The blur of days

Holidays, a business trip, another cold turned to sinus infection, and the mad rush to finish my thesis are all contributing to this current blur of days and my inability or reluctance to form a reasonably thought-out blog post. Maybe by the long weekend I will have my head on straight again.

What I Missed

A few gracious days away from the television, away from internet media, and what have I missed?

Iraqi elections were overshadowed by the fact that Bush authorized possible illegal domestic spying. And we found out that Zarkawi was caught then released. Plus no cloture vote means 'no' vote on the Patriot Act.

So, the White House remains on the defensive, even giving an address to the nation that should applaud the elections in Iraq comes off merely as an attack on critics and an a list of excuses for keeping troops there after the elections. Meanwhile, Bush begins to recover in the polls. Interesting.

Who gets days off from blogging?

I will be on a trip to rural Missouri to show off my beautiful daughter to her grandmother and I don't anticipate much time to post until Monday.
Don't forget to comment on the post below and let me know which book you think I should read next.

The Rise of Illiterate Democracy

The Rise of Illiterate Democracy - New York Times: "The memory of a time when American party politics was worthy of a writer's respect, let alone professional involvement, has almost disappeared. American literature has distanced itself from an essential part of national life, and American politics has debased what was once an uplifting language of democracy."

So where's the politics in today's novels? I think we've grown so partisan over the last decade that no novelist dare declare an allegiance without fear of ticking off nearly half of the American public. Who would want to cut their potential audience in half?

Being a political junkie, I would love to see more politics in novels, but I don't know that I need my favorite writers to come out for one party or another.

What Should I Read Next?

With another book out of the way, I'm looking for what I should read next and I could use some help in this decision. These are the three sitting cockeyed on my shelf, demanding some attention: Vernon God Little by DBC Pierre, Everthing is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer, and of course Portnoy's Complaint by Philip Roth.

Of course this demonstrates both how far behind modern trends I am as well as un-well read I am.

Vote in the comments and I promise to read the one most recommended (at least I'll read it until something more spectacular appears under the Christmas tree).

The Best Books I Read This Year, pt. 3

Anderson, Sherwood. Winesburg, Ohio.

I am attracted to small town stories because they provide a wealth of intercommunication and interpersonal relationships, and the secrets kept by a small town’s inhabitants tend to have larger implications than they might in the anonymous suburbs or urban centers. Anderson compiles these secrets and the characters that keep and reveal them in these compelling interrelated stories. Through the stories are set in early twentieth century rural America, it is easy to forget this setting, because the stories and characters are truly timeless.

Anderson does not romanticize this world but delivers the truth to the reader, dealing with themes and topics that wouldn’t become prevalent in American fiction until nearly a half-century later, including abortion, rebellion against American standards, and questions of faith. Anderson’s skill here, and what ultimately makes the book successful for me, is apparent in the balance he finds between what amounts to social commentary and the intensely personal and introspective.

See also:
The Best Books I Read This Year, pt. 1
The Best Books I Read This Year, pt. 2

The Death of Traditional Book Publishing

Working Smart: The Death of Traditional Book Publishing: "While most publishers will admit that reference content is better accessed on the computer, almost all believe that the traditional non-fiction book or novel will never be replaced with a digital equivalent. I say, “baloney.” It's coming. The sooner publishing executives get their collective heads out of the sand and face the future, the better prepared they will be to meet it."

I love books. I love their smell, the feel of the pages, and the way they look on the shelf. And I have a hard time believing that this will disappear anytime soon. I do see that some attempt at change is likely, but I see large differences between what has happened in the music industry and what is likely for the future of book publishing.

First, music is more conducive to digital medium. It has been abstract from the start, and through CD's we've been dealing in digital for twenty-plus years. The product is aural, not visual, and that makes a world of difference. Since we moved from storytelling to print, we haven't seen much overall change in the print medium. I have no doubt that something is coming, that someone will try and change the way we read books. But it will be much longer before someone gets it right, before someone puts together a device that feels right in the readers hands, that has a display that is as easy on the eyes as traditional print, that wins over new generations of readers. And, of course, they need to put it in a digital format that can't be easily traded over peer-to-peer networks. I think it's going to be a while.

