“La Noche Boca Arriba” (“The Night Face Up”) by Julio Cortazar
When I first read this story—for a Spanish class in college—it knocked my socks off. And whenever I revisit it, I continue to be awed. I’ve already foisted it on people in the real world, and today I’m foisting it on the blogosphere (a word which, oddly, reminds me these days of the unpleasant word “Blagojevich.” Eee-oooo. Didn’t mean to go there.)
I’m tempted to tell you the story, but that defeats the whole purpose. I’ll say simply this: The story is about a man who is taken to the emergency room of a hospital following a motorcycle accident. While in the hospital, he periodically lapses into a terrible nightmare in which he is a warrior in ancient times.
Here’s the beauty of it: This story is quick to read (only 10 pages long), and it packs a punch. So, if you like a whopping good story, succinctly told, please dash to your library straightaway. This story is fairly easy to find; it appears in Cortazar’s own collection Blow-Up and Other Stories, plus it’s been anthologized all over creation. And—it’s available in Spanish online!
Friday, April 24, 2009
Friday, April 17, 2009
Not My Usual Kind of Thing
Columbine by Dave Cullen
This month—ten years after the killings at Columbine High School—Dave Cullen, a journalist who has followed the story from the beginning, published this exposé that reveals the truth and the misconceptions about the killings. For example: the Columbine killings were a failed bombing that turned into a school shooting. And the idea that the two killers were a couple of loners who were targeting jocks was a myth. I didn’t know those things. (I confess I didn’t follow the story very closely when it was breaking, but I certainly hadn’t heard that.)
Cullen also describes how seemingly normal the two teenage killers appeared on the surface; this is nothing short of chilling. And he explains their (terrifying) transformation into people who would laugh during a killing spree.
When I first began reading this book, I thought I might have to put it down. I have an aversion to true crime books, and getting inside the brains of psychopaths isn’t really my thing. Way too creepy. The redeeming thing about this book—the thing that kept me reading—is that the author keeps the story anchored among the living. At least that’s how it felt to me. Columbine reminded me a bit of the book Friday Night Lights by H.G. Bissinger—in the sense that both books are ostensibly about a particular high school and particular students in that school; but each book really is a story of the larger community, and each is a snapshot of that sliver of American society at that moment in time.
One fascinating aspect of the Columbine story, which is explained in this book, is that it became more muddled as time passed, because of the facts that were covered up and because of the way the media framed the story. So this book is also about the story behind the story.
So once I got past that initial “ick” feeling, I could not put the book down until I had finished it. Columbine is compulsively readable.
This month—ten years after the killings at Columbine High School—Dave Cullen, a journalist who has followed the story from the beginning, published this exposé that reveals the truth and the misconceptions about the killings. For example: the Columbine killings were a failed bombing that turned into a school shooting. And the idea that the two killers were a couple of loners who were targeting jocks was a myth. I didn’t know those things. (I confess I didn’t follow the story very closely when it was breaking, but I certainly hadn’t heard that.)
Cullen also describes how seemingly normal the two teenage killers appeared on the surface; this is nothing short of chilling. And he explains their (terrifying) transformation into people who would laugh during a killing spree.
When I first began reading this book, I thought I might have to put it down. I have an aversion to true crime books, and getting inside the brains of psychopaths isn’t really my thing. Way too creepy. The redeeming thing about this book—the thing that kept me reading—is that the author keeps the story anchored among the living. At least that’s how it felt to me. Columbine reminded me a bit of the book Friday Night Lights by H.G. Bissinger—in the sense that both books are ostensibly about a particular high school and particular students in that school; but each book really is a story of the larger community, and each is a snapshot of that sliver of American society at that moment in time.
One fascinating aspect of the Columbine story, which is explained in this book, is that it became more muddled as time passed, because of the facts that were covered up and because of the way the media framed the story. So this book is also about the story behind the story.
So once I got past that initial “ick” feeling, I could not put the book down until I had finished it. Columbine is compulsively readable.
