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Books
Jan 24, 2020 20:18:55 GMT
Post by Kapitan on Jan 24, 2020 20:18:55 GMT
I'm just catching up on this week's apparent controversy about "American Dirt" by Jeanine Cummins. It is the latest example of something that I understand has been going on especially in Young Adult fiction in recent years, but from what I can recall is rare in (adult) literary fiction.
The issue: the novel tells the story of some Mexican immigrants; Cummins is a white American. By many accounts, the story is great. Cummins got a huge advance, meaning it was highly anticipated and had high expectations. It has been chosen as an Oprah book club selection. A NY Times reviewer basically apologized for liking it and said she probably wasn't the best person to review it because she, too, was neither Mexican nor an immigrant. NPR pulled an interview with Cummins and instead ran a follow-up about the controversy.
I have not read the book; I don't proclaim to be an expert about the book. But the concept of this--you can only write what you know about people who (more or less) are the same as you--is beyond stupid. Where are the boundaries, for one? If I'm a white guy who grew up in rural Minnesota and live in Minneapolis, may I write about a white guy who grew up in rural Iowa and lives in Des Moines? What about Kentucky, and Louisville? What about a white guy of southern European descent rather than my German-Scandinavian descent? What about a white woman? Or a gay white man, when I'm straight, who otherwise matches my life experience?
Fiction literally would not exist if we held to this principle. It would become autobiography.
What matters in storytelling is primarily the quality of storytelling. Is the author technically good at writing? Is the author skilled at putting together compelling narratives? These are the keys to good fiction, not whether the author is demographically representative of his or her protagonists. (By the way, what about other characters? Are authors allowed to have other characters outside of their demographics? Or are they to populate their "imaginary" worlds of multitudes of clones?)
Here is a CNN story on the topic.
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Books
Jan 31, 2020 0:05:11 GMT
Post by Kapitan on Jan 31, 2020 0:05:11 GMT
Increasingly over the past few years I've been kicking myself for what feels like inadequate knowledge of the creation of the modern state of Israel and the Israeli-Palestinian issues. My understanding has always been not only superficial but spotty. I know a little about a handful of things, but not even a little about most things (much less a lot about most things).
Anyway, I heard the other day of Micah Goodman's "Catch-67," which I ordered and immediately received from the library. I began it just a half hour or so ago, and while I'm barely into it, I must say I'm enjoying the dispassionate, respectful approach to the subject. (The subject is the political argument among Israelis about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as understood through the lens of the 1967 6-Day War. So it is a relatively narrow subject, but an important and sensitive one.)
When in the introduction he said that in Israel (where it was initially published, in Hebrew), the left ranted that it was of the right, and the right ranted that it was of the left...when I read that, that's when I figured there was a good chance I'd enjoy this book.
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Books
Feb 22, 2020 14:44:54 GMT
Post by Kapitan on Feb 22, 2020 14:44:54 GMT
Some of you might remember this whole affair, back in the late '90s when J.D. Salinger's "Hapworth 16, 1924" was reportedly going to be released, ending a then 30-year drought of published work from the reclusive author. (It has now expanded to a 50-something year drought.)
Interesting telling of the tale. I hadn't realized it was a fledgling Amazon.com that ruined it for all of us! (Though to be fair, the novella seems likely to be terrible.)
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Books
Mar 4, 2020 23:43:10 GMT
Post by Kapitan on Mar 4, 2020 23:43:10 GMT
I'm about halfway through "The Hell of Good Intentions: America's Foreign Policy Elite and the Decline of U.S. Primacy," by Stephen M. Walt. It's an interesting and somewhat depressing book about some of the reasons America always seems to be opposed to foreign intervention at the popular level but for them at the governmental level despite a mountain of evidence that we fail more often than not in our objectives (if we even have objectives). So if anyone wants to read a lot about massive overspending for few, or even negative, results, this might be the book for you.
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Books
Apr 22, 2020 15:55:25 GMT
Post by Kapitan on Apr 22, 2020 15:55:25 GMT
I wish I were reading a lot more during these mostly homebound weeks, but the truth is I've struggled to concentrate enough to finish anything.
I did, however, reread "Hunger," the late 19th century novel by Knut Hamsun about a starving would-be writer in Christiana (Oslo). I had read it about 20 years ago but frankly other than that I liked it and roughly what I wrote in the previous sentence, I didn't remember a lot about it. Now I do, and I can't recommend it more highly. A hilarious, strange, and ahead-of-its time book from the perspective of a very damaged person's mind.
