Isak tag:typepad.com,2003:weblog-333263 2009-11-11T15:41:18-05:00 Celebrating Tales and Truth TypePad Choose Books: Good for the Jews tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c627153ef0120a679528b970b 2009-11-11T15:41:18-05:00 2009-11-11T15:47:22-05:00 Why Choose Books for your gifts this holiday season? Glad you asked. It's because there are few things more fun than giving someone a book they fall in love with; it lasts longer and matters more than, say, necklaces or sweaters, while rarely being more than about fifteen dollars. What's more, your purposeful choice of books, purchased from indie booksellers, supports a vibrant and dynamic literary culture in a time when the book world is struggling and even literacy is horrifically low. Choose Books because you really can make a difference. Choose Books because it is joyful. In this series,... annaleighclark

127642418_52183f5d67 Why Choose Books for your gifts this holiday season? Glad you asked. It's because there are few things more fun than giving someone a book they fall in love with; it lasts longer and matters more than, say, necklaces or sweaters, while rarely being more than about fifteen dollars. What's more, your purposeful choice of books, purchased from indie booksellers, supports a vibrant and dynamic literary culture in a time when the book world is struggling and even literacy is horrifically low. Choose Books because you really can make a difference. Choose Books because it is joyful.

In this series, you can look forward an ongoing guide to books as gifts; at the end of the season, it will be collected as an attractive PDF for you to download. More than a mere list of my personal favorites, Choose Books is outward-looking, featuring outstanding books of very different styles for very different tastes (and ages). Learn more about this series here. 

Good for the Jews
By Debra Spark

In his review on NPR, Alan Cheuse has this to say about Debra Spark's new novel:

Here's a smart, sprightly, sex-drenched and neatly plotted novel about Midwestern life set in Madison. Its got a beautiful 25-year-old inexperienced Jewish woman as its main character, some steamy sexual situations and broad swath of serious political concerns about mid-sized city bigotry and the dangers of know-nothing bureaucracies.

From its provocative title onward, the novel moves steadily along, with credible and often compelling characters, never averting its eyes from the betrayals and hypocrisy that make life in any town, a laboratory for the study of contemporary American mores. ...

... Anonymous letters, missing files, vague threats, a synagogue fire, and a death, followed by a suicide: all this contributes to a superb, sometimes satirical, always cutting, investigation of the way we all live now, East Coast, West Coast, or Third Coast.

Good for the Jews draws from the Book of Esther in this contemporary tale set in Madison, Wisconsin, during the Bush administration. The novel--tinged with mystery, humor, and the politics of both high school and the broader world--won this year's Literary Fiction award from the University of Michigan Press. 

In full disclosure, Debra Spark has been my writing teacher--formerly in an official way and informally in an ongoing way. She is one of the smartest and most insightful people I know. She's also the author of the excellent book, Curious Attractions: Essays on Fiction Writing and two other novels.

Consider this book as a gift for people who are one or more of the following:

  • People who are interested in the cultural and political legacy of religion in the twenty-first century.
  • Readers who have overdosed on fiction set on the coasts.
  • People who have a sharp sense of humor about high school.

Recommended Edition:

0472117114The University of Michigan Press
$24.00

This hardcover is the one available edition this novel. Beautifully presentable and gift-ready.


Where To Buy:

Your local independent bookseller. Find the shop nearest to you here. You might also want to prowl the used bookshops for treasures. If the book you want is not in stock, the bookseller will be happy to order it for you (almost always sans shipping); just ask! If there are really, truly no indie booksellers near you, consider ordering online from an independent bookseller, such as Brookline Booksmith or Powell's, and having it delivered to your doorstep. Another option: order online directly from the publisher.

Image Credit: Creative Commons, by moriza.

