1. I love Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. It is my absolute, favorite holiday story, a position formed by multiple viewings of multiple versions of the tale courtesy of the UHF stations of my youth. It seemed then that at any point of the Christmas season [...]]]> Here are two things you may not know about me.

1. I love Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. It is my absolute, favorite holiday story, a position formed by multiple viewings of multiple versions of the tale courtesy of the UHF stations of my youth. It seemed then that at any point of the Christmas season one could sit down, turn on the tube, twist the dial, and tune into a Christmas ghost story, with dark and scary moments that stood out against the Rankin and Bass productions that littered the 70s.  My 7th grade English teacher made the actual text assigned reading and I discovered I loved it as much as the movies, more in some cases, as I had never much cottoned to the musical adaption with Finney and Guinness.  A  few years later George C. Scott’s turn as Scrooge in the 1984 television film became for me the perfect Christmas special, not least because it adheres faithfully to Dickens’ original story.

2. Apart from A Christmas Carol, I have never read any of Dickens’ work. Not a single one of his books was ever assigned to me again, not in high school and not in college.  Ten or so years ago I attempted Oliver Twist, but made it only halfway before succumbing to boredom and the allure of other, more appealing titles.

I offer up these two facts so that you might understand how it is I came to be wrestling with a copy of the Oxford Illustrated edition of Christmas Stories as we head into February. The book was on display at the library and I thought ‘Oh, I love A Christmas Carol. Surely I will love these other Christmas stories Dickens wrote.’

So far I can only say ‘not so much’. Over the course of several weeks I trudged through The Chimes, the second Christmas tale Dickens wrote (after A Christmas Carol.) It contained all the moralizing and none of the magic his first effort, failing to fulfill the story-teller’s first obligation: to entertain. The goblins (or ghosts – I’m still not sure who was doing what) of the Chimes are not the least bit interesting and pale in comparison to the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future.

Christmas Stories remains on my nightstand and I tell myself I will continue the struggle, at least to the extent of attempting The Cricket on the Hearth, the next story in the book,  but I do have piles of other books that are far more tempting. I think Dickens and I might just call it quits.

N.B. I have a tumblr blog, at least for now. We’ll see where it takes us.

Second order of business: NPR’s annual summer reading poll concerns fantasy and science fiction.  You can help them whittle down the field to the top 100.  Carl V. covers the flaws of the list pretty well, [...]]]> First order of business: today is International Beer Day. I trust you are all intent on doing your part.

Second order of business: NPR’s annual summer reading poll concerns fantasy and science fiction.  You can help them whittle down the field to the top 100.  Carl V. covers the flaws of the list pretty well, and also turns it into a meme of sorts, which I will indulge in.  Play along at home if you’d like.

The entries I’ve read are in bold, with an * to indicate where I haven’t read all the extant titles in series. Anything underlined means the book in question in sitting in my vast to-be-read pile.