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Booking Through Thursday: The Numbers Game
Here’s the question for Booking Through Thursday: Some people read one book at a time. Some people have a number of them on the go at any given time, perhaps a reading in bed book, a breakfast table book, a bathroom book, and so on, which leads me to… Are you currently reading more than one book? If so, how many books are you currently reading? Is this normal for you? Where do you keep your current reads?
So, here goes...
Are you currently reading more than one book?
Umm... yes.
If so, how many books are you currently reading?
8 books that I'm actually reading (cover to cover)
5 books that I'm perusing for information
1 short story collection -- I'm reading only certain stories
The categories of the 8 cover-to-cover books are:
1 mystery novel
1 suspense novel
1 romance novel
1 presidential biography
1 Civil War history book
1 celebrity biography
2 improve-your-life books
I'm just between audiobooks, having finished one (historical fiction) yesterday. Next up: a contemporary novel.
Is this normal for you?
Yes. For years this has been my pattern. I have a variety of books in progress at once, because I read different types of books depending on my mood, where I am, how much time I have for that little bout of reading, etc. I usually have a book that I read while I eat breakfast, a book I read before sleep, and a book I carry back and forth to work (to read during lunch or after work if I'm waiting for an appointment). At the moment, I'm reading one book to prepare for a book discussion I'm leading for work. And I have to start (very soon!) the book my (friends') book club is discussing next week. Usually I have about 3 "assigned" books each month (for book discussions and genre studies). At the moment, I'm not precisely in the mood for one of my assigned books, which is creating some reader irritability. (Doggone it, all I want to do is read that Buddy Holly biography!)
I find that having multiple books underway at the same time is comforting for a couple of reasons: when I finish a book I loved, at least I'm also midway through several other books, which alleviates that bummed-out feeling that can happen when you're missing a really good book; and I don't have to worry about being without a book in progress (which is the kind of thing that can induce a terrible feeling of dread; there are few things worse than being stuck somewhere waiting for something, without a book to read.) All those extra books in progress are like insurance!
The only odd thing about my current reading line-up is that there aren't any contemporary novels in the mix--usually I've got at least one general fiction book underway.
Where do you keep your current reads?
3 books on the kitchen bookshelf that holds my current library book checkouts
1 book on the kitchen table
1 book on the living room coffee table
1 book on the living room telephone table
2 books on the bedroom dresser
Now that I think of it, I'm never more than 20 feet from a book. What a good life.
So, here goes...
Are you currently reading more than one book?
Umm... yes.
If so, how many books are you currently reading?
8 books that I'm actually reading (cover to cover)
5 books that I'm perusing for information
1 short story collection -- I'm reading only certain stories
The categories of the 8 cover-to-cover books are:
1 mystery novel
1 suspense novel
1 romance novel
1 presidential biography
1 Civil War history book
1 celebrity biography
2 improve-your-life books
I'm just between audiobooks, having finished one (historical fiction) yesterday. Next up: a contemporary novel.
Is this normal for you?
Yes. For years this has been my pattern. I have a variety of books in progress at once, because I read different types of books depending on my mood, where I am, how much time I have for that little bout of reading, etc. I usually have a book that I read while I eat breakfast, a book I read before sleep, and a book I carry back and forth to work (to read during lunch or after work if I'm waiting for an appointment). At the moment, I'm reading one book to prepare for a book discussion I'm leading for work. And I have to start (very soon!) the book my (friends') book club is discussing next week. Usually I have about 3 "assigned" books each month (for book discussions and genre studies). At the moment, I'm not precisely in the mood for one of my assigned books, which is creating some reader irritability. (Doggone it, all I want to do is read that Buddy Holly biography!)
I find that having multiple books underway at the same time is comforting for a couple of reasons: when I finish a book I loved, at least I'm also midway through several other books, which alleviates that bummed-out feeling that can happen when you're missing a really good book; and I don't have to worry about being without a book in progress (which is the kind of thing that can induce a terrible feeling of dread; there are few things worse than being stuck somewhere waiting for something, without a book to read.) All those extra books in progress are like insurance!
The only odd thing about my current reading line-up is that there aren't any contemporary novels in the mix--usually I've got at least one general fiction book underway.
Where do you keep your current reads?
