I love Pat Conroy. I intend to read all of his books, including the new one coming out that I just can't wait to get my hands on. It's called My Reading Life, and even though I almost never buy books, I think I will just have to buy this one.
I love to read what authors have to say about what they read and how they write. Here are a few others in this genre that I recommend:
Remarkable Reads: 34 Writers and Their Adventures in Reading, edited by J. Peder Zane
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King
The Opposite of Fate: Memories of a Writing Life by Amy Tan
One Writer's Beginnings by Eudora Welty
Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books by Azar Nafisi
October's issue of Atlanta Magazine (fantastic magazine, by the way. I've just become a subscriber) has an interview with Conroy. Check it out.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Friday, September 24, 2010
Reading = Good Memories
I've just finished reading a very satisfying book by Lewis Buzbee called The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop. In light of my recent review of The Case for Books: Past, Present, and Future, it was especially nice to read a book that celebrates all the good feelings that come with facing down an entire bookstore and choosing something out of all the inventory available to be YOUR book, and later, opening the pages of that book to savor the contents.
When Buzbee began talking about what really made him become the voracious reader he is, it struck a chord with me. He said that rereading a book can take a reader back to where he or she first experienced that book in such a way: "I was ____ years old when I happened on a novel called _____, and within six months I had read every other book by the writer known as ____." As he also mentioned, he can most times remember his surroundings when he read a particular book.
For me, I was 20 years old when I read As I Lay Dying. I was in my sophomore dorm room on the yellow futon and I read all afternoon each day that week while my roommate was in class. That is how I knew I was completely hooked by 20th century American literature. I was 21 and in a course on Shakespeare's comedies and histories when I put on a crown with streamers and read the part of Titania in A Midsummer Night's Dream in Meredith College's pre-renovated Joyner Hall. I was 16 and in my junior English class, listening to my teacher read out every word of the first chapter of The Catcher in the Rye. Each of these times, and many more, I knew I was really cut out to be a reader.
And, if I pick up The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop and read through it again years from now, I hope I will remember where I was when I read it: in a rocking chair on the front porch of a beach house while the sun went down for two nights in a row. My favorite place.
When Buzbee began talking about what really made him become the voracious reader he is, it struck a chord with me. He said that rereading a book can take a reader back to where he or she first experienced that book in such a way: "I was ____ years old when I happened on a novel called _____, and within six months I had read every other book by the writer known as ____." As he also mentioned, he can most times remember his surroundings when he read a particular book.
For me, I was 20 years old when I read As I Lay Dying. I was in my sophomore dorm room on the yellow futon and I read all afternoon each day that week while my roommate was in class. That is how I knew I was completely hooked by 20th century American literature. I was 21 and in a course on Shakespeare's comedies and histories when I put on a crown with streamers and read the part of Titania in A Midsummer Night's Dream in Meredith College's pre-renovated Joyner Hall. I was 16 and in my junior English class, listening to my teacher read out every word of the first chapter of The Catcher in the Rye. Each of these times, and many more, I knew I was really cut out to be a reader.
And, if I pick up The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop and read through it again years from now, I hope I will remember where I was when I read it: in a rocking chair on the front porch of a beach house while the sun went down for two nights in a row. My favorite place.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Sidney Lanier
After I left Milledgeville the other day, I headed to Macon, Georgia, to check out the Sidney Lanier Cottage, birthplace of the Civil War-era poet (I've previously written about Lanier here and here). I was toured around by Sidney Lanier scholar and historic interpreter Marty Willett. You can see him and a shortened version of the house tour in this video.
I learned all sorts of things like the importance Lanier's wife played in exposing his poems to the masses, Lanier's musical life, and all the places that honor Lanier, many of which are practically in my backyard, including a monument in Atlanta's Piedmont Park; a statue in Duke Chapel in Durham, NC; a library and literary society in Tryon, NC; a literary society at East Carolina University; and a place in the Georgia Writers Hall of Fame.
Monday, August 30, 2010
Return to Andalusia
Last week I made a return visit to Andalusia, the final home of author Flannery O'Connor in Milledgeville, Georgia. I went last summer too (you can read about that here), and much progress has been made it little over a year.