1632, by Eric Flint
1984, by George Orwell
2001: A Space Odyssey, by Arthur C. Clarke
20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, by Jules Verne
The Acts Of Caine Series, by Matthew Woodring Stover
The Algebraist, by Iain M. Banks
Altered Carbon, by Richard K. Morgan
American Gods, by Neil Gaiman
Anansi Boys, by Neil Gaiman
Anathem, by Neal Stephenson
Animal Farm, by George Orwell
The Anubis Gates, by Tim Powers
Armor, by John Steakley
The Baroque Cycle, by Neal Stephenson
Battlefield Earth, by L. Ron Hubbard
Beggars In Spain, by Nancy Kress
The Belgariad, by David Eddings
The Black Company Series, by Glen Cook
The Black Jewels Series, by Anne Bishop
The Book Of The New Sun, by Gene Wolfe
Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley
Bridge Of Birds, by Barry Hughart
The Callahan’s Series, by Spider Robinson
A Canticle For Leibowitz, by Walter M. Miller
The Cat Who Walked Through Walls, by Robert Heinlein
Cat’s Cradle , by Kurt Vonnegut
The Caves Of Steel, by Isaac Asimov
The Change Series, by S.M. Stirling
Childhood’s End, by Arthur C. Clarke
Children Of God, by Mary Doria Russell
The Chronicles Of Amber, by Roger Zelazny*
The Chronicles Of Thomas Covenant, The Unbeliever, by Stephen R. Donaldson
The City And The City, by China Mieville
City And The Stars, by Arthur C. Clarke
A Clockwork Orange, by Anthony Burgess
The Codex Alera Series, by Jim Butcher
The Coldfire Trilogy, by C.S. Friedman
The Commonwealth Saga, by Peter F. Hamilton
The Company Wars, by C.J. Cherryh*
The Conan The Barbarian Series, by R.E. Howard
Contact, by Carl Sagan
Cryptonomicon, by Neal Stephenson
The Crystal Cave, by Mary Stewart
The Culture Series, by Iain M. Banks*
The Dark Tower Series, by Stephen King
The Day of Triffids, by John Wyndham
Deathbird Stories, by Harlan Ellison
The Deed of Paksennarion Trilogy, by Elizabeth Moon
The Demolished Man, by Alfred Bester
The Deverry Cycle, by Katharine Kerr
Dhalgren, by Samuel R. Delany
The Diamond Age, by Neil Stephenson
The Difference Engine, by William Gibson & Bruce Sterling
The Dispossessed, by Ursula K. LeGuin
Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?, by Philip K. Dick
Don’t Bite The Sun, by Tanith Lee
Doomsday Book, by Connie Willis
Dragonflight, by Anne McCaffrey
Dreamsnake, by Vonda McIntyre
The Dune Chronicles, by Frank Herbert
Earth, by David Brin
Earth Abides, by George R. Stewart
The Eisenhorn Omnibus, by Dan Abnett
The Elric Saga, by Michael Moorcock*
Ender’s Game, by Orson Scott Card
Eon, by Greg Bear
The Eyes Of The Dragon, by Stephen King
The Eyre Affair, by Jasper Fforde
The Faded Sun Trilogy, by C.J. Cherryh
Fafhrd & The Gray Mouser Series, by Fritz Leiber
Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury
The Farseer Trilogy, by Robin Hobb
The Female Man, by Joanna Russ
The Fionavar Tapestry Trilogy, by Guy Gavriel Kay
A Fire Upon The Deep, by Vernor Vinge
The First Law Trilogy, by Joe Abercrombie
Flowers For Algernon, by Daniel Keys
The Foreigner Series, by C.J. Cherryh
The Forever War, by Joe Haldeman
The Foundation Trilogy, by Isaac Asimov
Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley
The Gaea Trilogy, by John Varley
The Gap Series, by Stephen R. Donaldson
The Gate To Women’s Country, by Sheri S. Tepper
Going Postal, by Terry Pratchett
The Gone-Away World, by Nick Harkaway
The Gormenghast Triology, by Mervyn Peake
Grass, by Sheri S. Tepper
Gravity’s Rainbow, by Thomas Pynchon
The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood
Hard-Boiled Wonderland And The End of The World, by Haruki Murakami
The Heechee Saga, by Frederik Pohl
The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy, by Douglas Adams
The Hollows Series, by Kim Harrison
House Of Leaves, by Mark Danielewski
The Hyperion Cantos, by Dan Simmons
I Am Legend, by Richard Matheson
I, Robot, by Isaac Asimov
The Illuminatus! Trilogy, by Robert Shea & Robert Anton Wilson
The Illustrated Man, by Ray Bradbury
The Incarnations Of Immortality Series, by Piers Anthony
The Inheritance Trilogy, by N.K. Jemisin
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, by Susanna Clarke
A Journey To The Center Of The Earth, by Jules Verne
Kindred, by Octavia Butler
The Kingkiller Chronicles, by Patrick Rothfuss*
Kraken, by China Mieville
The Kushiel’s Legacy Series, by Jacqueline Carey
Last Call, by Tim Powers
The Last Coin, by James P. Blaylock
The Last Herald Mage Trilogy, by Mercedes Lackey
The Last Unicorn, by Peter S. Beagle
The Lathe Of Heaven, by Ursula K. LeGuin
The Left Hand Of Darkness, by Ursula K. LeGuin
The Legend Of Drizzt Series, by R.A. Salvatore*
The Lensman Series, by E.E. Smith
The Liaden Universe Series, by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
