Sunday Salon: Allusions to Other Books

"Every Sunday the bloggers participating in that week's Salon get together--at their separate desks, in their own particular time zones--and read. And blog about their reading. And comment on one another's blogs. Think of it as an informal, weekly, mini read-a-thon, an excuse to put aside one's earthly responsibilities and fall into a good book."

My topic for this week is: Books that Reference Books

I recently finished Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey which, as many of you know, revolves around a central character with a passion for Gothic novels who allows her imagination to apply aspects of her Gothic reading to her own life. And so readers get direct and indirect allusions to a plethora of real Gothic novels including The Mysteries of Udolpho and The Italian by Ann Radcliffe, The Monk by Matthew Gregory Lewis, Camilla by Francis Burney, Belinda by Maria Edgeworth, Midnight Bell by Francis Lathom, and the list goes on. I found myself making a note in the nook every time a book was referenced as a sort of list to read later (as if I need any more on my wish list!).

After finishing Northanger Abbey, I picked up Among Others by Jo Walton, which - based on what I've read so far - is about a young girl, Mori, who possesses magical abilities as does her mother who I believe is not using them so much for good. I'll give you more details after finishing the book; you know me, I didn't really read any summaries or back covers or anything before reading because I like to be surprised. For our purposes here, the point is that the lead character is an avid read of science fiction and mentions a gigantic list of books, once again adding to my wish list.

I found it funny and possibly serendipitous that I'm reading books back to back with so many references to other books, and it got me thinking. How would my reading experience change had I read these books being alluded to? Neither Northanger Abbey nor Among Others requires you to read these books; the stories are perfectly followable and understandable without any working knowledge of the books being referenced. But I can't help but feeling like I should have read these books first; it's part of my whole OCD thing about reading in order. Plus, it would add a deeper layer to my reading I'm sure, and you get that whole "feeling smart" rush when you are in on the joke. Like getting all the references in The Simpsons.

How do you guys feel about books alluding to books? Does it make you want to run out and read those books? Do you feel like you are missing out on something when you haven't read the referenced book?

Sunday Salon: Nook Number Two

My mother, the best mom ever, wanted to borrow my nook for vacation. And I never got it back. She fell in love with easy access to free books and the light weight. In a totally non-selfish manner, I offered to give her my nook for Christmas, and I would just go buy a new one. You know, the one with color.... Yeah, very charitable of me, right?

Then I truly lucked out as she decided to buy my new Nook Color for me for Christmas (well I bought it cuz I was like at Barnes and Noble, but she totally reimbursed me). I am one lucky girl. Princess Trisha if you will. I look good on a throne, don't I?

Supposedly, I was giving the nook to mom to wrap for Christmas. Unfortunately my patience wore thin, and I just had to bust that sucker out and get started. I've already read two books on it, and may I just say I'm loving it. Why do I like it so much more than my original nook? No clue. Maybe I'm a weirdo and actually enjoy reading off a back lit screen. Maybe it's just the fact that I am going through an ebook phase. Who knows with me? Especially these days as I am particularly flighty and random.

I have yet to read an illustrated or graphic novel on it, but I'm curious if any of you have. Is it a good experience? Are the colors/images/illustrations/etc. clear? I really don't want to buy anything before getting a bit of feedback on whether it's worth it or not?

I am also curious to know if anyone shares a nook account. Right now, my mom and I are both using my account. So far, so good, but I haven't done enough research to know if this will cause problems. Will we be able to maintain our own shelves? Can we control what books are on our individual nooks? Are the nooks autonomous?  Let me know if you have any experience with this!

And just to be clear: real books are still the best. But I do like having the alternative.

Sunday Salon: My Unthought Thoughts on News

I am not exactly a deep thinker when it comes to the news. For the most part, I'm a skimmer, checking out what's in the headlines, forming some initial, non-deep opinions and moving on. If something really strikes my fancy (i.e. is about books, movies, or education) I'll give it a second look and actually take some time contemplating (err....6 out of 10 times anyway). What is the point of all of this you might ask?

Well here are some news tidbits that caught my attention, but I still haven't formed any definite opinions:

Books from Spies, National Security, Free Speech
Ali H. Soufan was a CIA operative working closely with Al Qaeda for years. Now he is writing a memoir, and the CIA is trying to force cuts to the book which apparently claims the CIA withheld information from the FBI which could have stopped the attack on 9/11. He also states the CIA is perhaps a bit overenthusiastic in interrogation techniques. The super-odd part of the CIA's redactions is that none of the information Soufan included is actually new. Most of it has been released during Congressional hearings and the such not. The CIA claims they only redact information which is classified, and that how the information reflects on the Agency is not a consideration.

Having never read the book (obviously) and not being a CIA agent, I don't feel I can make a firm statement as to the validity of the redactions. What the article actually got me thinking about was Free Speech v. National Security. If a CIA agent writes a tell-all book about foreign operations, does it clue others in to CIA procedures and so on? Does it harm American interests? Should final say on what is in the book fall to the CIA? Or is that a violation of free speech and more harmful to America? Thoughts?

Source: Huffington Post

Mothers v. Fathers in Frontline Journalism
Alex Crawford, a reporter for Sky News, boldly stated that it was "really insulting and very, very sexist" when people questioned her ability to be both a war correspondent and a mother. Not surprisingly, her colleague, who has three children, is never asked the same question. He's a father. Because of course, his children have a mother at home to take care of them. Crawford? Yep, she has a husband (who is a STAY-AT-HOME DAD). But we all know that doesn't count.

