Wednesday, April 27, 2005
Suzanne
Suzanne Page! I heard you were engaged!!!! I found out a few weeks ago from the lovely Lynn Kenny, but seeing your blog reminded me... So sorry about the breach of your privacy on this oh-so-public blog, but I had to express my elation :)
Tuesday, April 26, 2005
Travels
Hello wonderful ladies. Before I begin, I want to say that I realize that this post is sort of a stretch for this blog, but it has to do with where I will be reading the next book I receive, so that is my justifiation.
I leave for Benin on May 17 for just under 8 weeks for my research. I'll be sending out (through a friend, another cool Heather), updates about my travels. These will begin shortly before I leave. If you should happen to want to receive these updates, please send an email my way saying so.
So...the next book I receive shall be well travelled and will likely have some good ol' African dirt on it when you receive it. Hope you are all having a good spring.
I leave for Benin on May 17 for just under 8 weeks for my research. I'll be sending out (through a friend, another cool Heather), updates about my travels. These will begin shortly before I leave. If you should happen to want to receive these updates, please send an email my way saying so.
So...the next book I receive shall be well travelled and will likely have some good ol' African dirt on it when you receive it. Hope you are all having a good spring.
Suz's Haiku Challenge
Hey there, ladies! Inspired by a book I came across while working at B&N the other day and prompted by my own fondness for haiku, I would like to present to our little book club SUZ'S HAIKU CHALLENGE.
To refresh your memory, haiku is a Japanese form of poetry that consists of 3 lines and 17 syllables, 5-7-5. What is the challenge? Upon finishing each of your book club selections, take a few minutes (in the shower, driving to work, letting your pedicure dry, etc.) and condense that great tome down into 17 syllables. The haiku can be humorous or profound--however you feel moved. This might seem a little difficult or even a little ridiculous at first, but I was just thinking how much fun it would be to compare our haikus on each book at the end of the circuit. It's also a handy way of helping yourself recall what each book was about, enabling you to sound really intelligent in social settings.
My first thought was to have everyone post their haiku on this blog or record their haiku on a page that travels with the book, but as the haikus could very well serve as spoilers, I had to nix those ideas. So, at this point, if you're up to the challenge (come on, it'll be fun!) please compose a haiku as you finish your first selection and save it in a safe place. If you don't trust yourself to not lose your haikus before this is all over, you can e-mail them to me and I'll compile them.
Need a little inspiration? Well, I'd share mine with you, but that would pretty much spoil all the suspense of my book, so I'll share a couple favorites from the book that inspired this endeavor, Haiku U: 100 Great Books in 17 syllables.
Pride & Prejudice
Single white lass seeks
landed gent for marriage, whist.
No parsons, thank you.
Wuthering Heights
Wild. Strange. A bit damp.
Heathcliff waits for Cathy's ghost.
Women. Always late.
The Scarlet Letter
Grimy, gray New England--
all adulterers receive
free mongramming.
Let the finger counting begin!
To refresh your memory, haiku is a Japanese form of poetry that consists of 3 lines and 17 syllables, 5-7-5. What is the challenge? Upon finishing each of your book club selections, take a few minutes (in the shower, driving to work, letting your pedicure dry, etc.) and condense that great tome down into 17 syllables. The haiku can be humorous or profound--however you feel moved. This might seem a little difficult or even a little ridiculous at first, but I was just thinking how much fun it would be to compare our haikus on each book at the end of the circuit. It's also a handy way of helping yourself recall what each book was about, enabling you to sound really intelligent in social settings.
My first thought was to have everyone post their haiku on this blog or record their haiku on a page that travels with the book, but as the haikus could very well serve as spoilers, I had to nix those ideas. So, at this point, if you're up to the challenge (come on, it'll be fun!) please compose a haiku as you finish your first selection and save it in a safe place. If you don't trust yourself to not lose your haikus before this is all over, you can e-mail them to me and I'll compile them.
Need a little inspiration? Well, I'd share mine with you, but that would pretty much spoil all the suspense of my book, so I'll share a couple favorites from the book that inspired this endeavor, Haiku U: 100 Great Books in 17 syllables.
Pride & Prejudice
Single white lass seeks
landed gent for marriage, whist.
No parsons, thank you.
Wuthering Heights
Wild. Strange. A bit damp.
Heathcliff waits for Cathy's ghost.
Women. Always late.
The Scarlet Letter
Grimy, gray New England--
all adulterers receive
free mongramming.
Let the finger counting begin!
Monday, April 25, 2005
hello!
I'm so excited to join "better than oprah," so thanks to Heather for letting me invite myself! I think I'm going to throw Brick Lane by Monica Ali into the mix...so I hope people like it!
Oh, and I have not read more books than Harold Bloom. On the other hand, I expect he probably wouldn't properly respect a book like Bridget Jones's Diary...
In eager anticipation for the beginning of May, when I will get my first book...
Oh, and I have not read more books than Harold Bloom. On the other hand, I expect he probably wouldn't properly respect a book like Bridget Jones's Diary...
In eager anticipation for the beginning of May, when I will get my first book...
Wednesday, April 20, 2005
am writing on blog
this is purely for the satisfaction of heather m baker...here i am...logged on and writing in a blog! reading my current book club book "Eyre Affair" sounds lovely...so sad that in last two weeks have read total of zero pages of any fictional literature. but i am on page 50 and WILL finish book! love to all!
Tuesday, April 19, 2005
Two more weeks!
You have two more weeks to finish your first book club book! So get cracking!!
AND--we are adding a new member for Rotation #2--my friend Hannah, who has read more books than Harold Bloom.
AND--we are adding a new member for Rotation #2--my friend Hannah, who has read more books than Harold Bloom.
Friday, April 01, 2005
dressing emotions
So, I spent most of Tuesday ruing my decision to make myself a salad the night before as my body did everything in its power to rid itself of the dressing that I had found so innocently lying in wait in my refrigerator. Evil dressing. Nevertheless, food poisoning does open up quite a lot of time for reading, so I made it through about the first 50 pages of my book (Silence), not including the Introduction and Prologue I had read in an earlier sitting. Note to future readers of this book: I highly recommend the Intro and Prologue.
Why? Because without them I would feel even more ignorant than I already did. So far this book has evoked in me a spectrum of feelings: ignorance of world (and in this case, Japanese) history; shock and sadness at the ways in which the Japanese Christians of that day (mid 1600s) were persecuted; anger at the "missionary" attitude of the Portuguese priests and the emptiness of religious ritual apart from truth and relationship; and curiosity at the fact that apparently there is a Japanese phrase used by a 17th century Portuguese priest most closely translated into English as "helter-skelter." Now that I have gotten into my book, I am greatly intrigued as to how it will all turn out, and what emotion I will feel next.
Why? Because without them I would feel even more ignorant than I already did. So far this book has evoked in me a spectrum of feelings: ignorance of world (and in this case, Japanese) history; shock and sadness at the ways in which the Japanese Christians of that day (mid 1600s) were persecuted; anger at the "missionary" attitude of the Portuguese priests and the emptiness of religious ritual apart from truth and relationship; and curiosity at the fact that apparently there is a Japanese phrase used by a 17th century Portuguese priest most closely translated into English as "helter-skelter." Now that I have gotten into my book, I am greatly intrigued as to how it will all turn out, and what emotion I will feel next.
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