The Lies Of Locke Lamora, by Scott Lynch
Lilith’s Brood, by Octavia Butler
Little, Big, by John Crowley
The Liveship Traders Trilogy, by Robin Hobb
Lord Of Light, by Roger Zelazny
The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy, by J.R.R. Tolkien
Lord Valentine’s Castle, by Robert Silverberg
Lucifer’s Hammer, by Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle
Lud-in-the-Mist, by Hope Mirrlees
The Magicians, by Lev Grossman
The Malazan Book Of The Fallen Series, by Steven Erikson*
The Man In The High Castle, by Philip K. Dick
The Manifold Trilogy, by Stephen Baxter
The Mars Trilogy, by Kim Stanley Robinson
The Martian Chronicles, by Ray Bradbury
Memory And Dream, by Charles de Lint
Memory, Sorrow, And Thorn Trilogy, by Tad Williams
Mindkiller, by Spider Robinson
The Mistborn Series, by Brandon Sanderson
The Mists Of Avalon, by Marion Zimmer Bradley
The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress, by Robert Heinlein
Mordant’s Need, by Stephen Donaldson
More Than Human, by Theodore Sturgeon
The Mote In God’s Eye, by Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle
The Naked Sun, by Isaac Asimov
The Neanderthal Parallax Trilogy, by Robert J. Sawyer
Neuromancer, by William Gibson
Neverwhere, by Neil Gaiman
The Newsflesh Triology, by Mira Grant
The Night’s Dawn Trilogy, by Peter F. Hamilton
Norstrilia, by Cordwainer Smith
Novels Of The Company, by Kage Baker
The Number Of The Beast, by Robert Heinlein
Old Man’s War, by John Scalzi
On Basilisk Station, by David Weber
The Once And Future King, by T.H. White
Oryx And Crake, by Margaret Atwood
The Otherland Tetralogy, by Tad Williams
The Outlander Series, by Diana Gabaldan
Parable Of The Sower, by Octavia Butler
The Passage, by Justin Cronin
Pattern Recognition, by William Gibson
Perdido Street Station, by China Mieville
The Prestige, by Christopher Priest
The Pride Of Chanur, by C.J. Cherryh
The Prince Of Nothing Trilogy, by R. Scott Bakker
The Princess Bride, by William Goldman
Rainbows End, by Vernor Vinge
Rendezvous With Rama, by Arthur C. Clarke
Replay, by Ken Grimwood
Revelation Space, by Alistair Reynolds
Riddley Walker, by Russell Hoban
The Riftwar Saga, by Raymond E. Feist*
Ringworld, by Larry Niven
The Riverworld Series, by Philip Jose Farmer
The Road, by Cormac McCarthy
The Saga Of Pliocene Exile, by Julian May
The Saga Of Recluce, by L.E. Modesitt Jr.
The Sandman Series, by Neil Gaiman*
The Sarantine Mosaic Series, by Guy Gavriel Kay
A Scanner Darkly, by Philip K. Dick
The Scar, by China Mieville
The Shannara Trilogy, by Terry Brooks
The Shattered Chain Trilogy, by Marion Zimmer Bradley
The Silmarillion, by J.R.R. Tolkien
The Sirens Of Titan, by Kurt Vonnegut
Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut
Small Gods, by Terry Pratchett
Snow Crash, by Neal Stephenson
The Snow Queen, by Joan D. Vinge
Solaris, by Stanislaw Lem
Something Wicked This Way Comes, by Ray Bradbury
Song for the Basilisk, by Patricia McKillip
A Song Of Ice And Fire Series, by George R. R. Martin*
The Space Trilogy, by C.S. Lewis
The Sparrow, by Mary Doria Russell
The Stainless Steel Rat Books, by Harry Harrison*
Stand On Zanzibar, by John Brunner
The Stand, by Stephen King
Stardust, by Neil Gaiman
The Stars My Destination, by Alfred Bester
Starship Troopers, by Robert Heinlein
Stations Of The Tide, by Michael Swanwick
Steel Beach, by John Varley
Stranger In A Strange Land, by Robert Heinlein
Sunshine, by Robin McKinley
The Sword Of Truth, by Terry Goodkind
The Swordspoint Trilogy, by Ellen Kushner
The Tales of Alvin Maker, by Orson Scott Card*
The Temeraire Series, by Naomi Novik
The Thrawn Trilogy, by Timothy Zahn
Tigana , by Guy Gavriel Kay
Time Enough For Love, by Robert Heinlein
The Time Machine, by H.G. Wells
The Time Traveler’s Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger
To Say Nothing Of The Dog, by Connie Willis
The Troy Trilogy, by David Gemmell
Ubik, by Philip K. Dick
The Uplift Saga, by David Brin
The Valdemar Series, by Mercedes Lackey
VALIS, by Philip K. Dick
Venus On The Half-Shell, by Kilgore Trout/Philip Jose Farmer
The Vlad Taltos Series, by Steven Brust
The Vorkosigan Saga, by Lois McMaster Bujold
The Vurt Trilogy, by Jeff Noon
The War Of The Worlds, by H.G. Wells
The Watchmen, by Alan Moore
Watership Down, by Richard Adams
The Way Of Kings, by Brandon Sanderson
Way Station, by Clifford D. Simak
We, by Yevgeny Zamyatin
The Wheel Of Time Series, by Robert Jordan*
When Gravity Fails, by George Alec Effinger
Wicked, by Gregory Maguire
Wild Seed, by Octavia Butler
The Windup Girl, by Paolo Bacigalupi
World War Z, by Max Brooks
The Worm Ouroboros, by E.R. Edison
The Xanth Series, by Piers Anthony*
The Yiddish Policeman’s Union, by Michael Chabon