Obviously, I absolutely agree with Crawford and do think those questions are sexist. What the article got me thinking about is if those questions would be insulting if both mothers and fathers were asked. What sort of reaction would we have if parents with dangerous jobs were questioned (or even attacked) about their ability to juggle being a parent and being a frontline journalist/soldier/race car driver/cop/etc.? Would we still find the question inappropriate?

Source: The Guardian


So what do you guys think?

Sunday Salon: The Great GR Update

As part of my Getting Back to Blogging process, I thought it a good idea to organize my Google Reader. I follow so many blogs I had about 250 unread posts every day. That was so overwhelming that even when I wanted to read a few blogs, I shied away out of fear. One day I logged on and there were 1,236 unread posts. The horror.

Definitely time for a bit of organizing. My problem was always deciding how to organize. I've heard of quite a few different schools of thought. Some organize blogs into daily folders, promising to read these blogs Monday, those on Tuesday, and so on and so forth. Other people put their Commenters into one folder and read those first, getting to the others when and if they can. Still others organize them in three levels, group 1 being those blogs they want to get to every day, group 2 every other, and group 3 the last to be read.

I decided to combine the last two. At least as a way to start out. I looked at my last six posts and put everyone who commented into Read 1. For Read 2, I included all of those blogs who I know post from time to time and those blogs I just really enjoy reading. And in Read 3, I put new-to-me blogs who rarely if ever comment and who I just don't really know yet.

I have to say I was really surprised by how the blogs separated out. There are so many blogs in the Read 2 folder that I fully expected to be in Read 1. And there are many, many blogs in Read 1 that I didn't even recognize! I clearly need to pay more attention. :)

I also separated out Bookish Events, like BBAW, book challenges and readalongs, Dewey's Readathon, etc., and Professionals, like book tour blogs, newspaper/journalist blogs, author blogs, and the such not.

I still have a ton of blogs in my GR, but this way the reading is prioritized. I fully expect these categories to shift and change over the next few months. Some people who will say Congrats! when you tell them you are pregnant will never comment again; some of the blogs in Read 2 were MIA this summer as well so that may be the reason they didn't comment; and the blogs in Read 3 are up in the air as to whether they are a 1, a 2, or a goner.

A Note on Commenting: As a horrid lurker, I perfectly understand that there are people reading my blog but not commenting. And this plan sounds like I am putting a huge premium on commenting. My reason is this: I want to develop relationships with my bloggy buddies. I want to actually get to know people, to read them consistently, to have conversations. The only way I can do that is with people who comment. So I am going to be a better commenter (by decreasing the number of blogs I read and comment on).

Any advice on how you guys organize your Readers?

Sunday Salon: Not Enough Time in the Armchair

This past week I have been participating in the Armchair BEA as I am one of the unlucky who were not able to attend BEA/BBC in NYC. I was really smarting from not being able to attend, but the Armchair version certainly helped alleviate some of that pain. I met a ridiculous amount of new bloggers, read some really great blogging advice, and in general, had fun roaming the book-blogosphere.

First, a few new-to-me blogs I would like to introduce you to:

The Reading Housewives of Indiana

Book Labyrinth

Fiktshun

Hooked to Books

A Bookish Affair

My Reading Room

Girls Gone Reading

Kaitlyn in Bookland

Books, Yarn, Ink, and Other Pursuits

Col Reads

Reflections of a Bookaholic

What She Read

Quirky Girls Read

I know I added a few more to my Google Reader, but now I can't remember who's who and what's what, especially since I just un-"Followed" everyone and just subscribed through RSS. Er....yeah, if you notice you have one less follower today that may be why....

I also want to announce the winners of my two Armchair BEA giveaways. First, the lucky winner who will be receiving Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin is:

Meg from A Bookish Affair

And the winner of Nyx in the House of Night is:

IzzyBella from Quirky Girl Reads

Congratulations to both of you. As soon as I get my butt in gear, I will ship those books out to you.

As for my own reading, holy sucktastic my blogging friends. I have been remiss. I finished two books last week: The Boy in the Striped Pajamas and Before I Fall. Have I reviewed said books? Absolutely not. Have I started a new read? Not a chance. I'm seriously slacking in the reading and reviewing department. Some real life stress - to be mentioned in the near future - has made me all ADD.

Hopefully your reading is going a bit better! So how was your week?

Sunday Salon: Future Endeavors

Hello Saloners, bloggers, readers, and random web surfers! Welcome to my happy time. The spring semester is officially over, and I have all of my grades in. I am teaching this summer, but only two classes, only for six weeks, and only online. I am as happy as....well as a teacher when the year is over. Things have been hectic for me so far this year with a few personal events decreasing my presence in the blogosphere.

Slowly but surely I am getting back in the action, but I realize that I've been a sporadic blogging buddy these past few months, rarely commenting on posts and rarer still responding to comments left here. I understand the reciprocal relationship in an online community, and I apologize for the one-sided nature. To those who have stuck with me: THANK YOU AND I LOVE YOU! This is for all of you:

I committed to getting my butt in gear around the blogosphere (hey! that rhymes!). Outside of consistently reading and responding to your posts and comments, I have a few other items on my to-do list:

Catch Up on Review Copies: This is my  number one task. I have so many review copies laying around they are actually spilling off the shelves and onto the floor. Definitely a problem and one I hope to solve this summer.


