the thought of wearing a vibrant color. It worries me that my flats are pushing my heels to the back of the shoe cave buried beneath the forest of the hems of the jackets that used to add dazzle to my ensembles; now they simply hang, limp and tired. It’s time to remind myself of how to dress. It’s time for a little bit of fabulous.

Favorite Five

Whittling 15 down to 5…I propose that the top 5 quotes from this book are:

5. “In building your wardrobe, it is also important to decide each season what your color schemes are going to be. If you buy a lot of scrambled colors that bear no relation to each other you’re going to be in trouble with accessories. Choose a few becoming colors and build your wardrobe around them instead of getting on your clothes horse and galloping in all directions.” (p.78)

4. “A full-length hostess gown in a color that blends with your living room is the perfect answer, but make sure it is one you can move in gracefully without spilling the drinks, tripping over the skirt or knocking over the candles. When you choose it, bare in mind how busy you will be as a hostess, so don’t select something with long tight sleeves and a high turtleneck that will make you look and feel like a steamed clam after the first cocktail. Play it cool. And no matter how glamorous they look in the adds, avoid long dangling necklaces that wind up in the salad bowl when you’re serving.” (p.33)

3. “Conforming to the atmosphere in which you live is an important element of dressing for success. Success in any area involves having other people like you. Fundamentally, people don’t like oddballs and freaks. They feel uncomfortable in the presence of people who are entirely different from them. When someone says of a woman, ‘She’s my kind of person,’ that is the greatest compliment they can pay. If your way of dressing is completely out of keeping with your surroundings or with the tempo of life in your community, you’re taking the chance of being classed with the weird ones, including the town drunk and the village idiot.” (p.68)

2. “[A] shopping danger that practically all women succumb to at times is the ‘bargain.’ No matter how big the markdown is, it doesn’t represent a saving at all if the garment is going to be worn only by the hanger.” (p.75)

…and my pick for the No.1 quote is…

1. “At the same time that most women claim they have ‘nothing to wear,’ they repeatedly grouse and groan about closet space. They have dozens of things hanging around that they never wear, either because they don’t fit, are unbecoming or are inappropriate for the things they do and the places they go. If you are one of these Woebegone Winnies—here’s some advice: take each of those hardly-ever-worn dresses, coats, suits and shoes out of hiding and make a decision. Are you ever going to wear them?” (p.61)

New Words

Words are wondrous creatures. Put them together and they paint a picture. Rearrange them and the scene changes. But to be able to see what they are saying, we must first know what they mean.

New Word: gridiron (noun)

Definition (Source: WordBook iPhone App): 1) a cooking utensil of parallel metal bars; used to grill fish or meat; 2) the playing field on which football is played
Synonyms: 1) grid; 2) football field
Origins: c.1330; ‘griderne,’ alteration (by association with iron) or ‘gridire’ (c.1290); a variant of ‘gridil’; confusion of ‘l’ and ‘r’ was common in Norman dialect
As in: “There’s nothing more revolting to the rugged gridiron enthusiast than a shivering, complaining female whose only comment about the game is, ‘I’m freezing!’” (p.30)

New Word: chatelaine (noun)

Definition (Source: WordBook iPhone App): 1) the mistress of a chateau or large country house; 2) a chain formerly worn at the waist by women; for carrying a purse or bunch of keys, etc.
Origins (Source: Antique Jewelry University): 1835–45; Chatelaines were popular from the 17th to the early 20th century. The Englishwoman’s Domestic Magazine that reported on the fashions in 1874 held that chatelaines were worn at balls, having hooks suspended from them to hold fans. A spate of chatelaines in the 1878 Exhibition reflected their acceptance in formal wear. An extensive range of gold and silver, steel and electroplate fittings and appendages came on the market. Purses, memorandum books, scent bottles, vinaigrettes, and sewing implements were suspended from them. Mass manufactured ones became available, indicating the widespread use and popularity. The beginning of the 20th century marked the end of the chatelaine although modern day seamstresses still like to use them for practical reasons.
As in: “The people you invite, the hor d’oeuvres you serve, the glasses you use, the menu you plan will all be carefully noted by this man who is measuring your qualifications (you hope) as the possible chatelaine of his future chateau.” (pp.32-3)

New Word: passementerie (noun)

Definition (Source: WordBook iPhone App): a decoration or adornment on a garment
Synonyms: trimming, trim
Origins: from the French ‘passement’ decorative lace
As in: “Persian blue with kelly green, purple with hot pink, chartreuse with aqua, orange with bright blue—are as fashion-right today in both costumes and home furnishings as Grandmother’s passementerie trims were in hers.” (p.111)

New Word: peplum (noun)

Definition (Source: WordBook iPhone App): 1) a flared ruffle attached to the waistline of a dress or jacket or blouse; 2) a garment worn by women in ancient Greece; cloth caught at the shoulders and draped in folds to the waist
Synonyms: peplos, peplus
Origins: 1800s; see Emerson College Fashion Society‘s excellent overview of the style
As in: “There are some rules, however, that you can follow if you are heavier than you should be or want to be…Avoid short jackets and circular treatments that go round and round, such as peplums, contrasting belts, horizontal stripings.” (p.129)

Conversation with the Reader

While I read, I write, and as I write, I read. Here’s some of what I wrote while I read this book:

“I work in the coldest office in the world. Trust me, in my world, it’s the coldest. I’ve become a slave to wool. My silks, and my satins, and all my frilly lovely bits hang unworn in my bulging closet. Bulging for two reasons:

1. I am still hopeful that one day, I’ll wear normal clothes again, so I buy them when it’s love at first sight.
2. All these bloody sweaters take up an obnoxious amount of room.

“Having said that, thick, luscious knits really do me justice.

“But going back to the cold office, I’ve allowed myself to fall into a wardrobe rut in the name of self-preservation. I don’t want to invest in even thicker clothes, so I’m restricted to wear only my warmest garb. Since I don’t have that much of it, I wear the same things all the time. Well, that’s not completely true—I am wearing my 100% wool ski socks for the first time today.

“So I’m really, really, oh so much looking forward to have Ms. Head’s help in exploring my wardrobe. It feels a bit like I’m getting ready to go shopping in my own closet!”