First, an aviary has been built just behind the farmhouse for several peafowl. O'Connor raised the birds herself when she lived here, and a special project brought peafowl back to Andalusia. It's something the staff there are really excited about, and they keep the public updated on the birds and other things via their blog.
I spoke with Craig Amason, the director, who said the next project on the table is to save the Hill House, which was the home of the family who helped the O'Connors run the dairy farm at Andalusia. The Hills were mentioned in several of O'Connor's letters, published in The Habit of Being. Their house is thought to predate the main home where O'Connor lived with her mother. $75,000 is needed to stabilize the structure, and $200,000 is needed to fully restore the home. The Andalusia Foundation is working to raise the funds needed to make this house what it was when O'Connor lived here, as it was an important part of farm life at Andalusia. To learn more about how you can help, click here.
Inside the farmhouse, I got a picture of O'Connor's bedroom, one of the home's front rooms where she did her writing. Notice the crutches that she used as her lupus worsened.
After I left the farm, I visited the nearby campus of Georgia College and State University, where O'Connor was once a student and where some of her personal effects are on display. Here is the desk and typewriter where she did all of her work, which was, during her lifetime, in her bedroom at the farmhouse.
To read more about the College's O'Connor collection, click here.
First, an aviary has been built just behind the farmhouse for several peafowl. O'Connor raised the birds herself when she lived here, and a special project brought peafowl back to Andalusia. It's something the staff there are really excited about, and they keep the public updated on the birds and other things via their blog.
I spoke with Craig Amason, the director, who said the next project on the table is to save the Hill House, which was the home of the family who helped the O'Connors run the dairy farm at Andalusia. The Hills were mentioned in several of O'Connor's letters, published in The Habit of Being. Their house is thought to predate the main home where O'Connor lived with her mother. $75,000 is needed to stabilize the structure, and $200,000 is needed to fully restore the home. The Andalusia Foundation is working to raise the funds needed to make this house what it was when O'Connor lived here, as it was an important part of farm life at Andalusia. To learn more about how you can help, click here.
Inside the farmhouse, I got a picture of O'Connor's bedroom, one of the home's front rooms where she did her writing. Notice the crutches that she used as her lupus worsened.
After I left the farm, I visited the nearby campus of Georgia College and State University, where O'Connor was once a student and where some of her personal effects are on display. Here is the desk and typewriter where she did all of her work, which was, during her lifetime, in her bedroom at the farmhouse.
To read more about the College's O'Connor collection, click here.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Celebrating 50 Years of Greatness: To Kill a Mockingbird
I know I keep talking about my favorite book, To Kill a Mockingbird. Fifty years of greatness, and I'm celebrating all year. I think this will be my last post on the topic (at least for now), so if you're ready to be reading about something else, hang tight.
Two of my favorite southern magazines, Southern Living and Garden & Gun, have had articles about the novel this summer. You can read the full articles here and here.
I've also recently finished reading Mary McDonagh Murphy's Scout, Atticus and Boo: A Celebration of Fifty Years of To Kill a Mockingbird. It gives good context on the book and movie, with information about the time, political and social climate of the early 1960s. Then, the majority of the book is filled with short essays by notable people about how the book and/or movie affected them. Some of the essayists include Oprah Winfrey, Tom Brokaw, Rosanne Cash, Mark Childress, Diane McWhorter, James Patterson, Andrew Young, Richard Russo, Lee Smith and others. Good stuff.
Two of my favorite southern magazines, Southern Living and Garden & Gun, have had articles about the novel this summer. You can read the full articles here and here.
I've also recently finished reading Mary McDonagh Murphy's Scout, Atticus and Boo: A Celebration of Fifty Years of To Kill a Mockingbird. It gives good context on the book and movie, with information about the time, political and social climate of the early 1960s. Then, the majority of the book is filled with short essays by notable people about how the book and/or movie affected them. Some of the essayists include Oprah Winfrey, Tom Brokaw, Rosanne Cash, Mark Childress, Diane McWhorter, James Patterson, Andrew Young, Richard Russo, Lee Smith and others. Good stuff.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
The Debate over E-Books
A few weekends ago I was in North Carolina and had a chance to stop by my very favorite book store, Quail Ridge Books. I'm always able to pick up a paperback there that I haven't yet heard of to enjoy later. This time, Robert Darnton's The Case for Books: Past, Present, and Future caught my eye. I just finished reading it the other night.