Get on Top of Speculative Fiction New Releases: I am on the panel for the Spec Fic category in the Indie Lit Awards, and yet I have been seriously remiss in my Spec Fic reading this year. I have been reading less than normal, and most of my reading has been related to a readalong or book tour or some other form of scheduled reading. This summer I will have more time to read purely for pleasure. If you know of any titles I should be checking out, be sure to suggest reading here.

Join the 52-52-52 Challenge: Amanda over at The Zen Leaf created a new challenge - For 52 weeks, participants attempt to read one book a week and lose one pound a week. Sweetness. I have recently (re)joined SparkPeople at Amanda's urging, and I am very hopeful that I can start eating healthy and working out on a consistent basis.

There are quite a few other bloggerish tasks I hope to complete, but those are the biggies. On a side note, I have joined Tumblr, and I am having a blast over there. If you are a member, be sure to let me know so I can stalk follow you.

Current Reads

Ines of My Soul by Isabel Allende
Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin
John Adams by David McCullough

Upcoming Reads in May
Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
The Girl Who Was on Fire
Ultraviolet by R.J. Anderson
Between Two Ends by David Ward
Ashfall by Mike Mullin 

Sunday Salon: New Endeavors

In EFFORT NUMBER ONE to not grade (I seriously spend a lot of time actively trying to avoid grading papers) I downloaded my Library Thing catalog to an Excel spreadsheet. Why you might ask? Well (avoiding papers?) I actually wanted a more efficient way to track books by genre and to track where the book is at. My library shares many qualities with an actual library:

Large Space: My bookshelves are located in my living room, my dining room, my family room, my home office, and at my work office.

Large Number of In-Coming Books: Not only do I buy books quite often, but I also receive books in a variety of other ways:

• Review Copies through Blogging (ARCs, NetGalley, TLC, etc)
• Review Copies through Work (possibilities for courses)
• Donations (colleagues, students, friends, family give me their unwanted books when they don't know what to do with them)
• BookMooch and SwapTree
• LibraryThing and GoodReads: Swaps and ARCs

Large Numbers of Out-Going Books: In an effort to not suffocate under piles of books, I have to maintain a steady stream of out-going books:

• SwapTree and BookMooch
• Blogging Giveaways
• GoodReads and LibraryThing Swaps

And then there's the big one: Lending

I really enjoy lending my books out to other people. But I want them back 99% of the time. And I don't just hand out books to one or two people. I let family, friends, colleagues, students, pretty much everyone borrow my books. A way to keep track of who borrowed what has been a necessity for a decade, but it took me this long to actually do it.

Once I had downloaded the spreadsheet, I went through every book on every shelf in my home (over 1000 books) to cross check 1) I actually had it and 2) where it was shelved. That took place over about four days, and I still haven't done my four shelf book case at work. I was amazed by how unorganized I let LibraryThing get. I - apparently - keep forgetting to update LT when I give books away (and I still haven't fixed that). This is a pretty big deal since, according to my new spreadsheet, I have given away almost 600 books in the past four years. And that number will get even higher after I determine how many of my books from the work office I've given away.

In EFFORT NUMBER TWO to not grade, I started a Tumblr account: http://eclecticeccentric1.tumblr.com/ so head on over and follow me!

I have a hard time keeping up on my Google Reader, I have practically abandoned responding to every comment on my blog, and well there are a ton of other things I feel like I don't have time for. And yet, I added another activity to my ever-increasing list of THINGS I DO ONLINE. What can I say? I really don't want to grade papers.


What are some new things you've been doing to avoid those old things you should be doing?

Sunday Salon: Unsuitable Reads

A random discovery of Patrick Ness's Top Ten 'Unsuitable' Books for Teenagers got me thinking about books I read earlier than would be recommended by the average parent. First and foremost on the list is It by Stephen King. Honestly, it is not the terror of the book (er...giant spiders and sharp-toothed clowns), it is one particular scene that I can see people getting in a tizzy over. For those who haven't read it, I apologize for the plot spoiler to come, but as this book has been out for quite some time - published in 1986 peeps -  I think I'm pretty safe.

Towards the end of the novel the seven children are stuck in the sewers hunting the evil which preys on children. Petty squabbling and frustration cause them to lose their way, to become lost in the twisting and turning pipes. In an attempt to revive their friendship, the connection which gives them strength, the lone female of the group has the strange (and possibly brilliant idea) that the six boys should all have sex with her.

To complicate matters, Beverly (our sole female's name) in part gets the idea due to a rather graphic scene earlier in the novel. Her abusive father is convinced that she's been fooling around with boys and tries to physically verify her virginity. The entire section reads like a pedophilic rape scene; albeit one in which the victim does manage to escape.

I read this book in seventh grade and actually came upon the sex scene during our reading time in class. It is something of a shock reading a sex scene - a freaking train with 12 year olds nevertheless - while in the same room with your classmates and your teacher. After reading the scene twice, however, I didn't merely move on in embarrassed silence. Oh no, I passed that book around to every student in class who wanted to read it. Hey, I had to share with somebody and I certainly wasn't going to talk to my teacher about it!