And on the rereading kick, I pulled out William S. Burroughs's "Queer." He wrote this short little novel in the '50s or so, though it wasn't released for decades because of the subject matter. It is a fictionalized, semi-autobiographical novel of his life as a gay, sometimes drug addict in late '40s Mexico City (where he could live more cheaply and avoid a marijuana charge in the States). Honestly I don't think Burroughs is a great writer, though he's an interesting one. My copy of the novel is 134 pages; I wouldn't want it much longer.
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Books
Aug 2, 2020 11:32:00 GMT
Post by jk on Aug 2, 2020 11:32:00 GMT
I wish I were reading a lot more during these mostly homebound weeks, but the truth is I've struggled to concentrate enough to finish anything.
I did, however, reread "Hunger," the late 19th century novel by Knut Hamsun about a starving would-be writer in Christiana (Oslo). I had read it about 20 years ago but frankly other than that I liked it and roughly what I wrote in the previous sentence, I didn't remember a lot about it. Now I do, and I can't recommend it more highly. A hilarious, strange, and ahead-of-its time book from the perspective of a very damaged person's mind.
And on the rereading kick, I pulled out William S. Burroughs's "Queer." He wrote this short little novel in the '50s or so, though it wasn't released for decades because of the subject matter. It is a fictionalized, semi-autobiographical novel of his life as a gay, sometimes drug addict in late '40s Mexico City (where he could live more cheaply and avoid a marijuana charge in the States). Honestly I don't think Burroughs is a great writer, though he's an interesting one. My copy of the novel is 134 pages; I wouldn't want it much longer.
Story of my life these days. The last thing I read from cover to cover was The Great Gatsby (not much longer than Queer) and that was two years ago! I've since returned to Richard Miles's Carthage Mvst Be Destroyed, after starting it during a holiday in Cape Verde off the West African coast in late 2018 (the right continent but still 2,500 miles between the two sites). It was recommended to me by a BBT-er who decamped early on. I'd been fascinated by Ancient Rome and Carthage ever since my primary school days, when they had radio programmes for schools with accompanying booklets. So thank you that person for reintroducing me to the subject.
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Books
Aug 2, 2020 12:06:53 GMT
jk likes this
Post by Kapitan on Aug 2, 2020 12:06:53 GMT
I've recently learned a little more about Carthage from a BBC documentary series about African history. Interesting stuff.
On vacation I finished rereading Isaac Bashevis Singer's Meshuggah and I am currently finishing Prolegomena: A Defense of the Scholastic Method by Jordan Cooper. The library just reopened (in a limited sense) here after 4+ months closed, so several books I'd had on order were available to me and I have them on the table, ready to be tackled.
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Books
Nov 23, 2020 23:30:36 GMT
Post by Kapitan on Nov 23, 2020 23:30:36 GMT
I came across this line in a short story, "Coming, Aphrodite!" by Willa Cather. I liked it very much.
A painter living in New York City around the late 1800s who is just successful enough to get by (mostly by commercial work, with his real art hit-and-miss) is described as "chiefly occupied with getting rid of ideas he had once thought very fine."
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Apr 18, 2021 1:17:54 GMT
Post by B.E. on Apr 18, 2021 1:17:54 GMT
I'm catching up with the modern world and trying out Audible. I'd been purchasing a lot of books in recent years (nearly all Beach Boys/Beatles related) but I just never got around to reading them. Then it occurred to me recently that I could listen to books during my commute on the off-chance I'm not in the mood to listen to music (an extremely rare occurrence but it has happened once or twice recently). So, who knows? Maybe I'll actually have something to contribute to this thread before long.
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Apr 21, 2021 14:24:48 GMT
Post by Kapitan on Apr 21, 2021 14:24:48 GMT
I'm catching up with the modern world and trying out Audible. I'd been purchasing a lot of books in recent years (nearly all Beach Boys/Beatles related) but I just never got around to reading them. Then it occurred to me recently that I could listen to books during my commute on the off-chance I'm not in the mood to listen to music (an extremely rare occurrence but it has happened once or twice recently). So, who knows? Maybe I'll actually have something to contribute to this thread before long. Well, B.E. while I still love sitting down with a physical book, I, too, have taken to listening to audiobooks a bit more these days. I haven't gotten a subscription anywhere, just have been listening to books on YouTube, generally in similar situations to when I'd listen to podcasts and such. I've gotten through a couple on medieval Europe and am now listening to the John M. Roberts book "The History of the World. (How's that for ambitious?)
