Here It Comes.

The shit storm of the publishing world has hit us:

I am just sad for the trees. The poor families of trees that were slaughtered to make this happen.

Now, allow me to admit, that I am slightly interested in what she has to say, but that's only if she plans on divulging what went down during the election.

I highly doubt that this book will do any such thing. It's a memoir. It isn't more properly entitled: "The Reason Why People Don't Want A Woman To Be President" or "How I Single-Handedly Made McCain Look Like A Fool."

No, the title is "Going Rogue." It isn't going to be a behind the scenes account of how she and McCain inevitably had a series of bitch-slapping contests. [My money would be on McCain]. This is a book of her life. Something that I have no interest in, as her childhood could probably be summed up in this picture of her parents in their humble abode:
It looks pretty frightening, but not entirely surprising. I expect her "memoir" to have a slew of charming, endearing hunting stories, in which she managed to shoot little Bambi with pride.

Maybe my obvious distaste for the persona that is Sarah Palin is clouding my judgment. But I have a problem with the memoir genre as a whole. [For more on the genre, check out this book].

I know that she will make a ton of money from this book. Harper Collins, the publisher, will make a buttload of money off of this book. Oprah harpooned viewers earlier this week with an exceedingly boring interview with the rogue herself, thus even Oprah "Money-Bagz" Winfrey made money off of this.

I guess I'm really more interested in the publishing of Nabakov's, The Original of Laura, and the controversy surrounding that. The controversy being that it was Nabakov's dying wish for the book to be destroyed, burned, eaten, whatever.

But different strokes for different folks. I will enjoy reading works by a Russian author, whilst others can read about the life of a woman who claims to see his homeland from her house.

The Story of My Life

Being an English major is tough business. A conversation that often occurs goes something like this:

Annoying Person: So, what's your major?
Me: I'm an English major with a Classics minor.
Annoying Person: Oh... what can you do with that? Like... be a teacher or something?
Me: Uh... actually, I plan on going to graduate school. I have a lot of ideas. Perhaps get a dual degree in Law and Business or maybe...

and my list goes on. And the annoying person just gets bored because they already think I am boring. From now on, I'm just going to respond with: "Actually, I am just waiting to be discovered, then I will star in the moving pictures."

Many people have straight-up just told me that my major is useless. Apparently, learning the history of our language and the way it was utilized and how it has transformed over time and shaped our culture is useless. I suppose I can't directly apply what I've learned in class to my current career in food services, but I like to think that I am learning something larger about life.

Sadly, it turns out that not many students are made of the same ilk. Everyone is now turning to college for vocational purposes rather than an opportunity to expand the mind. The American Scholar put forth these depressing statistics in their article, more depressingly entitled, The Decline of the English Department:

Here is how the numbers have changed from 1970/71 to 2003/04 (the last academic year with available figures):
English: from 7.6 percent of the majors to 3.9 percent
Foreign languages and literatures: from 2.5 percent to 1.3 percent
Philosophy and religious studies: from 0.9 percent to 0.7 percent
History: from 18.5 percent to 10.7 percent
Business: from 13.7 percent to 21.9 percent

It's important to note, that during these 30 years, more and more students are entering higher education. That is messed up! I have had so many business majors point their nose up at me as if they have some greater purpose in life--to make mad cash moneyz--and I'm some poor loser sitting below feverishly reading an outdated piece of literature.

Now, dear readers, you may ask: Well, what does this have to do with contemporary literature??? Allow me to give you a long-winded response.

As much as I like to think of myself bursting forth from the womb with Wuthering Heights in hand, I know that this is not the case because of it being physically impossible. While growing up, my mom certainly had a large influence in my reading and what I read. I do not want to discredit her, however, I think majority of the credit goes to school. I know that school, in essence, forces its students to read. And through that reading, we are encouraged to go out and read some more. I was not the huge nerd I am now. It was really in high school that I embraced reading and sought it out. I was introduced to Shakespeare and went through a phase thinking that I was the smartest 14 year old because I had read "King Lear," on my own! An author enjoyed was an author sought in bookstores. Teachers recommended other books to me. I felt cool being able to talk to my elders and reference books in conversation.

Since college, this relationship with professors has continued, albeit in a less personal fashion. When a professor refers to a book and looks hopefully at the students expecting at least one person to know the book they are talking about and I can't be that student, I am disappointed. I put that book on my list. And again, reading in class leads me to read more outside of class. Learning about the effects that books from the past have had is immensely important. Truly great books that are written today, no doubt, have been influenced by these pieces of literature.