My votes? Well certainly Tolkien (The Lord of the Rings), Howard, Martin, Leiber and Heinlein (Starship Troopers). Still undecided about my remaining five votes. Some work I would consider essential to the genre (Poul Anderson’s The Broken Sword) is missing from the field, and as Cal pointed out some authors have multiple works listed.

The Library of Congress cataloging data just inside the cover of A Time of Gifts lists the subject headings of ‘Europe-Description and travel’ and ‘Europe, Central-Description and travel’ but one could just as easily describe it as part [...]]]> Fermor, Patrick Leigh (1977).  A Time of Gifts. NY: The New York Review of Books. 316 pages.

The Library of Congress cataloging data just inside the cover of A Time of Gifts lists the subject headings of ‘Europe-Description and travel’ and ‘Europe, Central-Description and travel’ but one could just as easily describe it as part memoir and part adventure novel.  Travel writing is not generally my reading material of choice, nor do I take easily to memoir, so I’ve been trying to determine the appeal of A Time of Gifts.  Oddly enough, I decided it was the similarity to The Lord of the Rings that drew me in, and has led me to the sequel, Between the Woods and the Water.  In a letter dated  20 September 1963 Tolkien noted that

“Part of the attraction of the L.R. is, I think, due to the glimpses of a large history in the background: an attraction like that of viewing far off an unvisited island, or seeing the towers of a distant city gleaming in a sunlit mist.”*

A Time of Gifts possesses some of that same attraction. In 1933 Fermor is walking  across a Europe the reader knows is a few short years from being swept away.  The medieval architecture that inspires him to ecstasies in prose will be bombed to the ground along with the rest of Germany, and many of those who shelter him along the way will be end up trapped behind the Iron Curtain.  But through his journey Fermor affords us a view of an even older Europe, one that largely vanished in the wake of what was then called the Great War.  In Austria Fermor is given food and shelter in the schloss of an elderly Count, whose visiting card  inspires the following passage:

“After his name was printed: K.u.K. Kammerer u. Rittmeister i.R. ‘Imperial and Royal Chamberlain,’ that is, ‘and retired Captain of Horse.’ All through Central Europe the initials ‘K.u.K.’ – Kaiserlich und Koniglich – were the alliterative epitome of the old Dual Monarchy. Only candidates with sixteen of thirty-two quarterings, I learnt later, were eligible for the symbolic gold key that court chamberlains wore on the back of their full-dress uniforms. But now the Empire and the Kingdom had been dismembered and their thrones were empty; no doors opened to the gold keys, the heralds were dispersed, the regiments disbanded and the horses dead long ago. The engraved words croaked loud of spent glories.”

More inspiration to seek out a copy of Roth’s Radetzky March.

*The full text of this letter can be found in The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien.

1. The book I’m currently reading.

My current fiction read is Winter’s Tale, by Mark Helprin. I bought this book several years ago, when John Scalzi praised it on his [...]]]> I found this meme at the Boston Bibliophile, although it apparently originated at Stuck In A Book. Play along if the spirit so moves you.

1. The book I’m currently reading.

My current fiction read is Winter’s Tale, by Mark Helprin. I bought this book several years ago, when John Scalzi praised it on his site (he refers to it again here). Sheila’s review moved it up in the queue; I started it last night and forced myself to put it down only when sleep began to steal over me.

My current non-fiction read is Between the Woods and the Water, by Patrick Leigh Fermor. It is a sequel to A Time of Gifts, a book which saw me through much of my recent convalescence,  and together the two books recount the first two thirds of Leigh Fermor’s 1933 journey – on foot – from Holland to Constantinople, which he undertook at the age of eighteen after being tossed from boarding school. Really these two remarkable books deserve their own post. Leigh Fermor himself is quite the character, still kicking today at 96 years of age, who after his walk went on to kidnap a German general in Crete while seconded to the SOE from the Irish Guards and become, post-war, a distinguished travel writer.  Anthony Lane’s profile of the man in the May 22, 2006 issue of the New Yorker is worth your while if you wish to learn more.

2. The last book I finished.

Rogue Male, by Geoffrey Household. A very British thriller from 1939.

3. The next book I want to read.

Joseph Epstein’s biography of Fred Astaire is currently sitting on my nightstand; it’s a  toss-up between that and Rebecca West’s Black Lamb and Grey Falcon for my next non-fiction selection. As far the next fiction read, I’m leaning towards The Yiddish Policeman’s Union, by Michael Chabon.

4. The last book I bought.

Facing Violence, by Rory Miller.  Essential reading for the practicing martial artist, or anyone else with an interest in or pretension to preparing for self defense.

5. The last book I was given.

I was gifted with several books while recuperating from surgery, but  since I can’t recall the exact order I list them all here:
Running the Books – Avi Steinberg
A City So Grand – Stephen Puleo
Mark Twain: Man in White – Michael Shelden

DeVoto, Bernard (1948).  The Hour: A Cocktail Manifesto. NY: TinHouse Books. 127 pages.

When he wasn’t winning Pulitzers or National Book Awards,  Bernard DeVoto penned this brief ode to the joys of the cocktail. Long out of [...]]]> One thing about convalescing, you can get a lot of reading done. And so, here’s a brief review.

DeVoto, Bernard (1948).  The Hour: A Cocktail Manifesto. NY: TinHouse Books. 127 pages.

When he wasn’t winning Pulitzers or National Book Awards,  Bernard DeVoto penned this brief ode to the joys of the cocktail. Long out of print, it has been re-issued with an introduction by Daniel Handler of Lemony Snicket and 69 Love Songs fame, and makes for a pleasant afternoon’s or evening’s reading. But reader be warned. DeVoto provides not only an ode, but an orthodoxy. To wit:

“Remember always that the three abominations are: (1) rum (2) any other sweet drink, and (3) any mixed drink except one made of gin and dry vermouth in the ratio I have given.”