 The Original of Laura Should Never Have Happened tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c627153ef0120a678f5a5970b 2009-11-11T10:41:37-05:00 2009-11-11T10:42:52-05:00 That's the contention of Aleksandar Hemon, in his review of the unfinished Vladmir Nabokov novel that has just been published for the first time, despite the author's request that the papers he left behind never see the light of day. The choice was made by Nabokov's son. And I can see why. There is the interest of scholars and readers who crave more from Nabokov to contend with; there is the suspicion that perhaps Nabokov was too harsh and hasty in his pronouncement that his own manuscripts be burned; there is the sense that if one is to err, it... annaleighclark

That's the contention of Aleksandar Hemon, in his review of the unfinished Vladmir Nabokov novel that has just been published for the first time, despite the author's request that the papers he left behind never see the light of day. The choice was made by Nabokov's son. And I can see why. There is the interest of scholars and readers who crave more from Nabokov to contend with; there is the suspicion that perhaps Nabokov was too harsh and hasty in his pronouncement that his own manuscripts be burned; there is the sense that if one is to err, it will probably do less harm to publish the book than to keep it from the public eye.

Still, I agree with Hemon.

At a mere 9,000 or so words, The Original of Laura is at best a short-story sketch, at worst a collection of 138 notecards (which Nabokov preferred to use to compose, leaving it to his wife, Vera, to type the manuscript), slapped together in just enough of a semblance of order to afford the reader a peek at a possible structure and a hint of the underlying ideas. Indeed, the book contains facsimiles of the notecards—which can be detached and shuffled, turning Nabokov's writing into a kind of game for the literati ...

Although there is a spark of creative excitement discernable in the manuscript, suggesting that Nabokov was up to his old brilliant tricks and making one wonder how he would have pulled off a self-deleting book, The Original of Laura can't escape the musty air of an estate sale: The trinkets that piled up in the attic; the damp books from the basement; the old man's stained cravat; the lonely figurines that used to be part of a cherished set; the mismatched, overworn clothing—all are brought out in the hope that there might appear a buyer for those sad objects, someone blinded by literary nostalgia and willing to rescue the family possessions from the waste basket.

It would be ridiculous, of course, to blame the deceased for the estate sale. Nabokov was not merely unequivocal in his desire that his notecards be destroyed. He was also adamantly clear in his views on excavating unfinished manuscripts and the drafts preceding final, published versions—as well as on the absolute value of a finished work of art. In the introduction to his translation of Eugene Onegin, he wrote: "An artist should ruthlessly destroy his manuscripts after publication, lest they mislead academic mediocrities into thinking that it is possible to unravel the mysteries of genius by studying cancelled readings. In art, purpose and plan are nothing; only the results count."

Choose Books: The Lives of the Muses tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c627153ef0120a66cccaf970b 2009-11-10T13:13:16-05:00 2009-11-10T13:14:12-05:00 Why Choose Books for your gifts this holiday season? Glad you asked. It's because there are few things more fun than giving someone a book they fall in love with; it lasts longer and matters more than, say, necklaces or sweaters, while rarely being more than about fifteen dollars. What's more, your purposeful choice of books, purchased from indie booksellers, supports a vibrant and dynamic literary culture in a time when the book world is struggling and even literacy is horrifically low. Choose Books because you really can make a difference. Choose Books because it is joyful. In this series,... annaleighclark

309130731_9e78efce2d Why Choose Books for your gifts this holiday season? Glad you asked. It's because there are few things more fun than giving someone a book they fall in love with; it lasts longer and matters more than, say, necklaces or sweaters, while rarely being more than about fifteen dollars. What's more, your purposeful choice of books, purchased from indie booksellers, supports a vibrant and dynamic literary culture in a time when the book world is struggling and even literacy is horrifically low. Choose Books because you really can make a difference. Choose Books because it is joyful.

In this series, you can look forward an ongoing guide to books as gifts; at the end of the season, it will be collected as an attractive PDF for you to download. More than a mere list of my personal favorites, Choose Books is outward-looking, featuring outstanding books of very different styles for very different tastes (and ages). Learn more about this series here. 

The Lives of the Muses: Nine Women and the Artists They Inspired
By Francine Prose

This is a book that doesn't neatly fit into any genre. Pieced together through biography, letters, photographs, diaries, memoirs, art, storytelling, and original insight into that amorphous entity called inspiration, The Lives of the Muses is simply an experience to be had. Catalyzed by intrigue for the creative process and sheer curiosity about its fascinating subject, it was a finalist for the National Book Award. It also happens to be my favorite book that I've read from the prolific Francine Prose.