3 books on the kitchen bookshelf that holds my current library book checkouts
1 book on the kitchen table
1 book on the living room coffee table
1 book on the living room telephone table
2 books on the bedroom dresser
Now that I think of it, I'm never more than 20 feet from a book. What a good life.
Friday, April 10, 2009
More Spies
Blowing My Cover: My Life as a CIA Spy by Lindsay Moran
In stark contrast to Valerie Plame Wilson’s book Fair Game, with its somber tone, Blowing My Cover is a lighthearted romp. In Wilson’s book, she comments that she is surprised that Moran was able to include so much detail about CIA training in Blowing My Cover. I confess that I felt pleased (and, yes, a small bit smug) to think that I already had Moran’s book in my pile of books to read—and opened it the minute I finished Wilson’s book (which had consumed my full attention while I was reading it—this is a rare situation for me, so kudos to Wilson.)
Again, in contrast to Wilson’s story, Moran’s account of her days in the CIA had me laughing out loud occasionally. Moran is not shy about poking fun at herself, and there are many ridiculous situations there she recounts with great humor. Some of the scenes at the Farm, during her training, are downright hilarious. But she also describes the loneliness of keeping secrets, being separated from family and friends, and lying to protect her cover. A startlingly frank account of a remarkable young woman’s experience as a spy.
In stark contrast to Valerie Plame Wilson’s book Fair Game, with its somber tone, Blowing My Cover is a lighthearted romp. In Wilson’s book, she comments that she is surprised that Moran was able to include so much detail about CIA training in Blowing My Cover. I confess that I felt pleased (and, yes, a small bit smug) to think that I already had Moran’s book in my pile of books to read—and opened it the minute I finished Wilson’s book (which had consumed my full attention while I was reading it—this is a rare situation for me, so kudos to Wilson.)
Again, in contrast to Wilson’s story, Moran’s account of her days in the CIA had me laughing out loud occasionally. Moran is not shy about poking fun at herself, and there are many ridiculous situations there she recounts with great humor. Some of the scenes at the Farm, during her training, are downright hilarious. But she also describes the loneliness of keeping secrets, being separated from family and friends, and lying to protect her cover. A startlingly frank account of a remarkable young woman’s experience as a spy.
Friday, April 3, 2009
Western Mystery
Early’s Fall by Jerry Peterson
Set just after the conclusion of WWII in a small town in Kansas, this (first in a series, I hope) mystery novel features a sheriff who, just before enlisting and going off to war, had been a hobo riding the rails. Interesting! Especially since at this stage in his life, James “Cactus” Early is the picture of respectability: he holds a position of responsibility in the county, is well-regarded professionally, is fairly newly married, and he and his wife are expecting their first child.
This mystery novel has the feel of a Western—as many mysteries actually do, if you move their setting to the West. But here the setting is truly western, a fact that is re-enforced by the book’s opening scene: a bank robbery committed by a criminal who escapes on horseback. Of course, for this to be a mystery novel, there also is a murder—of a woman who teaches at the local school alongside Early’s wife. And the burglary and murder are just the kicking-off points of a series of events that eventually change Sheriff Early’s life.
One thing to like: President Truman has a cameo in this book. I adore Truman, and I think the author thinks he’s OK, too.
And, one more thing: I really like the author’s name.
Set just after the conclusion of WWII in a small town in Kansas, this (first in a series, I hope) mystery novel features a sheriff who, just before enlisting and going off to war, had been a hobo riding the rails. Interesting! Especially since at this stage in his life, James “Cactus” Early is the picture of respectability: he holds a position of responsibility in the county, is well-regarded professionally, is fairly newly married, and he and his wife are expecting their first child.
This mystery novel has the feel of a Western—as many mysteries actually do, if you move their setting to the West. But here the setting is truly western, a fact that is re-enforced by the book’s opening scene: a bank robbery committed by a criminal who escapes on horseback. Of course, for this to be a mystery novel, there also is a murder—of a woman who teaches at the local school alongside Early’s wife. And the burglary and murder are just the kicking-off points of a series of events that eventually change Sheriff Early’s life.
One thing to like: President Truman has a cameo in this book. I adore Truman, and I think the author thinks he’s OK, too.
And, one more thing: I really like the author’s name.
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