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Books
Sept 7, 2021 23:40:42 GMT
jk likes this
Post by Kapitan on Sept 7, 2021 23:40:42 GMT
I read Ethan Kross's "Chatter" this weekend and have to say it was really interesting. He's a psychologist who explains the inner voice people have and discusses how it contributes to anxiety, relationships, when talking to yourself is normal and when it's out of hand, etc. I recommend it. Also, while he's a legit expert, the book is very reader-friendly. It's short and understandable, though heavily footnoted for the kinds of people interested in digging deeper.
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Books
Sept 8, 2021 9:30:17 GMT
Post by jk on Sept 8, 2021 9:30:17 GMT
I read Ethan Kross's "Chatter" this weekend and have to say it was really interesting. He's a psychologist who explains the inner voice people have and discusses how it contributes to anxiety, relationships, when talking to yourself is normal and when it's out of hand, etc. I recommend it. Also, while he's a legit expert, the book is very reader-friendly. It's short and understandable, though heavily footnoted for the kinds of people interested in digging deeper. Interesting! I'm looking for a new work of non-fiction to read, so who knows? I just finished reading a book I started on nearly three years ago! I read most of Richard Miles's Carthage Must Be Destroyed while holidaying in Cape Verde in late 2018. I read a little bit more this summer and finished it off yesterday. What a fascinating world, where extreme barbarism and high culture mingle effortlessly. (Perhaps that can be said of any era.)
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Sept 14, 2021 23:05:47 GMT
Post by B.E. on Sept 14, 2021 23:05:47 GMT
Anyone got any audiobook recommendations? I've got like 5 credits to use on Audible and I have no idea what books to get. Don't be shy!
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Books
Sept 14, 2021 23:11:55 GMT
B.E. likes this
Post by Kapitan on Sept 14, 2021 23:11:55 GMT
In the spirit of the day...I swear to god, read by the author, this is glorious. It is not a celebrity memoir or autobiography. It is overwhelmingly a novel, with some vague but not accurate depictions of reality to fill in details on the fiction. And it is funnier than hell. (To be fair, hell isn't funny.)
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Post by B.E. on Sept 19, 2021 14:10:40 GMT
Anyone got any audiobook recommendations? I've got like 5 credits to use on Audible and I have no idea what books to get. Don't be shy! I ended up going with: American Heritage History Of The Presidents by Michael R. Beschloss - It's 26 hours long. (I'm 1.5 hours in!) It appears as though each President is given between 20 and 60 minutes each. (Obama and Trump aren't included in the book, unfortunately). I think it'll be fun to learn new things about lesser known Presidents and refresh my memory on the more popular ones, as well as, gleaning the insights that come from following the executive office, chronologically, from George Washington to George W Bush. Tune In by Mark Lewisohn - It's nearly 44 hours long! It's an epic. Well, volume 1 of an epic, as it only covers Beatles history through 1962. Now, I have a paperback, but when will I ever have time to sit down and read it? I'm not sure when I'll tackle this one, but when I do, I think I'll post some of the more interesting, lesser known tidbits here - things that you guys probably aren't aware of. Maximum Volume: The Life of Beatles Producer George Martin (The Early Years, 1926-1966) by Ken Womack - This one is "only" 15 hours long. I'm not in a rush to listen to it, but I do think it'll be interesting and worthwhile. I've heard good things. Financial Shenanigans: How to Detect Accounting Gimmicks & Fraud in Financial Reports by Howard Schilit - 10 hours. Originally published in 1993, this is the 25th anniversary updated 4th edition. Here, I was looking for something work-related. It's not quite what I was looking for (not specialized enough), but it seems to be highly regarded so I went with it. New American Bible (Revised New Testament - Catholic Edition) - 21 hours. I've mentioned previously that I was interested in reading the bible at some point. I've never read it in its entirety before. It's quite the rabbit hole to attempt to figure out which version to get. I found some interesting websites that broke them all down. This wouldn't have been my first choice but I was limited by what was available on audible (not that I'd know any better). So, this is originally from 1970 and revised in 1986. I sampled the narrator and he seemed listenable. That's probably the most important thing. Edit: I forgot to mention that I do have a paperback of The American President: A Complete History by Kathryn Moore which is revised/updated to include all Presidents through Obama. But, again, I thought it was worthwhile to pick up an audiobook on the subject because I don't have time to sit down and read the paperback.
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