“This book feels like a black and white movie produced by the creators of Sex and the City. It provides almost clinical instruction on how to dress to get what you want, whether it be a job or a man, with an endearing sense of righteous indignation. It’s difficult to take its advice seriously, yet I can’t help but agree with it most of the time. There really is a book of rules that the best players in life follow. Even though you may want to desperately believe that we live in a world where wearing pajama pants in public is ok, you’re not likely to be invited to anything more glamorous than a grocery store grand opening if that’s your go-to ensemble.”

“I think I was channeling Edith Head when I created Claire Coddles. It could just be a coincidence, but I think my attack on the beer chugging buffoon came out around the same time that White Collar started airing. My explanation (since I don’t believe in coincidences): people want to go back to a time when looking human was attractive. The ‘baboon look’ is ready for an overhaul.”

“I’m really trying hard to tackle this book, but it’s mercilessly exposing such ugly stuff—the stuff I do really well to ignore. It’s shining light on a disturbingly high number of unworn items due to renew their second- or third-year lease in my closet. It’s forcing me to face the fact that my tendency to buy clothes that are just a littler too tight isn’t motivating me to loose a few extra pounds. Instead, it’s making me increasingly discouraged each time I have to decide what to wear.

“Is getting dressed about showing off, staying warm, reflecting one’s personality, or simply a way to avoid getting arrested for indecent exposure? Sometimes, I justify my unimaginative ensembles by blaming the weather, but deep down, I know I can do better. Yesterday, I took all my ‘hot summer day’ clothes out of the closet and stuffed them in an empty suitcase. The hangers breathed a sigh of relief. Now they’re hanging again. They weren’t hanging anymore. They were sort of pushing against one another, leaning to the side, forced to make room for yet another three-quarter length sleeve blazer that I’ll probably have to wait until August to wear when it’ll be warm enough to go to work with exposed wrists. In any case, I’ve taken the first step. I’ve made room to sort. Now, I just have to face what’s left dangling in front of me.”

“I think I’ve just identified a habit that I’ve developed as a result of fattening up my closet with too many random items. I think I’ve just pinpointed a symptom of not knowing how to shop. The more random the items in my wardrobe become (that great sleeveless satin top, the fabulous pencil skirt that should have stayed in Vegas), the more difficult it becomes to put a blipping outfit together. The consequence: I’m gravitating toward dresses. Think about it! You don’t have to match a skirt with a top; the dress has already done that for you. The problem is, the only time I wear dresses is at airports, where the mix of people from different places is so eclectic that it’s impossible to look out of place. But in my day to day, a dress would look ridiculous.

“So now I have a choice to make: change my life, or make dresses appear normal (notice that dress disposal is not up for discussion). Maybe it’s because I’m a Capricorn, or maybe it’s just because dresses are so pretty, but I’m going for option number 2. Now the weather just has to get warmer, and I have to figure out if I have the right pair of shoes and matching accessories. I’m going to try figuring that out this weekend; I bought a case of wine last week at Costo, so I’m set.”

“It’s Monday morning, I’m sitting on an empty train, and I’m early. What better time to tell you about what I did last weekend?

“I finished reading this book three weeks ago, but I haven’t finished all of my homework yet. Last weekend, I started doing inventory. I managed to finish all of my husband’s wardrobe (so much easier to start with him than to shine the spotlight on myself) and I got through all of my shoes.

“I have 56 pairs of shoes. I have three times the number of shoes as my husband, and I wear 3% of them 80% of the time. Evidently, I buy shoes that reflect the life I want to live (evening pumps) instead of the life I lead (flat boots, business flats). After seeing the reality of the numbers (that obviously had no intention of lying to spare my feelings), I’ve made two decisions:

1. Rather than buy any more pairs of shoes, I’m going to shop in my closet. I’ve pulled myself together and finally thrown out the shoes with holes and tears and eroded heals. I’ve pulled out new business flats and a few casual pumps that I can wear to the office. Now I just have to figure out how to wear them with my current wardrobe.
2. Up until now, I’ve shopped for the life I’ve wanted. From now on, I’m going to shop for the life I have. I choose acceptance and surrender. I choose to see the many ways I can make my every day a pleasure.”

“Here’s the template I created to do my wardrobe inventory (click on the image and it will open up an Excel file). If you want to go down this road of merciless self-discovery, maybe this will help make your journey a little less bumpy.”

“For a morning person, I have an incredible number of evening dresses. I’m also exceptional at forgetting that tops should match bottoms since almost none of mine do. But what stumps me the most is how a perfectionist could be so fashion illiterate. Books come to us to teach us lessons, but I’m thinking that this one came to me a little late. Nonetheless, it was an incredible lesson to learn. My eyes are so much more open to my (mildly compulsive) shopping patterns and I finally understand why I don’t wear more of the items in my wardrobe. Not knowing what to wear isn’t about feeling frivolous in the moment; it’s about not having all the tools needed to create an image and a feeling that aligns with a desired reality. The more mathematically you approach the creative process of wardrobe maintenance, the more resourceful you’ll be with your inventory, and the easier it will be to focus on what’s really important.”

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Treading Water by Noreen Braman

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Guest Reviewer: Nizanth Navaratnarajah

Full Title: Buddha: A Story of Enlightenment
Author: Deepak Chopra
Publisher: HarperOne (2007)
Number of Pages: 288
How long it took me to read: 4 days
Where I bought this book: Indigo Books & Music Inc.
ISBN: 978-0-06-087880-1

Like a Moth to a Flame

Since I was young, I had always heard stories of a young prince who lived long ago and who gave up everything and everyone to become the enlightened one, the Buddha. On a trip to my local bookstore, I came across this novel, simply entitled “Buddha,” and it reminded me of these stories from my youth. I was attracted by the calming nature of taking a few moments out of my life to venture into the wandering mind of the young prince, whose thoughts on mediation, suffering, and ultimately happiness would become an enduring legacy to the power of the human mind.

Favorite Five

I propose that the top 5 quotes from this book are:

5. “We walk through [the forest] every day and believe it to be the same forest. But not a single leaf is the same as yesterday. Every particle of soil, plant and animal, is constantly changing.” (p.243)

4. “But he was awake when the voice in his head said, ‘Can you be still, without thinking? Don’t talk to yourself. Just breathe gently.’” (p.61)

3. “The fire of passion burns out eventually. Then you dig through the ashes and discover a gem.” (p.264)

2. “Face the wall like a statue and give them nothing.” (p.209)

…and my pick for the No.1 quote is…

1. “The dust holds its shape for a fleeting moment when I throw it into the air, as the body holds its shape for this brief lifetime.” (p.242)

Conversation with the Reader

While I read, I write, and as I write, I read. Here’s some of what I wrote while I read this book:

“The book itself is not purely fact nor fiction but rather a fully fleshed out tapestry of the life of Siddhartha and his passage into Buddha-hood. In essence, the life described in this book is an allegory for the journey we must all take in our lives to find our meaning and our place in the grand scheme of things.”