Prose's book tells the strange and fascinating stories of, for example, Alice Liddell; as an adult, Liddell actually was awarded an honorary Ph.D. for being the inspiration behind Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland, which Prose points out is perhaps the only time a person has been so honored for being a muse.  The Lives of the Muses also tells of the writer Lou Andreas-Salomé (my favorite), who inspired Nietzsche, Rilke, and Freud; of the emotional ballet between dancer Suzanne Farrell  and choreographer George Balanchine; and of Salvador Dalí, who was the only artist to sign his art with his muse's name; how Gala Dalí smartly worked with this. The most contemporary muse/artist pairing? Yoko Ono and John Lennon: a story of mutual muse-hood.

Consider this book as a gift for people who are one or more of the following:

  • Artists of any sort--writers, graphic designers, tie-dyers, and so on
  • People who are interested in biography, though they may be disillusioned with the typical tome format that they come in.
  • Readers who are in a rut.

Recommended Edition:

FC9780060555252 HarperCollins
$13.95

This trade paperback edition is the primary available edition of this provocative book.

9780060516840 Other Available Editions:

A hardcover edition may be available by special order, or discovered in a used bookshop. A palm e-reader edition is also available.


Where To Buy:

Your local independent bookseller. Find the shop nearest to you here. You might also want to prowl the used bookshops for treasures. If the book you want is not in stock, the bookseller will be happy to order it for you (almost always sans shipping); just ask! If there are really, truly no indie booksellers near you, consider ordering online from an independent bookseller, such as Brookline Booksmith or Powell's, and having it delivered to your doorstep. Another option: order online directly from the publisher.

Image Credit: Creative Commons, by takomabibelot.

 Sports, Top Ten Lists, and Feminism tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c627153ef012875674b3d970c 2009-11-09T12:54:56-05:00 2009-11-11T11:43:33-05:00 In which I continue my sports guest-blogging over at Bitch Magazine. Catch up on my Top Ten series, in which I passionately lay out why I love sports so much: #10: Sports are community-building #9: Sports celebrate physical intelligence #8: Sports are one of the few realms where adults play #7: Sports are inherently optimistic #6: Sports honor their history Honestly, this is a really fascinating, fun exercise to parse out my sports fandom. It's an opportunity to reflect on where my emotion comes from when I watch a game, and to dig back into sports history for its most... annaleighclark

Greatest_gibsonathea In which I continue my sports guest-blogging over at Bitch Magazine. Catch up on my Top Ten series, in which I passionately lay out why I love sports so much:

#10: Sports are community-building

#9: Sports celebrate physical intelligence

#8: Sports are one of the few realms where adults play

#7: Sports are inherently optimistic

#6: Sports honor their history

Honestly, this is a really fascinating, fun exercise to parse out my sports fandom. It's an opportunity to reflect on where my emotion comes from when I watch a game, and to dig back into sports history for its most revelatory and inspiring moments.

Ernie-harwellAt the same time, I feel a bit like an evangelist--making my case for why sports is worthwhile to an audience that veers towards the skeptical. The progressive readers of this magazine tend to make (often quite valid) critiques of sports as an arena for money-grubbing, chest-puffing, dishonest, and arrogant instincts. I'm getting a lot of joy from comments on the site (and on the magazine's Facebook page, where my posts also appear) from folks who are curious to hear a different point of view. (I'm also loving that I get a chance to elevate my beloved Michigan and Detroit sports; I emoted about Ernie Harwell in my most recent piece.) I like to think that my feminist and sports worlds can someday come together in one beautifully coherent community.

 A selected set of other sports pieces I've written:

 Philip Gourevitch Stepping Down from Paris Review tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c627153ef012875673ebe970c 2009-11-09T12:38:13-05:00 2009-11-09T12:38:13-05:00 I was taken aback by the news, and I'm a bit late on it, still: it looks like Philip Gourevitch is putting down the pen at one of the best literary magazines out there, The Paris Review. Gourevitch, who also wrote the classic We Wish To Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families about the Rwanda genocide, has spent five years as editor. From the New York Observer: Mr. Gourevitch, who is also a New Yorker staff writer, said in an interview that his decision to resign was motivated by a desire to focus his energies... annaleighclark

I was taken aback by the news, and I'm a bit late on it, still: it looks like Philip Gourevitch is putting down the pen at one of the best literary magazines out there, The Paris Review. Gourevitch, who also wrote the classic We Wish To Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families about the Rwanda genocide, has spent five years as editor.