MFA Workshop Hacks?

THE FICTION MACHINE The Workshop and the hacks. : "This is but fancy; however, I was reminded of Narayan's machine recently while reading the Best New American Voices 2006, an anthology edited by Jane Smiley. The book gives such a desultory vision of the future of American letters that one can only hope its title is wrong. Without ignoring the occasional flashes of verve, the stories included are so monotonous that they seem to have been written by a single person of middling talent. All but one of them are written in the first person; a similar percentage hinge upon the narrator's difficulties with dysfunctional or deceased members of his or her family, or with ex-lovers. The tone is always confessional and saturated with self-pity. The plot and action are always negligible"

There's much commentary aroundabout this article by Sam Sacks in the New York Press. And with good reason. Whenever someone sets himself up as an authority about something which many people have opinions, he/she is liable to say something to upset many. I will say this from the outset: Sacks is not all wrong.

I haven't had a chance to peak at the Best New American Voices yet, but I suspect what Sacks says is correct. So much of what I read of what is being published lately fits this mold. Autobiographical, first person, limted epiphany/resolution. This is the reason I tend not to read these collections. But it should be noted that this is an edited collection. These are stories chose by a particular editor, this time Jane Smiley, and I don't think that they in any way represent what is being produced out of today's MFA programs.

I am a product of one of these MFA programs, and it is natural to take offense when someone accuses the workshops of only being a mill to churn out teachers for other writing programs. Sacks's portrayal of the workshop seems misplaced and a tad resentful, but if he's looking for mentorship the workshop is the wrong place. As Rick Moody pointed out in his Atlantic article in this year's fiction edition, mentorship is entirely different than what we see in today's workshops. The workshops I experienced were filled with other writers whom I respected (those who couldn't be respected could be ingnored), and were led by professors (writers) who took their responsibility and their own writing seriously. These professors faced the same limits that anybody, any mentor, might in their ability to communicate their vision or understand the vision or intent of the workshop participants (of course certain professors held it against me when I wouldn't alter a story to suit their ideals and punished me with a lower grade than I believe I deserved, while at the same time rewarding other less involved in the class who also happened to be of the same gender as the professor--but that's a rant for another time).

Sure, anyone who teaches is liable to hand down doctrine, liable to attempt to bundle what they know into digestible chunks. It's for those on the receiving end to understand what to do with it. And maybe it is dumbed down to help everyone find a way to take something away. I simple believe that the system is inteded to nuture writers and help them develop their own style, while teaching the value of revision (which I'll be writing more about soon) and the community of other writers.

I went to graduate school to become a better writer, not to feel better about myself or to justify myself as a writer. Not to network and not to prepare myself to teach writing. And the program did not put too much emphasis in publication, even though Sacks seems to think that anyone can get published anymore because, of course, of the overabundence of writing workshops. Oh, and of course, what is greatness as Sacks sees it? Tolstoy is great, but can we truly judge what of the things be written today will be seen as great in the future? It just might be one of those stories that Sacks has just written off.

The Best Books I Read This Year, pt. 2

Yates, Richard. Revolutionary Road.

Such comfort is to be found in a traditional third-person, omniscient, past-tense. Yates’s narration is so free of gimmicks and flows so easily from the mind of one character to another that the reader is hardly aware in any conscious way of a switch. What I also found heartening in this book, and what reaffirms my love of literature, is Yates’s way of getting at the subtleties of thought. When we see Frank Wheeler slip into a bit of negative thinking, fall for his own self-pity, or get caught up in bit of fantasy, we recognize that same trait in our method of thinking. This is what literature does best, or what makes great literature. What we read should remind us of who we are, awaken us to our own characteristics.
Revolutionary Road­ is particularly depressing because of its similarities to real life. We are given moments of fleeting hope, of grand aspirations that disappear in the drudgery of everyday life. As much as the novel is the story of how the suburbs consume those who thought they might be better it is also a story of how love fails the lovers. Not one thing amounts to as much as we initially make of it, and this is the truth that Yates gives us in this novel and the truth that I appreciate.