“As I read the first few chapters, the ideas that flow from the pages and into my mind are of the human condition. As young Siddhartha struggles to grasp a sense of satisfaction in his life, so do we intuitively strive to put purpose into ours. As I progress through the story, I reflect on the curiosity of the protagonist, who questions everything around him. To me, curiosity seems to be the driving force behind his ultimate transformation. His child-like curiosity toward both the inner and outer world, is in sharp contrast to the way we tend to perceive things in our modern society. It makes me appreciate the naïve wonderment and take notice of the simplicities of life around me.”

“The words paint vivid thoughts of calmness and serenity as I relive a journey through the narrow forest pathways of India. I write and read through the shadows of the forest canopy, slowly following the path this man took to open his eyes and mind to the nature of life. His discovery of the human condition, the slow steps he took from what was to what would be, to the eternal truth of what is. In this idea lies the fallacy of the human mind, the fleeting images of scattered thoughts we desperately cling to and through which we perceive the continuity of the world.

“In contrast, the realization of impermanence is truly on display as I watch the changing of the seasons. The natural cycle of winter to summer and everything in between is a gentle reminder that all things melt away like winter’s snow. It is a harsh truth that all things fade, and what I truly have in life is this moment in time. Life does pass in moments as once described, and it is these moments interconnected in our minds that gives us our dreams, memories and reflections.”

“As the pages close on my journey through this book, I can truly appreciate the beauty of its message by finding similar connections to my own life. This link is well orchestrated when the author writes phrases like, ‘there is a Buddha in all of us.’ It is a comforting thought, knowing we all have the capacity to achieve the extraordinary through ordinary means. Through a simple action of being committed to the present, we can in turn help clarify the nature of our own existence. This ideal has come into my life for the better, allowing me to step back and watch my own thoughts and actions.

“I remember one occasion when this principle directly affecting my life. It was during a camping trip with my friends. We went to Algonquin Park, which is a few hours north of where I live. We were running late and still had to trek a couple of kilometers through the forest to our campsite. As we hiked through the pristine wilderness, the beauty all around us was awe-inspiring and all-encompassing, yet we hardly noticed it.

“Since we were in a hurry, we didn’t stop much to glimpse at the scenery before us; we were focused on reaching our destination. On rare occasions when we did admire the view, more time was spent on trying to capture the appropriate description of what we were looking at and where we were. Truly being there and living in the moment was an afterthought.

“We persevered, finally arriving just as dusk turned into night and darkness crept in. That night, exhaustion got the better of us and not much was said or done. As my friends and I sat outside our tent, we gazed up slowly at the night sky, realizing that we’d never seen it so dark before. A few minutes passed without a word spoken, and the silence grew. In that moment, looking up at the countless stars painted across this massive dark canvass, it became evident that the universe does open up as you gently watch your breath.”

Full Title: Rock Music in American Culture: The Sounds of Revolution
Author: Robert G. Pielke
Publisher: McFarland & Company (2012) (Second edition)
Number of Pages: 242
How long it took me to read: 3 weeks
Where I got this book: Uncustomary Book Submission
ISBN: 978-0-7864-4865-4

Like a Moth to a Flame

This is the first review I’ve written at the behest of the author.  As if that wasn’t daunting enough, the subject happens to be rock music – a topic I’ve always purposefully avoided reading about.  Not because it doesn’t interest me; quite the reverse, in fact.  The act of performing or listening to music has always felt sacred to me; too sacred to risk dispelling its magic by learning too much about it.

But what do I even mean by ‘sacred?’

With other cultural media (writing, film, theatre), I have a tendency to search obsessively for meaning—but with music, what I’m seeing is the pure pleasure of sensations resounding through my body.  The sounds themselves are just repetitive vibrations that reverberate round and down my auditory canals, translated by nerves and temporal lobe into a recognisable pattern.  But in the right configuration, that pattern manifests as slivers of ice being slid beneath my skin, or the roasting weight of sunlight pinning me to my seat.  They can propel me head-first into a thumping determination of future plans and actions, or calm me to the point where problems shrivel to nothingness.  And they always—always—light the dark solitude of my mind with a flickshow of memories and visualisations.  Other configurations, though, can feel as if someone is rubbing a cheese grater against my nerve endings, or hammering a metal spike through my skull.

The subtext of lyrics, or knowledge of the artists’ social background and political views, can sometimes supplement (or manipulate) these sensations, but it is this fusion of musicological elements (rhythm, orchestration, melody) with my personal circumstances and biological make-up that gives music its true significance. Magnificence, even.

Because of this intensely personal relationship with music (to the point where I have never managed to appreciate live music because of its more social nature), I am prepared for a book about Rock Music and its significance in American cultural revolution to be a rather uncomfortable read.  On the other hand, my CD racks contain a far greater proportion of US music than British—from metal to indie, via alternative country and tex-mex, from the 1960s to the modern day—so much of the music should not be a mystery.  And throughout my teens and twenty-somethings, my musical, clothing and lifestyle tastes took a high-velocity route through various guises of the revolution, including (at its more recognisable stages) metal-head cowboy, bearded-and-beaded hippy viking and hypertense, purple-haired indie kid.  You could say I’ve fast-tracked alternative culture to the extreme (I get quickly bored, my attentions easily diverted).  Despite this, I’m still not sure that I’m ready to see my hallowed musical tastes dissected and splayed out on a slab for intellectual, philosophical consideration.

Literature, fine.  Films, whatever.  But music…music is sacred!

