Saturday, May 31, 2008

John Olson

Backscatter
New and Selected Poems of John Olson
Review:
In late Feb. of this year, Black Widow Press added poet John Olson to their line up. Backscatter is a comprehensive anthology of new and selected prose poetry. I personally find his writings, a combination of rants and raves on subjects Olson holds dear to his heart. He is the author of six published poetry books and a soon to be published novel.

Excerpt from "The Night I Dropped Shakespeare on the Cat"
"The night I thought I dropped Shakespeare on the cat I felt the reprieve of the man who accidentally goes through a red light without getting hit, the relief of the man who falls from a high cliff only to discover he’s been dreaming. But the relief isn’t immediate. It takes a little time. There are those few seconds in which the reality of the bed and sheets and room penetrate and so permeate the dream-ridden brain that the dream finally dissipates, melts back into the night from whence it came. There was no cliff, although the fiction of falling, the dream of falling was so real the brain believed all the whirling and twirling and limbs splaying and ground coming up were real. Meaning there is sometimes reality in irreality. Meaning a dream can be mud. Genuine as rain. The space in which I believed there to be a cat and there was no cat was that delicious space we call a fiction."

Websites:
John Olson, reading one of his recent poems.
www.blackwidowpress.com/

Friday, May 30, 2008

James Martin

Insights on the True Self from Thomas Merton And Other Saints
by James Martin


Review:
This is a great little book with a big message. I loved the honest exposure of Thomas Merton and Henri Nouwen's personal lives. Although labelled a spirituality/prayer aid, it reads more like a self help book. Religious or not, it forces one to explore the meaning of life and profound insight that "God is calling us to be who we truly are."


For Further Reading:
Books by THOMAS MERTON
www.henrinouwen.org/


Sunday, May 25, 2008

Bed

by Tao Lin
Review:
This is a series of nine warped, lyrical, romantic, hilarious tales from Tao Lin, published by Melville House, a relatively new publishing house, associated with a famous blog called Moby Lives.


Lin's writing has appeared in the Mississippi Review, the Cincinnati Review, Punk Planet, Bear Parade, Other Voices, Nerve, and Noon. He is the winner of the One Story short story contest and New York University's undergraduate creative writing prize, and is the author of a poetry chapbook entitled YOU ARE A LITTLE BIT HAPPIER THAN I AM, which won the Action Books prize.


His blog is called READER OF DEPRESSING BOOKS
(http://reader-of-depressing-books.blogspot.com/).


The entire collection almost reads like a biography, with the names changed to protect the innocent, especially Lin. The only common thread is the word "bed". It periodically turns up every now and then and in a very sudden way. I loved this book and would highly recommend it to anyone who is looking for a new fresh voice in literature.

Daniel Borzutzky

by Daniel Borzutzky
Review:
Daniel Borzutzky's poems are comedic, sarcastic, imaginative, foolish and sardonic observations all rolled into one. I love these poems! I hated more than half of them, when I was blazing through, but after some serious contemplating, I realized they are brilliant. This is not like any poetry collection I have ever read. The format is bizarre, with run-ons and a sentence structure that would make Emily Dickinson cringe. Overall, I could do without the political banter and fictionalized speeches and addresses, but recommend you read them anyway for a good laugh.



author's site: www.danielborzutzky.com/
interview: www.chicagopostmodernpoetry.com/danielb.htm
poems: www.milkmag.org/DBORZUT6.html
www.lapetitezine.org/Daniel.Borzutzky.21.htm

Inspiring Stories


*According to Amazon, here are two of the most popular worldwide bestseller biographies and autobiographies.

by Carolyn Jessop and Laura Palmer

by Don & Susie Van Ryn, Newell,Colleen & Whitney Cerak, and Mark Tabb

A few new BOOKS worth Checking Out!




by John Brandon

by Mark Sarvas

The White Tiger: A Novel
by Aravind Adiga

The Boat
by Nam Le


Is This Book Worth Reading?




* Some avid reader friends of mine have suggested the following titles.
I couldn't resist posting them for all to see. Enjoy!


The Story of a Marriage: A Novel by Andrew Sean Greer

The Raw Shark Texts: A Novel by Steven Hall

The Children's Hospital by Chris Adrian

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Lindbergh

by A. Scott Berg
"FOR MORE THAN A DAY THE WORLD HELD ITS BREATH . . .
and then the small plane was sighted over Ireland..."