See also: The Best Books I Read This Year, pt. 1

On Philip Roth

Hello, Columbus - New York Times

I finally got around to reading the NYT review of Roth's two Library of America editions (Philip Roth: Novels and Stories, 1959-1962 (Library of America), Philip Roth: Novels 1967-1972 (Library of America) ), and I have to say that I more interested than ever to read more work by Roth, particularly Portnoy's Complaint.

The only book by Roth that I've made it through yet has been American Pastoral, and I certainly enjoyed it. Never mind the semi-autobigraphical, first-person attributes that tend to bug me about quite a bit of modern fiction, it was a good book. An old dusty copy of Portnoy has sat on my shelf for some time because much of what I'd read about the book didn't help it appeal to me. This new review puts the book in a new light.

The reviewer, Gary Shteyngart, focuses greatly on cultural (Jewish) aspects, but he reveals Portnoy's longing in such a way that nearly made me get out of my chair and pull the book from my shelf.

Qaeda-Iraq Link U.S. Cited Is Tied to Coercion Claim

Qaeda-Iraq Link U.S. Cited Is Tied to Coercion Claim - New York Times: "The Bush administration based a crucial prewar assertion about ties between Iraq and Al Qaeda on detailed statements made by a prisoner while in Egyptian custody who later said he had fabricated them to escape harsh treatment, according to current and former government officials."

Frightfully bad news. We can't trust them at all, can we? The article goes on to say:

A classified Defense Intelligence Agency report issued in February 2002 that expressed skepticism about Mr. Libi's credibility on questions related to Iraq and Al Qaeda was based in part on the knowledge that he was no longer in American custody when he made the detailed statements, and that he might have been subjected to harsh treatment, the officials said.

Oh, my.

The Best Books I Read This Year, pt. 1

Bausch, Richard. Rare and Endangered Species: A Novella and Stories.

Sometimes I think Richard Bausch’s stories are like Raymond Carver’s if Carver only went deeper. Bausch’s stories are so truthful that they are by nature depressing. He manages to take situations that might otherwise be contrived or just trite and manages to draw what is richer from them. Like the back cover of the book suggests with mention of a “daughter’s announcement that she is marrying her sixty-three-year-old college professor,” or a “heartsick children’s clown,” these stories have the potential of being merely novel, but Bausch somehow knows the truth of the situations and goes beyond what a novice writer might make of them to find what the reader might understand about life.

"So what" books

Light Reading Gone Wild - New York Times: "Some books are meant to be read closely. Some are meant to be skimmed. And some are meant to be opened at random so that they can reveal weird, little-known factoids that are meant to astonish. In the last case, unfortunately, the more common response is, 'So what?'"

I usually find myself the recipient of at least one of these books each year, and I do find great amusement in them. At least on the two or three flip-throughs that I give them before they go on my "reference" shelf. Maybe it's because I'm a writer that people buy me these things, because I want every obscure dictionary or book of quotations, or because I like the idea of these things. But who is ever going to read them? I don't. What the article points out is true. They are great to flip through, the require no attention span, and that makes them especially good for Christmas Day. I'm sure there's one in my future for this year.

More best of lists

Over at The Millions are some best books of 2005 lists put together by litbloggers. Certainly some good recommendations there.

In response to all of these lists, I thought I might put one together of my own. But that would assume that I've actually read something published in 2005. I have not. What I will do is list the best books I read in 2005. Because, as excited as we get about that new book smell, there's plenty of dusty books that deserve a read.