Favorite Five

I propose that the top 5 quotes from this book (cut from a shortlist of 14 and a long list of about fifty) are:

5. “Cultural creations are born, they live, and they die; but above all, they change and effect change. So, a permanent, unchanging definition of rock music is intrinsically impossible; it would amount to an abstraction from a particular part of its developmental process and would thus contradict itself: a part would claim to be the whole.” (p.15)

4. “…the counterculture record store functions as a haven, a sanctuary from the oppressiveness of established order. To see this, the observer need only witness the discomfort of ‘straights’ (participants in the traditional order) who enter this alien environment.  If ever there were a litmus test for values, this might be it: a discomfort index for customers.” (p.91)

3.  “Only if the self is intact can it manifest a concern for other, and recreation is an essential component of keeping it intact.  After all, ‘recreation’ means to ‘re-create.’ Nothing frivolous about this, and nothing selfish either.  Essentially, re-creation is healing, the revitalization of the body and spirit and the opening of the self to the future.” (p.97)

2. “The fact that these changes have come about far more slowly than he [McLuhan] anticipated, imperceptibly, some would say, should not lead us to conclude that he was wrong about everything. Cultural revolutionaries are notoriously impatient, and McLuhan was no exception.  Perhaps if he had paid more attention to what he himself was saying, he would have been able to discern more accurately the character of radical change, namely, that it does proceed imperceptibly and, for the most part, subliminally.” (p.64)

…and my pick for the No.1 quote is…

1. “As luck would have it, I had happened upon one of Baltimore’s few Black radio stations.  And they were playing such songs as ‘Lawdy Miss Clawdy’ by Lloyd Price, the Chords’ (original) version of ‘Sh-Boom,’ and, unbelievably, the Dominoes’ ‘Sixty Minute Man.’ With a swiftness unparalleled by anything other than a teenager’s change of moods, I knew with absolute certainty that my parents wouldn’t appreciate this discovery with the same degree of ardor.” (p.68)

New Words

Words are wondrous creatures. Put them together and they paint a picture. Rearrange them and the scene changes. But to be able to see what they are saying, we must first know what they mean.

New Word: numinous

Definition (Source: Dictionary.com): 1) of, pertaining to, or like a numen; spiritual or supernatural; 2) surpassing comprehension or understanding; mysterious; 3) arousing one’s elevated feelings of duty, honor, loyalty, etc.
Synonyms: 1) ethereal, nonmaterial; 2) extraordinary, inexplicable; 3) hallowed, venerable
Origins: 1640–50; Latin nūmin- (stem of nūmen ) ‘numen’ + ‘-ous’
As in: “Otto preferred calling it the numinous—that which is experienced as ultimate.” (p.137) (A pertinent definition in itself!)

New Word: exegetical

Definition (Source: Dictionary.com): of or pertaining to exegesis; explanatory; interpretative
Synonyms: informative, enlightening
Origins: 1645–55; Greek exēgētikós, equivalent to exēgēt (ḗs) ‘exegete’ + -ikos ‘-ic’
As in: “In an essay entitled ‘Learning from The Beatles,’ Richard Poirier singles out this one album for especially close analysis, subjecting each and every song to his exegetical scrutiny.” (p.161)

Conversation with the Reader

While I read, I write, and as I write, I read. Here’s some of what I wrote while I read this book:

“The book begins with a brief, sweeping description of the conception, birth and development of rock and roll from the author’s own perspective, quickly followed by an admission of his unavoidable subjectivity.  This instantly calms two conflicting fears invoked by the book’s title:

1. That it might consist of nothing more than tabloid-esque celebrity soap opera with some pseudo-intellectual dressing, or
2. That the subject might be put under an academic microscope at a dry, dispassionate distance.

“Pielke shatters these fears by immediately pinpointing his place in the story of the cultural revolution.  His confession of subjectivity suggests I am in for not only a uniquely philosophical perspective on rock and roll (as the blurb declares), but also an earnest, intimate exploration of the phenomena by someone who has lived through it, experienced its evolution, and is not afraid to use their own values and responses as an available specimen for study.  This is vital.  I would be far less inclined to put my trust  in the hands of someone who had not experienced a similarly inexplicable devotion to this kind of music as I have.  I’m sure this would be true of any reader.  That Pielke recognises and responds to this need for trust from the outset tells me he has undoubtedly shared that personal experience.  Notably, he also explains that this is the second edition of a book first published twenty-four years ago.  In that time, he has continued to watch this ‘revolution’ develop, reshape, ebb back and flow forth, and felt enough dedication to return to his original ideas and fill in that gap.  I don’t think I have to worry about his personal enthusiasm for the subject.”

“Pielke’s writing confidently—and successfully—strides the line between academic rigour and wider accessibility, the tone shifting gracefully through the gears of carefully explained philosophical theory (Marshall McLuhan, Hegel’s thoughts on Truth), detailed rock and roll history (analyses of album covers, exploration of technologies) and personal anecdotes that welcome the reader with open arms into his own past, all spiced with a healthy tang of irony.  His discussion of the two sides (revolutionists and traditionalists) remains even-handed and non-judgemental, despite overtly stating on which side he stands.  A clear, untainted picture is painted of these twin forces interlocking, like a set of immense, jagged jaws gnashing against itself as it rolls through time, grinding the teeth of American culture into new, uneasily meshed formations.  Readers from either side would appreciate this illustration of uncontrollable phenomena without needing to sympathise with Pielke’s own perspective.

“He also has a knack for restating accepted facts in a way that allows you to better appreciate their significance.

“Though its meaning may be rigorously disputed, it simply cannot be ignored that rock and roll challenged and replaced a very different kind of music, relegating it to the status of total obsolescence in a matter of one or two years.” (p.13)

“We’re very aware (particularly thanks to film) that the musical/cultural trends of the 20s, 30s and 40s were very different to those of the successive 60 years, but how much thought do we put into the incredible speed with which these trends changed/disappeared?  Imagine if that happened now, in the 21st century. What kind of forces would be necessary to completely overwrite the current music scene, with its immeasurably diverse genres?  But then, perhaps this simply wouldn’t be possible because of where we exist within this multifaceted, ongoing revolution.”

“At the start, I was worried—and curious—about how the book would handle the musicological aspects of rock music. Part 1, chapter 2 grabs these fears by the lapels and dumps them outside with the garbage. It asks me, (straight out, no messing) ‘What is rock music?’ Thrusting my head deep into my dusty musical memory, I begin rooting round for an answer. ‘Don’t bother,’ the book interrupts. ‘It has nothing to do with the music. No particular rhythm, orchestration, structure, key, or scale can tie together these increasingly divergent artists and their sounds.’

” ‘But,’ I whine pathetically, ‘…that’s what my relationship with music depends upon. That musicality is how and why I choose to experience music. I don’t care about the artists, the ‘live’ experience, the album art, the fashion or the merchandising. Is there no place for that deeply intimate experience of music in this cultural revolution?’