Do I feel like I was unprepared for the scene? Probably. By seventh grade, I knew what sex was of course. But I knew in the way kids know, without a real understanding of the importance of the action, of anything outside the mechanics of the act - and even the mechanics of it hadn't yet been fully internalized so to speak. The act was alien to me, and I thought of it as something entirely outside the experience of those my age. So reading about sex - "deviant" sex - between people close to my age was something of a shock.

Do I feel like I was in any way damaged by reading the scene? Absolutely not. It may have been a shock, but I didn't suddenly go to either extreme. The scene didn't make me want to go out and gang-bang the football team, and it didn't make me some sort of purity freak either. I am not sure it affected me at all to tell you the truth.

Would I read it again at that age? Definitely. At the time, it was something of an experience. It made me feel knowledgeable and dirty and naughty and excited simultaneously. I am glad I read Stephen King's It too early, and I hope that children everywhere read at least one book that is a bit beyond their maturity level just for the fun of it.

So what book did you read too early and how did it affect you?

Sunday Salon: The Lost Week

The past month and a half has been hectic, horrible, and hard, and I crashed at the end of last week. Hence the silence around here. I was so amazingly tired - we're talking that head dropping, eyes drooping stuff - that all I could do was sleep and watch tv. Only one blog post and only two books. Sad.

The first book I managed to get through was Fablehaven by Brandon Mull, a middle grade novel where a brother and sister vacation at their grandparents' only to find the land is a haven for magical creatures. The story was a bit too young and too predictable for me, and now I'm regretting my spontaneous purchase of the first three books in the series. First time buying books this year, and my excitement didn't last too long. :)

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare, on the other hand, knocked my socks off just like the Mortal Instruments trilogy did. I love the world Clare has created in this series, and the addition of steampunk elements to what was already a wonderfully mythological story has really got me geeked.

Those were the only two books I managed to read, however, as I spent most of my time incapable of focusing. And so I watched television. Two shows really. Southland and Justified. Loved them both.

Southland is a cop show, but unlike all of the others, it is filmed in a cinema verite style (handheld camera, reality style) and the cast is truly ensemble with eight primary characters.  Also, the show follows a day-in-the-life-style instead of revolving around a single case. I've now seen three seasons, and I very much hope there is a fourth. I'm actually really surprised the show hasn't gotten more attention.

The other show I gorged myself on was Justified, watching the entire first season this past week. In Justified, Timothy Olyphant plays a gun-shooting, boots-wearing, hat-tipping, drawl-speaking U.S. Marshall in Kentucky. I like the mix of modern day with Old West they have going on here, and I'm interested to see where the show goes in the second season - which I think is playing right now....and I think I'm DVRing it....

My serious lack of focus this week - thank heavens it was Spring Break - also means that I was a terrible blogger. I only posted once (and it was a meme) and I've been terribly remiss in commenting on your posts. I hope you guys bear with me as I try to get my life back in order.

Sunday Salon: Remembering Books

This past week I read Moonwalking with Einstein by Joshua Foer, a nonfiction accounting of his sudden interest in memory studies and his journey to the U.S. Memory Championships. One section of the book really grabbed my attention, specifically his thoughts on how reading today is about quantity and not quality. He wasn't weighing in on the popular argument of numbers versus difficulty of books. Instead he was arguing that we read more books, but interact with each one less. For him, "quality" was not about the book being read, but about the way the reader remembered the book.

He even made the point that sometimes we can't even remember if we've read a book or not. Since that recently happened to me - with Bill Bryson's A Walk in the Woods - I found myself seriously thinking about this issue. Does quality reading only happen when you remember the details of a book?

There are certain books I remember more than others. For some, it's because I've read them multiple times (Harry Potter); for others, something about them captured me so completely that images and feelings are stamped on my brain (Fingersmith). Yet those two reasons don't feel sufficient because I've read Gaiman and Pratchett's Good Omens many, many times but the details of it elude me, and Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier rocked my world, but I can't recount the plot step by step or name all of the characters. I very, very rarely remember the details of a book, and the longer the time span, the less I remember.

This could be fixed. I could read less, read slower, annotate more, think more about what I'm reading. I know the tricks of memory as far as burning a book into your brain. That's studying...school if you will...and I'm good at school. But my question isn't how to engage in more quality reading; my question is is it necessary or beneficial in any way? Does remembering the details of books benefit your life?

My thoughts are a confused mess on the subject. My gut reaction is that this sort of reading, study and memorization, has its place, but for the most part, reading is a pleasurable activity which need not be taken so seriously. Then my geek brain kicks in and reminds me how annoyed I get when people read a book without even trying to "get it". While I may not remember the details of a book after reading, I do remember themes and impressions and feelings, the more abstract, universal importance type issues. And I do not believe that skimming and skipping through books counts as reading. I have actual finished books without putting them on my yearly book list because while I may have turned the last page, I probably only really read 1/2 the book. I wasn't engaged, I wasn't reading every word, and as such I wasn't "reading" the book.

So I guess I'm stuck in the middle on this question. I do believe that we should read carefully enough to engage with and understand the story, but I do not believe that remembering quotes, plot details, character names, etc. is necessary for good reading. What about you? Do you think that memory plays a role in quality reading?

Sunday Salon: Recombobulating

My husband, my mother, and I have a long history with the word discombobulated. Our conversations about the word - how dorky is it that we have had multiple conversations about this word? - have primarily revolved around my insistence that you can't take the prefix and suffixes off the word. My husband, on the other hand, believes that things which are discombobulated can be combobuled. :)  My mother just thinks we are both nuts and likes to use the word to spark discussion. While this may not amuse anyone else, us geeks get all giggly over the situation. And right now, humor helps.