Another Year End Book List: LA Times

calendarlive.com: Favorite Books of 2005: Fiction

'The Sea' John Banville
'A Long Long Way' Sebastian Barry
'The Testing of Luther Albright' MacKenzie Bezos
'Ice Haven: A Comic-Strip Novel' Daniel Clowes
'The March' E.L. Doctorow
'Johnny Mad Dog' Emmanuel Dongala
'The Painted Drum' Louise Erdrich
'Our Ecstatic Days' Steve Erickson
'Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close' Jonathan Safran Foer
'Never Let Me Go' Kazuo Ishiguro
'The History of Love' Nicole Krauss
'No Country for Old Men' Cormac McCarthy
'The Road to Esmeralda' Joy Nicholson
'The People of Paper' Salvador Plascencia
'Shalimar the Clown' Salman Rushdie
'On Beauty' Zadie Smith
'Trance' Christopher Sorrentino
'The Hummingbird's Daughter' Luis Alberto Urrea
'Europe Central' William T. Vollmann
'The Time of the Uprooted' Elie Wiesel

Okay, so again I haven't read any on the list and, truthfully, I'm only really interested in a few. Boy, do I need to read more.

Politics vs. Literature

I have two loves. Okay, we can call them obsessions. They compete for my attention and for my energies. On a daily basis, Politics wins out over Literature. I get the news thrown at me on the radio and on the internet, getting me riled up and angry before I ever get to work, but what do I hear about literature? Oh, so very little. So, I’ve used this blog to point to news articles that deserve our attention and the occasional rant. And where’s the literature?

This blog began as an extension of Satoriworks, a showcase of emerging artists that has not yet come to full fruition. It was to be a place for my Satoriworks co-founder, David, and I to rant and argue about current issues, political, artistic or otherwise. David, though, thinks he is too busy to comment or even stay informed. Never mind that I’m the one who has been going to school to get my MFA while working full-time. So, it’s just been me here, spending too much time on one topic, while my focus should be elsewhere.

So, we will begin a shift here to focus more on literature. That means books (it’s such a great time of year for them) as well as writing. Look for me to still point out current news items that deserve attention, but we will look more at literature as well as the development of the Satoriworks site.

Besides, politics is sooooo depressing.

Failing Grades for US Preparedness

Sept. 11 Panel: U.S. Remains Unprepared - Yahoo! News: "The five 'F's were for:
_Failing to provide a radio system to allow first responders from different agencies communicate with each other during emergencies.
_Distributing federal homeland security funding to states on a 'pork-barrel' basis instead of risk.
_Failing to consolidate names of suspicious airline travelers on a single terror watch screening list.
_Hindering congressional oversight by retaining intelligence budget information as classified materials.
_Failing to engage in an alliance to develop international standards for the treatment and prosecution of detained terror suspects."

Okay, so who feels safer? Do you believe we even have to go through this? We are talking about the safety of American people, the one thing that the government is truely charged with, and we'd rather spend billions fighting a war elsewhere. This makes me more than a little angry.

Cover-Up in an F.B.I. Terror Case, of course

Report Finds Cover-Up in an F.B.I. Terror Case - New York Times: "Officials at the Federal Bureau of Investigation mishandled a Florida terror investigation, falsified documents in the case in an effort to cover repeated missteps and retaliated against an agent who first complained about the problems, Justice Department investigators have concluded."

Oh, for chrissakes!!! I have always had a problem trusting the government and now it seems like everyday we have another reasone not to trust them. How outraged can we be when this stuff happens all the damn time? Oh, and we're supposed to trust them with the new powers in the Patriot Act? It is exactly this sort of thing that we're afraid of.

Report Accuses EPA of Slanting Analysis

Report Accuses EPA of Slanting Analysis: "The Bush administration skewed its analysis of pending legislation on air pollution to favor its bill over two competing proposals, according to a new report by the Congressional Research Service."

These are the most dishonest folks. How are we to believe a thing they say?

Reading about reading

For those of you who, like me, enjoy reading and book so much that you enjoy reading about reading, USA Today offers these suggestions:

Every Book Its Reader: The Power of the Printed Word to Stir the World
By Nicholas Basbanes

13 Ways of Looking at the Novel
By Jane Smiley

Leave Me Alone, I'm Reading: Finding and Losing Myself in Books
By Maureen Corrigan


The Jane Smiley book is definitely on my Christmas wish list.