“After all, the diversity of rock is what makes it so special to someone with my fragile boredom threshold. There are only two or three artists from each genre—or maybe sub-genre or sub-sub-sub-sub genre—whose sound I really savour. The others bore me, annoy me, reduce me to derisive groans the moment I hear them (I’m a pleasure to be with in public). I’ve separated these specific musical fruits from the larger tree and used them to cultivate my own private island of cultural revolution, where the others have no place and even, come the day, might find themselves first up against the wall. Unfortunately (or rather, fortunately), one person on a desert island with a few albums for company does not a revolution make.

“At this point, I realise I have no reason or right to feel threatened by the scope and subject of this book. It isn’t about my private relationship with music. It’s about America’s relationship with music. As much as I want to bridge the gap between the individual and the collective experience of music, if I’m going to seriously explore what this book has to offer I must leave my personal baggage at passport control and cross the border, unarmed, into the wider world.”

“Personal experience aside, the question I most often found myself asking in the opening sections (particularly the chapter on Typology) was why consider music in isolation from the rest of the culture?  There must have been so much else going on in the decades from 1940 to 2009 that would inform a discussion about cultural revolution. Surely concentrating on just one aspect is wilfully reductive?  This question nagged me more and more as I read through the impressive year-by-year correlation of key US cultural factors with notable events from that year’s music scene.  But, as the years progressed into the ’50s, I noticed a pattern emerging.  Rather than the cultural climate informing the music scene, the music scene was beginning to inform the rest of the culture.  Granted, these were selected highlights handpicked to convey the significance of rock and roll, but as the years advanced, there was no denying this significance existed.  More importantly, having challenged myself to find examples of non-musical artistic icons that had achieved the enormous, widespread impact of Elvis or The Beatles, I came up with nothing.  Not a single one.

“Rock and roll stands as a clear, definable and traceable model of cultural revolution.  Perhaps this was the final revelation I needed to release those jealously clutched ties to my own experience—the realisation that music was far more important than my own need for it.  In separating it from other cultural factors, Pielke isn’t being reductionist—he is simply acknowledging this importance.  But claiming my own musical canon as a sacred icon be put on an altar, hidden away in the private temple of my senses, is reductionist in the extreme.  Music cannot be tethered to a single person’s experience.  It belongs to a shared human consciousness, and without that sharing it loses much of what makes it a vital, potent force, on both a social and personal level.  A personal response to cultural forms is part of cultural evolution (or revolution), but it is not the same thing, just as an individual person, their phenotype, is part of the evolution of DNA.  We can be too precious about our own acclivities at the cost of understanding the larger processes of which we are but a tiny part.”

“The most important understanding towards which this book is leading me is the means by which any meaningful and lasting socio-cultural change snowballs into effectiveness.  So much of our Western cultural tradition—our books, films, plays and even songs—imply that it takes only one or two people to change the world.  In the earliest roots of tradition, the tiny, isolated tribal communities of our ancestors, this may have been true.  But in our newly forged, e-centric (eccentric?) global community it is a deception.  You only need to look at how ineffectual, how purely symbolic, the role of leader has become in many countries to realise this.  In the vast chain of human relationships, rapid vibrations at one link are quickly absorbed and dissipated by its neighbours.  Twenty links on, the tremors are barely noticeable.  One hundred, and it is as if the action had never occurred.  A constant, virulent vibration of many is required to shake this heavy chain onto a new trajectory, and even then the desired trajectory continues to shift the more links that are shaken.  The notion that one small group can change the world, let alone one person, is a fallacy.  Change may not even be a conscious decision until its effects have already been felt.  It takes the actions of millions, through many, many years, to secure persistent change.  Although during that time one or two symbols will likely be raised up as guides and inspirations, they themselves do not ensure change.”

“Music is sacred, but not just ‘to me.’  Part 3 describes a more legitimate understanding of what this indefinable sacredness might be: an exploration of the religiosity of rock music (particularly through the live experience, though I would argue that a decent pair of headphones and a bottle of Jack Daniels can produce much the same effect, and all the better for not getting shoved around by other people). The sensations I described at the beginning are non-rational, the same as those experienced by those who worship an orthodox deity. Numinosity (insignificance), awe (dread), overpowerment, energy, otherness and fascination—these are six sensations outlined by Rudolf Otto as ‘feelings characteristic of every historical manifestation of religion without exception.’ (p.137)

“This brings me round full circle, and helps me realise why I was clinging so doggedly to my own relationship with music.  It takes many people with similar ownership of such a sublime relationship to create a movement in the first place.  That is how human change works.  We just carry on, doing our own selfish thing, and before we know it—Sh…Bang—we’re part of a revolution.  This one may have begun a long time before I was born, but the music was the reason I first started dressing ‘weird,’ going to ‘strange’ pubs and clubs and hanging out with other similarly clothed people.  Of course Pielke is right to consider the importance of music in isolation, and of course I’m right to jealously guard my own relationship with it, and of course traditional forces are right to use it as a way of stealing power back.  We may never be able to explain our personal relationships with it rationally, but that doesn’t stop it from being enormously, insurmountably significant.”

“Having praised the accessibility and versatility of Pielke’s writing, it’s only fair to isolate a few aspects with which I’ve struggled, more as a heads-up to potential readers than to add criticism for the sake of balance.  There are times when I’d like to know a little more about the examples being held up for examination before we move on to the next argument.  How is The Beatles’ version of Revolution on The White Album ambiguous?  How does it negate art?  What relevance does Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man have to the idea that ‘outsiders have a certain influence that those on the inside can never possess?’ (p.84)  Often I am left to simply assume or accept the significance of such statements, hoping they will emerge again at a later juncture.  Indeed, some of them do, but others are just left behind to flap unconvincingly in the wake of the argument.

“There’s also an over-reliance on lists to make a point.  ’Here is an example of artists who…’ followed by a long stream of names, some of which I recognise, most of which I don’t, but I rarely get a deeper understanding of why any of them are included in the list.  This provides an illusion of comprehensiveness, but doesn’t help to cement the initial point in my head.