On Friday, February 18, 2011, just over a week ago, one of my closest friends died in a motorcycle accident. Josh and I met when I was fourteen years old, and he has been a constant in my life ever since. Losing him hurts, and I really thank those of you who have sent sympathy my way through post comments and emails. I can't tell you how much I appreciate it.

In more sad news, while I was really enjoying Ulysses, I have to set it aside to be read at a later date. Right now my brain just isn't in the mood for the sort of mental gymnastics the book requires. I need to immerse myself in the quick and easy, the light and fluffy. I want to lose myself, not struggle with content. I feel really really bad about this since the readalong was sort-a-kind-a-maybe my idea.

Even though I'm failing the Ulysses readalong, I did manage to finish two other readalongs in February. I read The Subjection of Women by John Stuart Mills for the Year of Feminist Classics and A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson for Erin's Reading Buddies. Outside of readalongs, I also read a few books received for review including This Girl is Different by JJ Johnson, Anastasia's Secret by Susanne Dunlap, and Lost Voices by Sarah Porter.

The book I am reading right now is Radio Shangri-La by Lisa Napoli, a memoir about her rather spontaneous decision to go work in a radio station in Bhutan. Just a couple chapters in and I am already in love with Bhutan, touted as the happiest place on earth.

Also coming up on the reading list, I have 31 Bond Street by Ellen Moran, Moonwalking with Einstein by Joshua Foer, and Pox: An American History by Michael Wilrich. All of these books are on the list because of tours, and I'm really excited about them.

Finally, I have a bookish confession. I bought a book which is now tempting me to break the TBR Dare. After much hem-hawing, I used a Barnes and Noble gift card to buy a copy of A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness. This book made my wish list in January, and after seeing a bunch of awesome reviews on the book, I totally caved and bought it. I think that technically, I'm only breaking the Dare if I actually read it, but it's just sitting there, calling to me, tempting me.....

So what's going on in your bookish world?

Sunday Salon: Acting Organized

For today's Sunday Salon, I am pretending to be organized. Generally speaking, I am a flighty person when it comes to schedules. Sometimes I am right on top of it, and then I will forget about stats or scheduled posts for months. Turns out that I'm feeling rather report-oriented today.

MONTHLY QUICK STATS:
I read 11 books this month, 3 of which were nonfiction, and all of which were published in the last 4 years. That's freaking me out. Time for a classic for sure. I shall be saved though because February is the month of Joyce as I, along with other bloggers, tackle Ulysses. You should join us. More people = more fun.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE BLOG THIS MONTH:

First I considered reading some difficult books, and then I promptly forgot about them. I made some bookish resolutions, and then I promptly forgot about them. One day I'll get back on track. :)

Three authors got me geeking: Tony O'Neill uses burlesque dancers, acrobats, and music to help promote his book Sick City. Syrie James wrote a new paranormal romance novel, and I am giving away a copy! I read Mary Wollstonecraft's A Vindication of the Rights of Woman for the Year of Feminist Classics, and even got so caught up in one of her arguments that I made an entire post on it.

Plowing my way through the Mortal Instruments series like some sort of addict, I read and reviewed City of Bones, City of Ashes, and City of Glass. I reviewed a biography of Jane Austen, Missed Her, Scars, Annabel, Jumpstart the World, Blameless, Will Grayson, Will Grayson, Room, and The Book Thief. I also discussed two books that I did not like at all.

I weighed in on the controversy surrounding gender and literary awards for Weekly Geeks. I got a little pissy over being questioned about my choice to read GLBTQ literature. I started the Game On Diet with some other bloggers, and so far I have lost 7 pounds! 

And of course, I participated in some hops, some memes, and some dark days with no posts.

So what did you do during January?

THE GIVEAWAY OF ALL GIVEAWAYS
In case anyone didn't already know, Pam over at Bookalicio.us is having a huge giveaway for her two-year blogoversary. Books, swag, and even a Nook Color are in the prize packs. Make me drool, right? You should head over and check out all her goodies she is so generously giving away.

Sunday Salon: Straight Girl, Gay Girl

I am currently reading a ton of books with a GLBTQ focus because as a panelist for the GLBTQ category for the Indie Lit Awards, I have access to a large list of books published in 2010 that fall into this category. Recently, I was questioned about my current read, Missed Her by Ivan Coyote, and after telling this person – whom I barely knew – about the book and why I was reading it, I was asked the following two questions: “Why would you want to read books about gay people?” And “How can a straight person review books about gay people?” Followed up by the line: “That doesn’t make sense.” Typically, this wouldn’t bother me, but it is not the first time in the last year that my reading of GLBTQ literature has been questioned. I have even received a few emails based on the blog. Some of the self-righteous emailers believe I am going to hell because I am "promoting sins against God and man"; others think I am "trying to identify with a set I have no relation to" and that "reading queer does not make me cool". But back to the face-to-face conversation.

My first task was to educate this person about GLBTQ and how the term gay is not some sort of catchall for everyone who doesn’t fit normative definitions of gender and sexuality. At which point, it seemed both questions were still perfectly relevant according to my questioner. After all, I am biologically, culturally, and socially female. I like men. A lot. Primarily straight, stereotypically manly looking men. I prefer my men to be rather male, lacking effeminate qualities, although I do like my men to shower regularly, be clean-shaven, and keep the bodily expulsions to a minimum.