I expected the book would talk more about how e-readers are changing and will change the face of libraries and the needs of their patrons, and the publishing and bookselling industry. I made this assumption because there is a picture of an e-reader on the book's cover. However, Darnton talked a lot more about how Google's e-book bogarting has brought about lawsuits, and particularly how university libraries and the academic world will be affected (good and bad) by making more books accessible online. So, interesting, yes, but not exactly what I expected.
So far I've resisted purchasing an e-reader for several reasons: 1) They cost a lot and a library card is free, 2) I like to hold books in my hand, 3) I like the way books smell, 4) I like the way books look on the shelf of my library, and 5) I almost never buy books.
Earlier this summer, my husband did ask me if I wanted an e-reader. I answered that until I was able to borrow library books via an e-reader, it was of little use to me. Well, recently my home county's library system in North Carolina started this, and each week they are growing their downloadable e-books. The library system is looking at this as a way to stay current with changing technology and save money. The library system also lowers the risk of losing loaned physical books, a great thing since the cost of replacing books adds up fast.
Attention, Fulton County, Georgia: Where is your e-book program? If you get one, I might consider purchasing an e-reader, especially since they've recently come down significantly in price. Here's hoping you'll have a program soon.
I expected the book would talk more about how e-readers are changing and will change the face of libraries and the needs of their patrons, and the publishing and bookselling industry. I made this assumption because there is a picture of an e-reader on the book's cover. However, Darnton talked a lot more about how Google's e-book bogarting has brought about lawsuits, and particularly how university libraries and the academic world will be affected (good and bad) by making more books accessible online. So, interesting, yes, but not exactly what I expected.
So far I've resisted purchasing an e-reader for several reasons: 1) They cost a lot and a library card is free, 2) I like to hold books in my hand, 3) I like the way books smell, 4) I like the way books look on the shelf of my library, and 5) I almost never buy books.
Earlier this summer, my husband did ask me if I wanted an e-reader. I answered that until I was able to borrow library books via an e-reader, it was of little use to me. Well, recently my home county's library system in North Carolina started this, and each week they are growing their downloadable e-books. The library system is looking at this as a way to stay current with changing technology and save money. The library system also lowers the risk of losing loaned physical books, a great thing since the cost of replacing books adds up fast.
Attention, Fulton County, Georgia: Where is your e-book program? If you get one, I might consider purchasing an e-reader, especially since they've recently come down significantly in price. Here's hoping you'll have a program soon.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
The Girls Who Read the Stieg Larsson Trilogy
About a month ago I borrowed Stieg Larsson's runaway bestseller, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, from a friend. I read the book mostly in two sittings during a weekend, unable to put the book down. Both of the book clubs I've recently joined selected the book for discussion in August. I've now sat through two discussions of this book, and I have Larsson's second of the trilogy, The Girl Who Played with Fire, sitting on my nightstand, and I'm ready to begin reading it. Yet, I'm still struggling with how I feel about the first book.
In both book clubs, there were those who loved the book and those who didn't like it enough to even finish it. I liked it, but I thought it was difficult to read in parts due to the violence and misogyny. I'm fascinated by Lisbeth Salander, as I think she's the most complex characters I've ever read about, but I thought Mikael Blomkvist came up a bit short. Perhaps my thoughts on him will change as I read the second and third books.
Have you read it? What did you think? Will you read the rest of the trilogy?
In both book clubs, there were those who loved the book and those who didn't like it enough to even finish it. I liked it, but I thought it was difficult to read in parts due to the violence and misogyny. I'm fascinated by Lisbeth Salander, as I think she's the most complex characters I've ever read about, but I thought Mikael Blomkvist came up a bit short. Perhaps my thoughts on him will change as I read the second and third books.
Have you read it? What did you think? Will you read the rest of the trilogy?
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