From the New York Observer:

Mr. Gourevitch, who is also a New Yorker staff writer, said in an interview that his decision to resign was motivated by a desire to focus his energies on his writing, and that his current book project, which is about Rwanda, is proving too time-consuming to allow for a successful balancing act.

"I want to give that everything," he said. "You can't take time off when you're in charge."

The search is on for his replacement ...

 Twenty Years Ago Today tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c627153ef012875649d02970c 2009-11-09T00:00:00-05:00 2009-11-09T00:00:00-05:00 ... The first hole was broken in the Berlin Wall, cutting through a city and a continent that had been too long divided into "East" and "West." The Wall was one of the twentieth century's most destructive metaphors. Today, the site of the Brandenburg Gate is a beautiful pedestrian plaza marked by large openings ... inviting people to pass through. Fascinating comparison photos can be found here. For an overview of how the Berlin Wall came to be--with amazing, heartrending footage of how it affected Germans in the days soon after it was built--look to this excerpt from a BBC/CNN... annaleighclark

... The first hole was broken in the Berlin Wall, cutting through a city and a continent that had been too long divided into "East" and "West." The Wall was one of the twentieth century's most destructive metaphors.


Today, the site of the Brandenburg Gate is a beautiful  pedestrian plaza marked by large openings ... inviting people to pass through. Fascinating comparison photos can be found here. For an overview of how the Berlin Wall came to be--with amazing, heartrending footage of how it affected Germans in the days soon after it was built--look to this excerpt from a BBC/CNN documentary on the Cold War:


 Of Daemons and Elves:Creativity and Artistic Genius tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c627153ef0120a662c76c970b 2009-11-08T11:23:21-05:00 2009-11-08T11:29:41-05:00 This is something of a Sunday morning prayer: Elizabeth Gilbert has a fascinating talk about creativity and how artistic genius has been conceived over time, from the suffering and self-destructive writer to the visiting daemon of inspiration. She brings humor and insight to the challenge of the working artist; this is a testament to showing up to each day for your work with an openness to divinity that might pass through you and sense enough to not depend upon it. Gilbert persuasively suggests that we begin the process of disentangling the association of the creative process with suffering, and that... annaleighclark

This is something of a Sunday morning prayer: Elizabeth Gilbert has a fascinating talk about creativity and how artistic genius has been conceived over time, from the suffering and self-destructive writer to the visiting daemon of inspiration. She brings humor and insight to the challenge of the working artist; this is a testament to showing up to each day for your work with an openness to divinity that might pass through you and sense enough to not depend upon it. Gilbert persuasively suggests that we begin the process of disentangling the association of the creative process with suffering, and that we break apart the notion of "being" a genius. Another jewel from TED.