So, back to tackling the two questions: Why would I want to read books about GLBTQ people? Uh, because it’s interesting and important and universally relevant. To me, the question is ridiculous. Why would I want to read books about covert spies or people living in Victorian London or little trains that think they can? I am not a train in case you were wondering.

As for the second question: How can a straight person review books about GLBTQ people? Well, that one may be a little more complicated, but I will give it a shot. Wait, did I mention I am not a train? I did? Okay. If I can review a book about a warrior from ancient Greece, I can review a book about a trans female in contemporary New York. Actually, I am willing to bet some seriously large amounts of cash that I have a great deal more in common with the second than the first. But to be clear, I still think I could review a book about a trans female warrior from ancient Greece too. Actually, someone should write a book about that; it would be interesting.

I am not going to pretend that I can fully relate to every GLBTQ experience. For one, I, as mentioned previously, am straight. For two, any lesbian experiences or tendencies I may exhibit are generally met with quite positive reinforcement as I am female and straight, and, as I’m sure you all know, that’s just freaking hot to my preferred pool of partner possibilities, straight men.

At the same time, all people have struggles. Every group (and individual) suffers from the weight of stereotypes, expectations, biases, and otherwise limiting perspectives based on preconceived notions of who a person should be (whether because of gender, race, religion, career, physicality, etc.). I can sympathize with the struggle to be accepted, to be appreciated, to be taken seriously. Hell I can empathize. I think we all can. At the core of it all, we are all human beings, as Ana pointed out in the comments to my post yesterday.

Yet despite what is, to me, the obviousness of why I want to and can read GLBTQ literature, it would appear that quite a few people don’t get it. At all. So if it will make it easier for everyone, I’ll just start saying I am gay. That’s right people I am coming out. I own The L Word, Queer as Folk, and a host of other GLBTQ shows; I read a ton of GLBTQ literature and watch GLBTQ movies; I think guy-on-guy or girl-on-girl action can be hot; Angelina Jolie, Salma Hayek, and Halle Berry make me reconsider my straightness;  I can belt out show tunes and rock out to Cher; I very rarely wear skirts or make-up or pink or ribbons (actually, no ribbons ever); I can say butch, femme, dandy, fag hag, gay boy, and queen in completely non-derogatory, “you-are-my-homey” ways; I have been friends with men without ever experiencing sexual tension, and I have been friends with women with sexual tension; I think Columbia, Magenta, Rocky, Frank-N-furter, Brad, and Janet are awesome;  I love Stephen Fry; I can and do use words like heteronormativity, cisgender, intersex, and top surgery correctly. I could keep going, but I think you get the picture. I am clearly gay.

And if coming out as the straightest gay person ever isn't enough for you (or the gayest straight person), well there's always this: I have permission from Cass who is awesome. "As a self-professed queer person and on behalf of the GLBTQ community, I hereby give Trisha permission to read and review books which include GLBTQ characters or are about topics relating to the GLBTQ community."

Now is it okay if I read GLBTQ books in public?

Sunday Salon: Quantifying Literature

The New York Times published an article which absolutely fascinated me this weekend. Large-scale quantitative analysis and literature are not often mentioned in the same system. Recent advantages in technology, particularly in database capabilities, are shaping a new landscape in the study of literature. Imagine if you could run a search for the word "humane" in every book ever published, or just in every book published by Irish men. Searches such as these and the subsequent analysis can offer great insight into literary and philosophical studies.

The current study revolves around Victorian literature. Two researchers are now studying the 1,681,161 books which were published in Britain around the 19th century. They have access to the full texts of every single one of these books. Impressive right?

Their starting point was an earlier work that focused on the written word as an entry point into the era: Walter E. Houghton’s “Victorian Frame of Mind, 1830-1870,” a landmark book published in 1957 that has shaped generations of scholarship, even as its conclusions have been challenged. Mr. Houghton sought to capture what he called a “general sense” of how middle- and upper-class Victorians thought, partly by closely reading scores of texts written during the era and methodically counting how many times certain words appeared. The increasing use of “hope,” “light” and “sunlight,” for instance, was interpreted as a sign of the Victorians’ increasing optimism. 

This sort of quantifiable information can guide scholars' insights into a culture by analyzing the prevalence and use of key terms. It also offers an opportunity for lesser-known works to come to the forefront as they are included in these larger databases.

The worries are many of course. The size requirement for servers is of course rather astronomical, meaning that larger corporations, primarily Google, have to sponsor these sorts of projects. Then of course we have the question of validity: can you extrapolate hypotheses about a culture from an analysis of their literature? Finally, some wonder if this foray into a more mathy-type analysis of literature will negatively affect or diminish the importance of the typical, more subjective form of literary analysis.

Not to worry, say those who embrace the new methods. There is no need to pit computation against interpretation. If anything, Ms. Jenkins argues, large-scale, quantitative research is likely to highlight “the importance and the value of close reading; the detailed, imaginative, heightened engagement with words, paragraphs and lines of verse.

“Close reading,” she continued, “will become even more crucial in a world in which we can, potentially, read every word of Victorian writing ever published.” 