DeVoto recognizes only two cocktails, the gin martini and “a slug of whiskey,” a rigid code that I, with my fondness for the French 75 (and its cousin the French 77 ) and Sidecars, freely admit to violating, though I hew to DeVoto’s line on what a proper martini  contains, as well as enjoying slugs of whiskey.

In December of 2009 my to-be-read pile number about 190. This December past it stood at about 220. I attribute this jump not only to a lack of time to read in general, but to the large of [...]]]> The reading list for 2010 is updated and closed. The reading list for 2011 is now open.

In December of 2009 my to-be-read pile number about 190. This December past it stood at about 220. I attribute this jump not only to a lack of time to read in general, but to the large of number of bookstore gift cards I received for my 40th birthday. I’m not complaining, mind you…

My favorite of the books I read in 2010? Deadhouse Gates, by Stephen Erikson, which made me decide to commit to reading all ten Malazan Books of the Fallen.  My least favorite? The Coldest Winter, by David Halberstam. I’m still failing to understand the all the fuss, other than the fact that it was written by David Halberstam.

Bonus: the best movie I saw in 2010? Winter’s Bone, hands down. The best old movie I watched in 2010 was Touchez Pas au Grisbi.

First – yet more pictures of the Rocket, mostly from a trip to the Paragon Carousel.  With which she was completely unimpressed.

Also in the imagery line – a collection of covers of vintage men’s magazines. Which taken as a whole seem [...]]]> I have here some odds and ends for your consideration and possible enjoyment.

First – yet more pictures of the Rocket, mostly from a trip to the Paragon Carousel.  With which she was completely unimpressed.

Also in the imagery line – a collection of covers of vintage men’s magazines. Which taken as a whole seem to exhibit some deep–seated fear of being eaten alive – flesh ripped – by wild animals.

Light reading: a brief essay on Tolkien, by noted scifi author Gene Wolfe.

I missed noting John Wayne’s birthday, although Red covered it more than ably. I will point out these two anecdotes by Dick Cavett concerning his meeting the Duke.

Spinelli, Jerry (2000). Stargirl. NY: Random House. 186 pages.

Evaluation and summary: Leo Borlock is an unremarkable guy at an unremarkable high school. In fact, pretty much everyone at Micah High School is unremarkable, and they like it that [...]]]> And here we are at the end of the series. Fifteenth in a series of fifteen.

Spinelli, Jerry (2000). Stargirl. NY: Random House. 186 pages.

Evaluation and summary: Leo Borlock is an unremarkable guy at an unremarkable high school. In fact, pretty much everyone at Micah High School is unremarkable, and they like it that way. No one really gets excited about sports or any other extracurricular activities, and most importantly, no one is different enough to stand out – until Stargirl arrives. She is very different, from her unusual garb, to her penchant for singing ‘Happy Birthday’  to anyone and everyone (while playing the ukelele), to her habit of attending the funerals of complete strangers. Leo falls head over heals for Stargirl, but will their relationship survive their classmates’ shunning of Stargirl?

When choosing the titles for this series, I tried to mix up the types of books I selected, varying the genres and picking some books that weren’t to my personal taste in reading material.  Based on a classmate’s book talk I chose Stargirl, along with Heavy Metal and You, as books about romance and relationships, as opposed to my usual fare of ray guns, sword points or flintlocks. And maybe it’s because the book is not my usual fare, but I didn’t much care for Stargirl, despite the pile of awards it won.

My cool reaction to Stargirl is due to the characters. Stargirl herself is entirely too good to be true, saint like in her regard for others. Just as David Levithan created an ideal world (or at least an ideal town) to make a point, Spinelli created an ideal character to make a different point. Leo, while a little more believable as a real person than Stargirl, is a lot less likable.  The only character I found appealing never spoke a word: Dori, Stargirl’s friend who remains loyal throughout all the events of the book.

Booktalk hook:  I can see the appeal but I personally wouldn’t try to convince anyone to read Stargirl.  The book did won loads of awards, so this may be just a matter of taste.