“Finally, I’m not convinced the chart used to illustrate the Typology of Rock Music is either necessary or helpful.  It provides a list of bands in two categories, ‘Revolutionary’ and ‘Co-opted’. The first of these is further split into affirmers of revolutionary values and negators of traditional values, while the second records ‘loss of transcendence’ and ‘loss of immanence’ (this will make more sense if you read the book, and I strongly recommend that you do read the book).  The problem is, the chart is completely subjective, as the author himself admits.  But, if the reader does not agree with how certain bands have been categorised (and given the subjectivity, it seems more than likely that most people will disagree with some element), rather than elucidating the ideas that precede the chart, it could easily lead to confusion.  I won’t give details of the particular placements that bothered me (to avoid falling into the same trap), but I found myself having to read parts of the preceding chapters over and over again to make sure I hadn’t completely misunderstood them.  I hadn’t, but perhaps because of our musical taste, or geographical location, I just had a very different perspective to the author on their contribution to the cultural revolution.”

“Three weeks spent reading this book from cover to cover has retuned my mind to many of the values imbued by my earliest, most intimate, experiences of music.  For the first time in years, I’ve been listening to Beatles tracks again, hearing them resound clearly in my head, feeling their rainbow of sensations spill out and over my body. I’ve come to consider The Sounds of Revolution my official handbook on both rock music (focusing, as it does, on the effects of music and musical artists) and the phenomena of cultural revolution itself. In fact, I wish I’d pretended this copy had never arrived so I could have requested another to pass round my friends.  They need to read it as well.  They need to understand how so much of the world they live in came into existence; how so many of the ideas and attitudes we often take for granted were hunted down and struggled over on the cultural battlefield.

“There was no need to worry about this book destroying my personal relationship with music.  Challenging it, maybe, and even disturbing it, but ultimately the author has guided me to a deeper reverence for the subject than I had before.  The songs I love will always retain their significance for me, without requiring validation from anyone else, but I realise now that music can speak for itself, and will continue to do so regardless of who is listening or when.  That’s what makes it so dangerous.  Thank you, Professor Pielke—it has been, in every sense, a liberation.”

Anatomy of an Uncustomary Writer

What’s the oddest thing you own?

Librarian and Jane Austen action figures.

Any writing rituals?

I always put Pandora on to the Billie Holiday station when I start a writing project.

What substance (prescribed, illegal or from the freezer section) most inspires your writing?

Coffee and chocolate.

What’s the biggest advantage of your greatest disadvantage?

Not having as much time to read and write, so what I do read is selective and what I do write is more thoughtful.

Which language do you wish you could speak to ask what question to whom?

Medieval Italian so I could ask Dante how much he really loved Beatrice.

Describe your relationship with inspiration.

It seems to be illusive when I really want it and then appears when I don’t expect it.

The formula for the perfect day is:

Coffee, a good book, and a comfortable leather chair snuggling with my puppies.

Anatomy of the Book

Do you prefer…

…chapter titles or chapter numbers? Chapter numbers.
…short stories, a series, or a collection of poems? A series.
…footnotes, maps or indices? Indices.
…hardcover, softcover or digital cover? Hardcover.

Anatomy of the Reading List

What does your reading list look like? Is it a pile of books, a list of titles or a mental medley of thoughts?

I always have a pile of to-read books that are scattered around my house.

Which book do you feel obligated to read next?

The Hunger Games series, especially since the movie is coming out soon.

Which do you actually wish you were reading right now?

Little Women. A classic and one of my favorite books.

Uncustomary Book Reviews Written by Heather Rae Butler: Here’s the list.

Author: Noreen Braman
Publisher: Noreen’s Digital Dreams (2011)
Number of Pages: 151
How long it took me to read: 1 day
Where I got this book: Uncustomary Book Submission
ISBN: 978-1-105-23444-6

Like a Moth to a Flame

Using water to tell a story about life’s difficulties stood out enough for me to take notice. It made me wonder whether I had an element, a color, or a name that shows up every time I’m about to hit a bump in my road. But more than anything, I wanted to see how Braman mopped up all of her life’s puddles—maybe she’d have some advice for me.

Favorite Five

I propose that the top 5 quotes from this book are:

5. “For me, getting over the rainbow is less tangible. Younger than Carol, but also recently divorced, it is the weight of time that leans on me. Time for my children, time to start over, time to write. For at least 20 years time has been my ally, my guardian, my temptation and my foe.” (p.64)

4. “It may take some convincing, some kicking, screaming and foot-dragging, but when a writer finally gets “computerized,” she soon forgets what life was like without one. Gone are the days of carbon paper, correction fluid and endless retypes. They’re quickly replaced by long nights in front of a blank screen, instruction manual in hand.” (p.51)

3. “Today, ravaged by multiple pregnancies, and the weight gain brought on by having to work for a living instead of spending hours prancing around at a health club, I have finally faced the reality of never again wearing a bikini or a halter top. Nowadays, my bathing suit is better constructed than my house, and scout troops could camp out in my bras. I’ve got a ski machine and exercise bike serving as planters and doorstops in my house, and a whole collection of exercise videos holding up a shelving unit.” (pp.62-3)

2. “My family traveled uneventfully to Niagara Falls, crossed over to Canada and headed immediately for the best vantage point. The Horseshoe Falls were majestic, but the American Falls were just a dry pile of rocks. Earlier that year, in an effort to stop erosion, repairs were begun to shore up the American Falls. A dam across the Niagara River diverted all the water. After our initial disappointment, we realized that while millions of visitors had viewed the cascading torrents, relatively few would ever see what was under all that water. We spent the rest of the time enjoying the unusual view.” (p.26)

…and my pick for the No.1 quote is…

1. “After attending a Writer’s Conference at Trenton State College last April, I came home feeling especially inspired. At this conference I met Patricia Gallagher, an author whose success is due, for the most part, to aggressive self-marketing techniques. She firmly believes, and convinced me, that the most successful writers may not be the most talented, just the most persistent.” (p.46)

Conversation with the Reader

While I read, I write, and as I write, I read. Here’s some of what I wrote while I read this book:

“Incredible. Ironic. Somewhat of a bitch. I’m sitting here, in my mildly jet-lagged and highly caffeinated state, reading the disclaimer of Braman’s book where she talks about how she’s not responsible for the water that comes into your life while reading her book. Meanwhile, I can actually feel my hair growing into a flossy, tangled ball of Floridian humidity as my clothes fall into the heavy depression that all clothes succumb to when they pass through the wall of wet that greets them as they disembark the plane. I’m soaking up water. I’m walking through it as I cross the airport lounge to fill my bottle with…water. Makes me sort of miss the dusty, dry, recycled air of my current Californian reality.”