I can't quite decide where I fall on the issue. I'm definitely of the school of thought which believes that much of what literature does is not easily quantifiable. The words and stories touch my soul and challenge my mind in a way that applying statistical analysis will not affect. But can it only be one way or the other?

What do you guys think?

Sunday Salon: The Trip So Far

For the past week, ancient times have taken over eclectic/eccentric. Inspired by Trish's Odyssey Readalong, motivated by a desire to escape the real world, my trip to the past has been wonderful - and has taken up quite a bit of time. So far:

I planned out my vacation before heading out, but I'm pretty sure I'll stray from the itinerary. I traveled to Mesopotamia where I attended a serious party with 70,000+ guests and learned a bit about money.  While in Mesopotamia, I headed over to Uruk where I ran into Gilgamesh and Enkidu. We had quite the conversation about homosexuality, the role of women as representatives and creators of civilization, and the importance of living a full life. Gilgamesh and I discovered we both have a thing for Odysseus, and I ended up heading off in search of the elusive hero. Before I left Mesopotamia, I got some poetic and thoughtful advice. I got a bit waylaid on this leg of my journey and made a quick pit stop at a strip club in Egypt. But really can you blame me?

I finally made it to Ithaca and Odysseus was rather verbose about his travels, so I'll be giving you the low down in installments, the first coming out tomorrow. My upcoming travels are taking me to Sappho, Helen of Troy, Agamemnon, and then I hope to head over for a quick flyby Southeast Asia before heading back to Egypt for some more in-depth travels.

If any of you head over this way, let me know. I'd love to meet up. :)

Sunday Salon: Which way did I go George?

I refer you to the previous Sunday Salon post.

I hope to be back in action soon....

Sunday Salon: My Plea for Understanding

Some of you may have noticed three horrors the past month or so: 1) I'm not updating on a regular schedule, and instead posts are going up all willy-nilly; 2) I'm not responding to comments in a timely fashion - or at all in some cases; and 3) I'm not commenting on your blog posts often. I must apologize - at least for the second and third.

As always, life drops giant unexpected surprises into your lap. My job tends to dramatically reduce my reading and blogging time, primarily because as a composition instructor, I spend hours and hours every week reading and grading student papers; and as a literature professor, I spend hours and hours (re)reading books and plays and of course grading student papers; and as a film professor, I spend hours and hours (re)watching films and of course grading student papers.  See the problem here is definitely the student papers. With 125 students writing papers which are on average 6 pages long and doing so five or six times a semester, it's roughly 4000 pages of reading, commenting, and assigning value. I should definitely add that in to my yearly page count.....

This semester, I have one extra class to teach, a composition class, and I've agreed to co-chair the Retention Committee. I also work on formal assessments for a developmental writing course - that's even more papers to read - and I'm trying to formulate a plan to address key issues in developmental instruction at the college as well.

Now that I've totally bored you with my job, back to the apology. I am definitely still reading your comments, so please don't think they aren't appreciated just because I haven't been responding to them! As for your blog posts, I am most definitely reading them even if I'm not responding. For some of you, there probably has been no change, as I am a horrible lurker 75% of the time anyway. I even joked at BEA/BBC that I was going to start posting He-eyy on every post I read just so the blogger would know I was there.

So for now, here is my "I-swear-I'm-still-reading-your-blogs" HEY-EYY

Sunday Salon: Sex is Good

Yesterday was the start of Banned Books Week, a yearly tradition I have been participating in, in one form or another, for six years.

Launched in 1982, BBW - which has a dedicated website - spreads the word about the censorship of books and reminds the public of our need to stay constantly vigilant against oppression by small minded individuals who desire nothing more than to control the rest of us. Okay, so they might not put it in exactly those terms, but I'm a bit biased. I have a very strong dislike that borders on hate for people who try to ban books.

There I've said it. My feelings about this topic are not really logical, practical, or objective; I actually get angry to the point of fantasizing about causing violence. I feel no sympathy for the parents who are "just trying to protect" their children; I don't sympathize with the religious organizations who "just want to protect" the public from sin. Sympathy or empathy are not the primary emotions I have for these people: sadness at the smallness of their minds and pissiness at their unwanted "protective" actions are what I feel. I actually want to bitch slap these people. Does that make me a bad person? Hmmm...

One of the most common reasons books are challenged is *drumroll please* SEX. Shocked? Didn't think so. We've all known for some time that certain people think sex is some dark, dirty, secret act which no one knows about except middle aged married folks. What rock are these people living under? If I had to hazard a guess, I would say that children know about sex, as in the details of how it's accomplished, by the time they are in sixth grade. I'm not saying they have a grasp on foreplay, the emotion involved, the repercussions thereof, the many variations, etc., but they know enough. Once they know how to do it, I think it's very, very important for them to start learning about the whys, the whos, the whens, and the what ifs. But apparently those who want to ban books think we should stop with the how.

This makes no sense whatsoever in my opinion. Knowing the physicality of something is not nearly as important as understanding the mental aspects of it. When teaching someone martial arts, you teach them the moves but you also discuss when and where and why to use those moves. Well, kids know how to perform the act of sex; reading books that include sexual activity may help them understand the important parts.

The other SEX concern is books which include homosexuality. The best part about this - these books don't even need to have naked bits in them; as long as there is the suggestion of homosexuality, the book banning idget's go into manic mode. I'm not even going to spend much time on this point because the idiocy is obvious. And if it's not obvious to you, then you probably shouldn't be reading my blog.