 Choose Books:Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c627153ef01287561cf5d970c 2009-11-08T00:00:00-05:00 2009-11-08T00:10:42-05:00 Why Choose Books for your gifts this holiday season? Glad you asked. It's because there are few things more fun than giving someone a book they fall in love with; it lasts longer and matters more than, say, necklaces or sweaters, while rarely being more than about fifteen dollars. What's more, your purposeful choice of books, purchased from indie booksellers, supports a vibrant and dynamic literary culture in a time when the book world is struggling and even literacy is horrifically low. Choose Books because you really can make a difference. Choose Books because it is joyful. In this series,... annaleighclark <div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><div class="entry-body"> <p><em><span style="text-decoration: underline;"></span><a href="http://isak.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341c627153ef01287561bf06970c-pi" onclick="window.open(this.href,&#39;_blank&#39;,&#39;scrollbars=no,resizable=yes,toolbar=no,directories=no,location=no,menubar=no,status=no,left=0,top=0&#39;); return false" style="float: left;"><img alt="3544573153_4ea87724af" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00d8341c627153ef01287561bf06970c " src="http://isak.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341c627153ef01287561bf06970c-800wi" style="margin: 10px; width: 214px; height: 283px;" title="3544573153_4ea87724af" /></a> Why Choose Books for your gifts this holiday season? Glad you asked. It&#39;s because there are few things more fun than giving someone a book they fall in love with; it lasts longer and matters more than, say, necklaces or sweaters, while rarely being more than about fifteen dollars. What&#39;s more, your purposeful choice of books, purchased from indie booksellers, supports a vibrant and dynamic literary culture in a time when the book world is struggling and even literacy is horrifically low. Choose Books because you really can make a difference. Choose Books because it is joyful. <br /></em></p> <p><em>In this series, you can look forward an ongoing guide to books as gifts; at the end of the season, it will be collected as an attractive PDF for you to download. More than a mere list of my personal favorites, Choose Books is outward-looking, featuring outstanding books of very different styles for very different tastes (and ages). Learn more about this series <a href="http://isak.typepad.com/isak/2009/11/choose-books-a-new-series.html" target="_blank">here</a>.&#0160;</em></p><p style="text-align: center;"><em></em></p><strong><span style="color: #407f00; text-decoration: underline;"></span></strong><h3><strong>Scott Pilgrim&#39;s Precious Little Life<br /><em>By Bryan Lee O&#39;Malley<br /></em></strong></h3><p>This is the first of a six-volume graphic novel series of adventures starring Scott Pilgrim--a 23-year-old in Toronto who plays enthusiastically in a crappy band, is a lazy and broke romantic, and who, after falling for the mysterious Ramona Flowers, finds out that he has to fight her seven evil ex-boyfriends in order to win her heart. </p><p>Sound weird? It is. Wonderful too. I ripped through every Scott Pilgrim book while I was laid up with a broken foot this summer. I was utterly charmed by the mixture of absurdity and the astute rendering of twenty-something adriftness. The art is simple and thoughtful; the stories are hilarious and touching. I&#39;m hardly the only one who fell under the spell:<a href="http://www.scottpilgrim.com/" target="_blank"> the Scott Pilgrim books have caught fire</a>. They are being <a href="http://www.scottpilgrimthemovie.com/" target="_blank">adapted into a film</a> starring Michael Cera and Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Scott and Ramona. They&#39;re going video game too: <span style="text-decoration: underline;"></span>Ubisoft Montreal is making a game to coincide with the film release in 2010.</p><p><br /> </p> <h3><strong>Consider this book as a gift for people who are one or more of the following:</strong></h3> <ul> <li>Fans of savvy and absurd cartoons, like &quot;The Simpsons.&quot;</li> <li>Hipster types who have a sweet sense of a humor.</li> <li>Hopeful romantics (especially the type who loves playing video games).</li> <li>Indie music lovers (especially those that also harbor a taste for manga).</li> </ul> <br /> <h3><strong>Recommended Edition</strong>:</h3> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://isak.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341c627153ef01287561bf65970c-pi" onclick="window.open(this.href,&#39;_blank&#39;,&#39;scrollbars=no,resizable=yes,toolbar=no,directories=no,location=no,menubar=no,status=no,left=0,top=0&#39;); return false" style="float: left;"><img alt="Book1" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00d8341c627153ef01287561bf65970c " src="http://isak.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341c627153ef01287561bf65970c-800wi" style="margin: 10px;" title="Book1" /></a></span></p><p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://www.powells.com/biblio/1-9781932664089-0" target="_blank">Oni Press</a></span></strong><br />$11.95</p> <p>In fact, this is the only edition of the first volume in Scott Pilgrim&#39;s six-book series. Unless you&#39;re certain that the recipient of your gift has already stocked up on the five available editions of the Scott Pilgrim series (the final one will be published in 2010), this is of course the one to get. It is delightfully portable and well-made, a worthy introduction to the bravado, cluelessness, and all-around charm that is Scott Pilgrim.