Review:

This is by far one of the best biographies I have read in a long time. It was amazing to hear the story of Lindbergh's solo flight from New York to Paris and the tragedy during the horrendous days in 1932 when their 20-month-old son was kidnapped and killed. I was shocked to find out his wife, the talented writer Anne Morrow Lindbergh, was so strong and supportive in a time when he was criticized as a Nazi or a traitor and anti-Semite. Lindbergh took us all on a trip around the world whether we wanted to or not and at a time when flight was a fairly new experience. I really enjoyed hearing about New Jersey and Long Island and how significant these places were in the development of Lindbergh's life. Overall, I cannot do justice to the depth of this piece, but would definitely recommend it to any history or biography lover.

Check out this really cool website. Enjoy!
www.charleslindbergh.com/

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Tao Lin

you are a little bit happier than i am
Review:
I just finished reading, in two small sittings, this surprisingly entertaining collection of poetry from Lin. Not sure what to make from his autobiographical style. I realized that this was more of a grouping of everyday conversations one has with themselves, than a traditional book of poems. Simple phrases, extremely long titles and bursts of yelling really made this piece a nice sampling of Lin's work. His "voice" really resonates throughout, which is at first a bit unsettling, but then becomes "a breath of fresh air". Overall, this is my first experience with Lin's work and not my last. I am currently reading, Bed, a set of nine pseudo-autobiographical stories and laughing even more now than when I was tackling you are a little bit happier than i am.


author event:
'cognitive-behavioral therapy' 'launch party'
Thursday, May 15, 7 p.m.
(145 Plymouth Street, NY)


great sites to check out:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tao_lin
http://reader-of-depressing-books.blogspot.com/
YouTube - Tao Lin @ KGB
www.actionbooks.org/author-pages/lin.html

Sunday, May 11, 2008

Return of the Three Musketeers

*I went to the 92nd Street Y on May 2nd to see the Return of the Three Musketeers: Salman Rushdie, Umberto Eco, and Mario Vargas Llosa. It was an amazing night with three literary giants all together on one stage. The evening started off with each author reading in their native tongue and then a panel discussion. I thought their chemistry and sense of humor really made the evening quite enjoyable for all. Since I did not have time to post my full review of the event, I offer you this one bloggers experience instead. Enjoy!

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao

by Junot Díaz
Review:
The story revolves around Oscar a 300-pound-plus teenage Nerd. He is your stereotypical 1980's version of a Nerd, he loves role playing games, fantasy fiction and video games. The interesting thing about Oscar is that he is Dominican and lives in New Jersey. He stands out amongst his peers and longs for a girlfriend, but has no idea how to get one. The book is also the story of a multi-generational family curse that courses through the book, leaving troubles and tragedy in its wake.


I know that this book won the Pulitzer Prize and everyone has been talking about this being a great sophomore effort from Diaz, but I really did not love this book at all and would not even recommend it to a fellow reader. I only tackled it because it has been weighing on my "to read" list and when it won, I found that to be a good reason to try it out. The writing style is comedic and the story seems biographical, but other than that, there isn't a lot there that kept me interested as a reader. I love the NJ references and the "coming of age" drama, but overall I still give this book a thumbs down.

The Angel Experiment

by James Patterson
Review:
"The funny thing about facing imminent death is that it really snaps everything else into perspective..." This YA thriller, the author's first in the genre, is a great read for girls who love science fiction/fantasy and long for a female lead character. The story revolves around Maximum Ride, 14-year-old leader of a band of kids who have escaped the lab where they were bred as 98% human and 2% bird. While devouring this book, I couldn't help but think of the comic book series X-Men. The characters are all young students with super hero abilities and on a mission. The Erasers have orders to kill them so the world will never find out they exist. This is book one in a series of four , The Final Warning (Maximum Ride, Book 4) just came out Mar 17, 2008 in hardcover. Even though I am not a fan of science fiction/fantasy, I would still recommend this to anyone ages 12 and up. This is a winner with reluctant readers and girls who love boy themed books.

websites:
www.maximumride.com/
http://maximumride.blogspot.com/