“From a marketing perspective, the book lacks in cover-appeal (homemade, pixelated and over-saturated photo), the font is too large and the pages are both too wide and too tall, making it a floppy read. Of course, this is just the aesthetic first impression, but if we’re going to self-publish, lesson No.1 is that it’s about a lot more than just the writing.”

“I’m reading about drive-ins and wondering whether Braman’s ever taken Netflix out for a spin. I have the vague recollection of watching movies at drive-ins with my parents. The recollection’s vague, but that’s not because I’m so miserably old that I can’t iron out my wrinkled mind well enough to remember; it’s vague because when I was a child, I would fall asleep minutes after getting into the car. (Who am I kidding? I fight hard not to continue the tradition into my 30’s.) So, my most vivid drive-in memories involve pillows and blankets cushioning my backseat bed instead of 40′ sharks and salty snacks at intermission. But I seriously doubt that watching a flickering projection through my smudged windshield (do you honestly have time to get your car washed?) is better than touring the HD foreign film circuit in my softest jammies while snuggling on the couch having some raw, gluten-free brownies and a 1.5-liter bottle of Junmai Daiginjo (each).”

“I really don’t understand Braman’s marital conflict over what Christmas music should flood the house during the holidays. Alvin and the Chipmunks obviously gets first priority, and it certainly wouldn’t be Christmas if the whole vinyl record wasn’t played, from beginning to end, at least twice a day. Obviously. And there is no way it would be Christmas without Boney M belting out their funky festive tunes in the wee hours of the morning as you fight with yourself to remain in your last REM cycle long enough to dream up the perfect way to kill the 30-year-old speakers that just seem to get louder with age.”

“It escapes me how the first chapter is connected to water—threading it or drowning in it. Despite some short scenes where it can perhaps be argued that water played a minor part, there’s no real connection between the way the book is marketed to the reader and its content. Is this a case of the trailer not matching the movie?”

“I have to admit, Braman ranting about the annoyance of authors publishing writing wrought with typos is funny…and ironic.”

“The end of chapter 2 and I’m still eager to read water-related disaster stories that end with empowering messages. So far, it reads more like a collection of short, unrelated blog posts.”

“When Braman starts to talk about Carol, I start to feel the book. I start to hear its voice and understand why she wanted to write it. All of us want to be heard; we want to find a way to make sense of the mental chatter that has the power to keep us up at night and to convince us of what people must be thinking.

“For writers, seeing words helps us make sense. I haven’t figured out whether the courageous part is admitting our thoughts to ourselves, or sharing them with readers. I do know that it’s when we scavenge deep within those moldy, sticky, damp places inside of us and write about our relationships with them that the writing becomes real; it absorbs its purpose and nourishes those whose pages and screens it caresses. When she lets go of the irony and the sarcasm and the attempts at laughing at the difficulties of life, and when she allows herself to melt into her authentic voice, that’s when the book starts for me.”

“When putting together a book of essays, it’s very important to ensure that:

1. When read in sequence, their individual tales tell a bigger story.
2. They don’t contradict one another.
3. They don’t overlap.

“There are some instances in this collection when the stories do repeat. I think they would have resonated more with me had some sections been rewritten to connect the random dots. For example, the crawlspace in the house of Poltergeist doesn’t need to be reintroduced each time it’s mentioned, neither do the junky cars in front of houses or the tenacity of the ingenious rats. I would actually argue that some of these don’t have to be mentioned at all.”

“Unfortunately, this is the case of a book that was self-published before it was ready to go to press. Persistent self-marketing alla Patricia Gallagher might not always be the best approach. Perhaps the second edition will do the author justice.”

Book of the Month

Two signed copies of: Spare Change by Bette Lee Crosby

Ranked listopia’s #1 Best Unknown Book on goodreads!

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Full Title: Prisoner of Tehran: A Memoir
Author: Marina Nemat
Publisher: Penguin Canada (2007)
Number of Pages: 288
How long it took me to read: 1 week
Where I bought this book: I bought the book for my Kobo ereader from the comfort of my couch.
ISBN: 978-0-14-3052173

Like a Moth to a Flame

This memoir has been on my radar for a while. It’s now part of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s (CBC) nationwide competition, Canada Reads, which for the first time is featuring non-fiction books by Canadian authors (usually, the competition for the book all Canadians should read focuses on fiction). I want to read all five of the competitor’s this year and I started with this one because the subject matter interested me. It’s among a handful of books I’ve now read on my Kobo, which I am trying to incorporate into my reading life.

Favorite Five

I propose that the top 5 quotes from this book are:

5. “Marina, you live in your own idealistic world that has nothing to do with reality.” (p.226) (Kobo: Ch. 17, p. 26 of 74)

4. “I had come to appreciate the gift of having a chance to say goodbye.” (p.104) (Kobo: Ch. 9, p. 28 of 32)

3. “I was even going to have a new name. It was as if he was taking me apart, piece by piece; I was being dissected alive.” (p.174) (Kobo: Ch. 15, p. 47 of 60)

2. “Was it possible not to have any regrets at the moment of death? What would I regret the most if I died at that very moment?” (p.105) (Kobo: Ch. 9, p. 30 of 32)

…and my pick for the No.1 quote is…

1. “One dictator will go and a worse one will take its place, the same as in Russia, only this time with a different name and it will be more dangerous, because this revolution is hiding behind the name of God…Communism isn’t the answer to social problems, and neither is religion.” (p.78) (Kobo: Ch. 7, p. 47, 48 of 65)

Conversation with the Reader

While I read, I write, and as I write, I read. Here’s some of what I wrote while I read this book:

“This story is almost fictional, it’s so brutal. Like in a made-up plot, things seem to happen to Nemat at just the right time, making the story almost surreal. It’s stark, then, to sit back and realize that it’s happened to a real person (a real teenager, no less).

“Which one of the characters would I be, if I was placed in a similar situation? Would I be the girl who goes mad alone in a corner, the one who is defiant despite the risks, or the turncoat that only thinks of saving my own skin? It’s one of those questions you can never answer without being placed in a situation that you’d never want to be placed in.”