</p> <br /> <h3><strong>Other Available Editions:</strong></h3><p>You might consider giving the first edition of Scott Pilgrim&#39;s adventures alongside the next few titles in the series. Among them are:</p><a href="http://brookline.booksense.com/NASApp/store/Product?s=showproduct&amp;isbn=9780375753411" target="_blank"> </a><blockquote><a href="http://isak.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341c627153ef0120a660f94d970b-pi" style="float: right;"><img alt="ImageDB" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00d8341c627153ef0120a660f94d970b " src="http://isak.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341c627153ef0120a660f94d970b-800wi" style="margin: 10px;" title="ImageDB" /></a> <em><strong><a href="http://www.powells.com/biblio/1-9781932664126-0" target="_blank">Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World (#2)</a></strong></em><br />$11.95 <p>The publisher description says it all: &quot;Does Scott and Ramona&#39;s burgeoning relationship have a future? Isn&#39;t Scott still supposedly dating Knives Chau? Who is Ramona&#39;s second evil ex-boyfriend, and why is he in Toronto? Who are The Clash At Demonhead, and what kind of bizarre art-punky music do they play? Who&#39;s their hot girl keyboardist, and what is Scott&#39;s relation to her? Why are they Knives Chau&#39;s new favourite band?&quot;</p><br /><p><a href="http://isak.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341c627153ef0120a660fa40970b-pi" style="float: left;"><img alt="ImageDB-1" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00d8341c627153ef0120a660fa40970b " src="http://isak.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341c627153ef0120a660fa40970b-800wi" style="margin: 10px;" title="ImageDB-1" /></a> <em><strong><a href="http://www.powells.com/biblio/1-9781932664225-0" target="_blank">Scott Pilgrim &amp; The Infinite Sadness (#3)</a></strong></em><http: 0,,9780141439471,00.html?frankenstein_mary_shelley#="" book="" bookdisplay="" nf="" us.penguingroup.com=""><br />$11.95<br /><br />This one is, so far, my favorite of the Scott Pilgrim books.</http:> Envy Adams, who not so long ago broke Scott&#39;s heart, comes into town with her really popular, really good band--and her new bass-playing vegan boyfriend, who happens to have formerly dated Ramona. Hell, as they say, is breaking loose. And so is the laughter.</p><p><br /><br /><a href="http://isak.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341c627153ef01287561c4a5970c-pi" style="float: right;"><img alt="ImageDB" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00d8341c627153ef01287561c4a5970c " src="http://isak.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341c627153ef01287561c4a5970c-800wi" style="margin: 10px;" title="ImageDB" /></a> <a href="http://www.powells.com/biblio/1-9781932664492-0" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><em>Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together</em> (#4)</span></a><br />$11.95</p><p>In which Scott Pilgrim actually makes some choices. But that doesn&#39;t mean all questions are answered. What <em>is</em> the deal with Ramona, after all? She seems to get more mysterious the more time they spend together. Who is the visitor from Julie&#39;s past--and why is this girl, who went to high school with Scott, showering him with attention? Can Scott actually keep a job and pay his rent? This volume features an eight-page color section that opens the book.</p></blockquote> <br /> <h3><strong>Where To Buy:</strong></h3><p>Your local independent bookseller. Find the shop nearest to you <a href="http://www.indiebound.org" target="_blank">here</a>. You might also want to prowl the used bookshops for treasures. If the book you want is not in stock, the bookseller will be happy to order it for you (almost always sans shipping); just ask! If there are really, truly no indie booksellers near you, consider ordering online from an independent bookseller, such as <a href="http://www.brooklinebooksmith.com/" target="_blank">Brookline Booksmith</a> or <a href="http://www.powells.com" target="_blank">Powell&#39;s</a>, and having it delivered to your doorstep. Another option: order online directly from the publisher.</p><p><em>Image Credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/delphaber/3544573153/" target="_blank">Creative Commons, by delphaber</a>.</em></p> </div></div> Speaking: Gabriel García Márquez tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c627153ef0120a6616465970b 2009-11-07T23:26:46-05:00 2009-11-08T10:25:23-05:00 Why is the originality so readily granted us in literature so mistrustfully denied us in our difficult attempts at social change? ... we, the inventors of tales, who will believe anything, feel entitled to believe that it is not yet too late to engage in the creation of the opposite utopia. A new and sweeping utopia of life, where no one will be able to decide for others how they die, where love will prove true and happiness be possible, and where the races condemned to one hundred years of solitude will have, at last and forever, a second opportunity... annaleighclark