On a side note, the people who want to ban Twilight because of sexual content are killing me. Twilight is this large treatise on why people shouldn't have sex before marriage, about how we have to "control ourselves". I would think that the typical book banner would be fawning all over this.

My goal for Banned Books Week is to read a whole bunch of sex. Lovey-dovey, smutty, sweaty, delicate, deliberate, drunken, romantic, raunchy, and all-in-all pleasurable. I'm going to find some hot man-on-man action, some women with women and not for men's pleasure sexy stuff, some hetero-role-playing-fantasy fun, some first time love joy, whatever I can find that celebrates sexuality.

I'd love it if you would let me know suggestions, or join me in reading and reviewing books that highlight positive sexual relationships.

Some of the Books on the Sex Pile

1. Deliver Us From Evie by M.E. Karr: butch-on-femme love and girl-on-boy make out session
2. Annexed by Sharon Dogar: wet dreams and stolen kisses
3. Rumble Fish by S.E. Hinton: uncomplicated hetero sex and possibly hookers
4. The Bermudez Triangle by Maureen Johnson: teenage lesbians
5. will grayson, will grayson by John Green and David Levithan: boys liking other boys...a lot
6. The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big, Round Things by Carolyn Mackler: we chunky girls have sex too
7. Nora Roberts and Elizabeth Lowell: explicit pre-marital sexual encounters
8. The Sexy Book of Sexy Sex by Kristen Schaal and Rich Blomquist: the title says it all

Sunday Salon: 6 Big Winners

This week has been something of a blogging fail for me. While I was able to get all of my BBAW posts scheduled in advance (except Friday's meme), I wasn't even close to visiting all of the wonderful blogs featured. Even those blogs I regularly visit were neglected as I read posts without commenting. Hopefully I'll be able to catch up and meet some new bloggers over the next few weeks.

I was able to determine the winners of my BBAW giveaways though, so without further ado....

Orchid at The Haunting of Orchid Forsythia won:

Em at Love YA Lit won:

Kendra at Just a Good Book won:

Hannah at World Lily won:

Kathy at The Literary Amnesiac won:

Scoot of See Scoot Read won:

I am hoping I'll get the books mailed out tomorrow!

Sunday Salon: Semantics, Pulp Fiction, and Remakes

I am finally feeling back to normal now that the family has traveled back to their respective homes and school's evened out as we start week 3. My reading and blogging is getting back to normal as well. Thank the book gods.

This past week I've read Dust by Joan Francis Turner, a zombie book which didn't quite do it for me. My full review will be up Tuesday when the book releases. Dust was my BUYA (pronounced boo-yah), meaning it was my Break Using Young Adult. After, I grabbed up Mary Roach's Packing for Mars, and while I am completely loving her snarky intellectual wit, I do need a break from it every now and then. Plus the third volume of Fables, Storybook Love, was just calling to me from the shelf, so I had no choice but to read it.  Still not wanting to jump back into space with Mary, I read Suzanne Collins' Gregor the Overlander, the first book in one of my favorite YYA (young young adult)/middle grade fiction series. My fingers were itching to pick up book 2, but I thought "Geez Trish, get back to Mary." So I went over to pick it up, and then I saw volume 4 of Fables and my good intentions went out the window. It's back to Mary today though, and I'm really going to try to stay focused on read the rest of Packing for Mars.

Why am I telling you all this you might ask? Well, it got me thinking about how I read books. I'm always in shock that people will read multiple books simultaneously, and I always claim that I'm a one-book-at-a-time kind of reader. I still maintain that I am despite what may seem like damning evidence above. Let me explain:

When I envision someone reading multiple books, I see them bouncing back and forth, reading twenty pages of Book A one day, thirty pages of Book B the next morning, floating back to Book A that night, and so on. I do not do this. I do, however, stop reading one book and read one whole book before going back to the first. For me, this does not qualify as reading more than one book at a time. Semantics right?

My question for you today is: Do you guys 1) read one and only one book; 2) read many books simultaneously; or 3) read one book in the middle of reading another?
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I put up a Top Covers post yesterday focused on pulp fiction covers. The top two:

I have little postcardish versions of both of these in my office at the college. They are just so wonderfully strange. The more I looked at the post though, the more I thought I should elaborate a bit. Some points I want everyone to know as they peruse my pulp fiction covers:

• I do not believe Satan was a Lesbian. I like these covers for their ridiculousness, not any sort of sympathetic feeling.
• I have never read these books, and probably never will as I'm sure they are horribly sexist and full of frustrating gender and sexual cliches.
• I do not prefer girls; although I sometimes wish I did.

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Enough of the me-me-me. Greg over at The New Dork Review of Books put up a wonderful post about remakes that I think you should all check out. After reading Dracula, My Love by Syrie James, I really got to thinking about retellings and how much I like them (this is of course based on the very very few retellings I've actually read). I had not considered the relationship to film remakes, however, something I generally despise. I wondered why remaking a movie would tick me off in a way book retellings do not, but then I realized. When they revisit a book, it is typically manipulated heavily. The story is told from an entirely new perspective, they change the setting/time period, etc. They intervene within the text dramatically, and in essence create something new. In film, however, they tend to just remake the original with very little creative changes. I am, of course, making generalizations here. But what do you guys think about book v. film remakes?

Okay, now I'll stop jabbering and go head off to space with Mary.