“I wonder if the author’s mother is alive to read this memoir? Her portrayal is negative throughout, from the moment she locks her daughter out on the balcony to the scene when Nemat returns from her two-year ordeal in prison. It’s brutally honest, and I’m not sure if one can be that brutally honest about their relatives if they’re alive—at least not if they want to continue any kind of relationship. If I were to write a memoir, that would be a major stumbling block—I’d need people to be dead before I could be completely honest about them on the page. As I read Nemat’s words about her mom, the detachment and indifference coming through between the hurt and pain, I told myself the mother was dead when the book went to press, because if she wasn’t, she surely would have died of shame to read Nemat’s portrayal of her.

“In the end, her daughter comes to love her husband’s/rapist’s family more than her own. She felt loved and cared for by them like she hadn’t by her own family (and doesn’t, after her return from prison). It’s unflinchingly honest, yet difficult to understand. Is it Stockholm Syndrome? Is it a way to survive? Or is it just human nature to gravitate towards people who love you, no matter how that relationship comes to be?”

{SPOILER ALERT: “Unloved, she continues. Beaten, she continues. Raped, she continues. Forced to convert from Christianity to Islam, she continues. Watching her friends tortured and killed, she goes on. Watching her husband killed and made to go back to prison, she goes on. Released into sorrow and insensitivity, she continues. This woman has an incredible will to live. And she doesn’t just continue or “go on”; she actually flourishes, building new friendships, finding a great husband (eventually), leaving Tehran and writing a book. Wow.”}

“At what point do you know you’re living through a Revolution? Nowadays with social media, people are quick to point to events being revolutionary (the Orange Revolution in Ukraine comes to mind. Is the Occupy Movement a revolution?). At what point do you look around and think, ‘Holy Shit, my society has drastically changed from what it used to be’? And does it change for everyone? Nemat’s family is unperturbed by the supposed revolution going on around them, because they’ve been through small uprisings before. I think we think of Revolutions as these things with very distinct beginnings and endings but I doubt it’s that easy to pinpoint. Is the revolution in Egypt over? Who decides?

“I’ve always thought it was important to stand up for what you believe in at that moment in time, because you never know what part you’ll be playing in history. Years down the road, when everyone had condemned Iran, people who protested in Tehran against the Ayatollah could say, ‘I was against this revolution,’ but as it was happening they were just ordinary people speaking out for something they believed in. I admire that. Makes me happy that I attended political protests in my youth (though they definitely did not lead to a revolution).”

“Nemat turns 19 on her first birthday after her release. Wow. What a striking reminder of just how young she was when she was going through all the brutality we’ve just read about. Maybe youth is the secret to survival—when you get older, you spend more time reasoning your way out of dangerous situations. Nemat was a teenager and she just went head-first into whatever fight she was faced with with little regard for the consequences.”

It was a fall afternoon at a Starbucks not far from where I work that I met with Raji Lukkoor for the first time. While I had never met or seen her before, her positive energy and kind smile let me know it was her before any words were exchanged. After we sat down, she handed me a copy of her book Inner Pilgrimage: Ten Days to a Mindful Me, which she signed “To Heather, Love Raji.”

Linking Meditation with Emotional Intelligence

Raji begins by talking about the idea of emotional intelligence, about being able to connect to oneself emotionally—a concept that a lot of people struggle with. Meditation, Raji says, chips away at some of the barriers that block emotional intelligence. Everyone is looking for something, and even as an Environmental Engineer with a wonderful family, Raji felt that there was something she couldn’t quite connect with—a void that needed to be filled.

Oprah first inspired Raji to learn about meditation. Oprah’s book club was talking about it’s latest pick: A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose by Eckhart Tolle. This is the book that led Raji to Vipassana meditation and the desire to go on the retreat her book is based on.

Once she decided she wanted to attend a Vipassana retreat, Raji chose one located in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. This retreat is extremely popular and always books up in advance. After getting on the waiting list, something amazing happened; she was called to fill a last minute cancellation. This was in the summer of 2008. “It was the first time away from my husband, from my children,” says Raji. With her family’s support, she went to the course “not knowing what to expect.”

Writing About the Silence

The course lasted 12 days. It didn’t take her long to realize that she wanted to write about her experience. Raji describes the art of Vipassana meditation as “spectacular” and something that anyone can do. It doesn’t cross any religious or spiritual lines and it doesn’t matter what background you come from.

“Going through the course, I knew I wanted to write about it in some shape or form,” explains Raji. “I didn’t know it was going to be a book.” Writing has always been a passion of Raji’s and she even has a background in technical writing. When she returned home from the retreat, she knew she had to share the message with the world.

Raji sat down and wrote for six straight weeks, and from this the book was born. She admits there were some gaps to fill and some details to work out about the retreat, and that it was a challenge to accurately portray the experience.

Once the book was written and all the details were sorted out, Raji sought help from editors. She reached out to many, but finally connected with one in particular. She was “the best thing that happened to me and the book,” says Raji. This editor helped her write the book proposals and even put together the biography and summary on the back of the book. Subject matter experts on Buddhism and Vipassana were contacted to see if the book fit with the general acceptable views of the teachings. This spurred the idea of including definition of terms as footnotes to better explain some of the concepts to readers.

Getting Published

From here Raji went in search of a publisher. She contemplated getting an agent, but decided that she would try it out on her own first. She looked up titles and books of works similar to her own and pulled publishing company names from them. She started contacting the ones that took email submissions first. Even though she received rejections, some of which took months to arrive, she continued sending off her submissions and even branched out into other countries; one country was India and Third Eye Publishing, an imprint of Pentagon Press. The publisher was excited to print the book and ideas were thrown around about a title that included Inner Engineering, but finally Inner Pilgrimage was chosen as the official title. Raji also played an active part in choosing the book cover and she admits that it was very much a “back and forth effort.”

Finding Connections

After the book was published it became time to promote it and start to penetrate the markets in India and the United States. Raji created a Facebook page, and has even begun receiving comments and responses from her readers. One man from Nepal thanked her for writing the book and described how much the book impacted him. Raji explained that this was the exact reason why she wrote the book. She has learned so much in writing this book, and tells me she is still learning. One piece of advice Raji has for aspiring writers: “don’t stop trying to get your book published, something will happen.”

Raji is looking to write more in the future. She is currently working on children’s books dealing with the environment. These books would send an environmental message to children to encourage and motivate them to care about the environment.

You can purchase Raji’s book online at Amazon or through her website, which includes further information on her biography as well as a link to her blog. You may also connect with Raji on her Facebook page.

All proceeds from the sale of the book go to charity.