Why is the originality so readily granted us in literature so mistrustfully denied us in our difficult attempts at social change? ... we, the inventors of tales, who will believe anything, feel entitled to believe that it is not yet too late to engage in the creation of the opposite utopia. A new and sweeping utopia of life, where no one will be able to decide for others how they die, where love will prove true and happiness be possible, and where the races condemned to one hundred years of solitude will have, at last and forever, a second opportunity on earth.

Gabriel García Márquez, from his 1982 Nobel Prize lecture, "The Solitude of Latin America"

 Choose Books: Frankenstein tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c627153ef0128756104a4970c 2009-11-07T11:33:10-05:00 2009-11-07T19:07:11-05:00 Why Choose Books for your gifts this holiday season? Glad you asked. It's because there are few things more fun than giving someone a book they fall in love with; it lasts longer and matters more than, say, necklaces or sweaters, while rarely being more than about fifteen dollars. What's more, your purposeful choice of books, purchased from indie booksellers, supports a vibrant and dynamic literary culture in a time when the book world is struggling and even literacy is horrifically low. Choose Books because you really can make a difference. Choose Books because it is joyful. In this series,... annaleighclark <div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p><em><a href="http://isak.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341c627153ef0128756117e7970c-pi" style="float: left;"><img alt="96724309_985b8acd3f" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00d8341c627153ef0128756117e7970c " src="http://isak.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341c627153ef0128756117e7970c-800wi" style="margin: 10px; width: 309px; height: 309px;" title="96724309_985b8acd3f" /></a> Why Choose Books for your gifts this holiday season? Glad you asked. It&#39;s because there are few things more fun than giving someone a book they fall in love with; it lasts longer and matters more than, say, necklaces or sweaters, while rarely being more than about fifteen dollars. What&#39;s more, your purposeful choice of books, purchased from indie booksellers, supports a vibrant and dynamic literary culture in a time when the book world is struggling and even literacy is horrifically low. Choose Books because you really can make a difference. Choose Books because it is joyful. <br /></em></p> <p><em>In this series, you can look forward an ongoing guide to books as gifts; at the end of the season, it will be collected as an attractive PDF for you to download. More than a mere list of my personal favorites, Choose Books is outward-looking, featuring outstanding books of very different styles for very different tastes (and ages). Learn more about this series <a href="http://isak.typepad.com/isak/2009/11/choose-books-a-new-series.html" target="_blank">here</a>.&#0160;</em></p><p style="text-align: center;"><em></em></p><strong><span style="color: #407f00; text-decoration: underline;"></span></strong><h3><strong>Frankenstein: Or, the Modern Prometheus<br /><em>By Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley</em></strong></h3><p>Dr. Victor Frankenstein becomes obsessed with the idea of creating life, and so plunders graveyards in the search for the parts of a being that he pieces together in his lab. With lightning, the doctor electrifies the creature to life. A relentless thriller and a dark creation myth, <em>Frankenstein</em> is a short novel with epic proportions, wrestling with the intersection of science, art, and religion.</p> The novel was an instant bestseller when it was first published in 1818, when the author was only nineteen years old. Says Muriel Spark about this literary classic: &quot;Out of that vampire-laden fug of gruesomeness known as the English Gothic Romance, only the forbidding acrid name of Frankenstein remains in general usage... Mary Shelley had courage, she was inspired. <em>Frankenstein</em> has entertained, delighted and harrowed generations of readers to this day.&quot; <br /><br /> <h3><strong>Consider this book as a gift for people who are one or more of the following:</strong></h3> <ul> <li>Lovers of the film, &quot;<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072431/" target="_blank">The Young Frankenstein</a>.&quot; (In fact, you might consider complimenting this book by giving it alongside a DVD of the movie.)</li> <li>Folks who are into horror, science fiction, mystery and/or suspenseful books.</li> <li>People with a taste for the gothic.</li> <li>The people who you talk with about the intersection of religion and science.</li> </ul> <br /> <h3><strong>Recommended Edition</strong>:</h3> <p><a href="http://isak.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341c627153ef01287560fc04970c-pi" style="float: left;"><img alt="ImageDB-4" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00d8341c627153ef01287560fc04970c " src="http://isak.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341c627153ef01287560fc04970c-800wi" style="margin: 10px; width: 85px; height: 142px;" title="ImageDB-4" /></a><strong><a href="http://www.randomhouse.com/knopf/classics/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780679409991" target="_blank">Everyman&#39;s Library</a></strong><br />$18.00</p> <p>This is a gorgeous hardcover at a very reasonable price. The special presentability of this copy makes it an ideal gift: the binding is tight and the cream-colored, acid-free paper is both readable and lasting. This edition comes with an introduction by the inimitable fabulist writer, Angela Carter. </p> <br /> <p></p><h3><strong>Other Available Editions:</strong></h3><a href="http://brookline.booksense.com/NASApp/store/Product?s=showproduct&amp;isbn=9780375753411" target="_blank"> </a><blockquote><a href="http://isak.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341c627153ef01287560f9e7970c-pi" style="float: right;"><img alt="FC9780375753411" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00d8341c627153ef01287560f9e7970c " src="http://isak.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341c627153ef01287560f9e7970c-800wi" style="margin: 0px 0px 5px 5px; width: 90px; height: 140px;" title="FC9780375753411" /></a><strong><a href="http://www.randomhouse.com/modernlibrary/library/display.pperl?isbn=9780375753411" target="_blank">Modern Library</a></strong><br />$7.95 <p>Modern Library offers this novel in an attractive and affordable edition. It comes with an introduction by Wendy Steiner, the chair of the English department at the University of Pennsylvania and author of<em> The Scandal of Pleasure</em>. </p><br /><p><a href="http://www.powells.com/biblio/1-9780307474421-0" style="float: left;" target="_blank"><img alt="ImageDB-3" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00d8341c627153ef01287560f4b8970c " src="http://isak.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341c627153ef01287560f4b8970c-800wi" style="margin: 10px; width: 91px; height: 137px;" title="ImageDB-3" /></a></p><p><http: 0,,9780141439471,00.html?frankenstein_mary_shelley#="" book="" bookdisplay="" nf="" us.penguingroup.com=""><strong><a href="http://us.penguingroup.com/nf/Book/BookDisplay/0,,9780141439471,00.html?Frankenstein_Mary_Shelley#" target="_blank">Penguin Classics</a></strong><br />$8.00<br /><br />It&#39;s a ridiculously affordable price and a clean, well-laid out book. Features a revised introduction and a section with suggestions for &quot;further reading.&quot; It is edited by Maurice Hindle. </http:><span class="bookcopy">This edition contains the revisions Mary Shelley later made to her story, as well as her 1831 introduction and Percy Bysshe Shelley’s preface to the first edition. It also includes as appendices a select collation of the texts of 1818 and 1831 together with ‘’A Fragment’ by Lord Byron and Dr John Polidori’s ‘The Vampyre: A Tale’.</span></p><p><br /><br /><a href="http://isak.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341c627153ef01287560f7e3970c-pi" style="float: right;"><img alt="ImageDB-2" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00d8341c627153ef01287560f7e3970c " src="http://isak.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341c627153ef01287560f7e3970c-800wi" style="margin: 0px 0px 5px 5px; width: 85px; height: 130px;" title="ImageDB-2" /></a> <strong><a href="http://www.powells.com/biblio/1-9780307474421-0" target="_blank">Vintage Classics</a></strong><br />$14.00<br /><br />This copy features the original two-volume novel from 1816-17 (the earliest surviving draft), and reveals Mary Shelley&#39;s writing process alongside editing suggestions from Percy Shelley. This would be a good choice for people who are already lovers of the novel, and/or are working writers themselves.&#0160;</p></blockquote> <br /> <p></p><h3><strong>Where To Buy:</strong></h3><p>Your local independent bookseller. Find the shop nearest to you <a href="http://www.indiebound.org" target="_blank">here</a>. You might also want to prowl the used bookshops for treasures. If the book you want is not in stock, the bookseller will be happy to order it for you (almost always sans shipping); just ask! If there are really, truly no indie booksellers near you, consider ordering online from an independent bookseller, such as <a href="http://www.brooklinebooksmith.com/" target="_blank">Brookline Booksmith</a> or <a href="http://www.powells.com" target="_blank">Powell&#39;s</a>, and having it delivered to your doorstep. Another option: order online directly from the publisher.</p><p><em>Image Credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/moriza/96724309/" target="_blank">Creative Commons, by moriza</a>.</em></p></div>