So, to try and sum up my long point, the fact that the English major is on the decline is directly indicative of the poor book choices made by the masses. A look at any bestseller list can tell you that. And I sort of understand. Perhaps when these business majors have had a hard day on Wall Street, they want to come home and watch TV, play video games, go on the interwebs, or whatever. The act of turning a page, and allowing ones' eyes to skim past letters, is intelligent enough on its own and should be celebrated. Maybe I should not lament the words read or the crappy books published.

But the English major in me says that that is all wrong. But, I suppose I am a dying breed and contemporary literature will continue to decline in quality as it panders to those who don't see the "use" in the study of humanities.

Ah, woe is me:

Something Twilight Related that Doesn't Suck

Don't let the title of this post alarm you. I have not abandoned my sanity. I am talking about Harvard Lampoon's new book Nightlight, which is a parody of the series.

Now, I am not normally one to judge a book by its cover, but I must say that this looks quite promising:

Let me tell you a little bit about the book. The main character's name is Bella Goose (loosely based on Twilight character Bella Swan). The romantic interest is Edwart Mullen (not to be confused with Edward Cullen). Here is an excerpt from the book, which like the series it parodies, is written from Bella's point of view:

About three things I was absolutely certain, First, Edwart was most likely my soul mate, maybe. Second, there was a vampire part of him—which I assumed was wildly out of his control—that wanted me dead. And third, I unconditionally, irrevocably, impenetrably, heterogeneously, gynecologically, and disreputably wished he had kissed me.

Just so you all can appreciate the hilarity of this excerpt, here is the passage from Twilight, on which it is clearly based:

About three things I was certain. First, Edward Cullen was a vampire. Second, there was a part of him, and I don't know how dominant that part might be, that thirsted for my blood. And third, I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him.

Stephenie Meyer, you have found your match.

While I am rejoicing over this book (which, will be coming out November 3rd, so mark your calendars), there are some who are hesitant. Harvard freshman, Pamela M. Rosario Perez, was quoted in the Harvard Crimson, saying

I hope the Lampoon does it in good taste, or else they will offend a lot of ‘Twilight’ fans.

Yeah, because that's what they are really worried about. Offending a bunch of people who have a sad, sad obsession with perhaps the most ridiculous series ever written. The people that get into Harvard these days...

And The Award Goes To

Listen up, kids! Serious stuff is going down. Not only do we have a Booker Prize winner for 2009, but the Nobel Laureate for Literature for the year was also just announced! Oh, you didn't hear about it? Yeah, neither did I. And I actually enjoy literature, so that's super embarrassing. I should be all over this! I mean, I eventually hear about the Nobel Laureate prize and pick up the book at Barnes and Noble, think about buying it, but inevitably make my way over to the Classics section. However, I have never heard of the Man Booker Prize and it's apparently like the Oscars of the book world. Nothing to scoff at. So, here I go again with another contemporary issue, why aren't these things being covered in the news? Why don't these awards have some absurd ceremony with Joey Fatone and Lisa Rinna annoyingly interviewing the attendees prior to the ceremony on a big red carpet? I know the answer to this question: people just don't give a rat's ass about good books that are being acknowledged.

The point here is that there are good books being published, but they are hard to find behind that giant Twilight display that no doubt plagues many bookstores. I am guilty of turning my back on contemporary literature because of my frustrations with it. But, perhaps contemporary literature is not bad at all. Perhaps I should point my anger towards the publishing industry for not only allowing sub-pars to be published, but to feverishly push for them. Publishers have strayed from their initial use, which I have always thought to be putting out good works for the world to see and appreciate. Now it seems the key is to make money and pander to a lower IQ, rather than maybe increase a person's intelligence and thinking capability.

I felt I needed to acknowledge the fact that there are great books being published today and these books are being recognized within the larger literary community, but it seems that such a community has become too high brow for the rest of us to even recognize or know about. So, in the end: are these books truly being recognized for their literary achievements?

Not Totally Surprised

A report has come out stating what we probably already know: British people read more than Americans.

Not only do they read more, but they basically read real books as as oppose to Americans who:

tend to enjoy romance and mystery titles most

Also known as: CRAP. This does not bode well for the American image. I really don't want Americans to be stupid. And I'm not saying that there aren't stupid British people even though their accent makes us think otherwise. However, I think we can all agree that America, on the whole, is the weird, kind of vacuous cousin of whom Britain is ashamed to admit relation.

Another issue addressed in the report, Americans don't go to bookstores. We prefer to sit on our couch, in our underwear, probably belching loudly whilst ordering some Jodi Picoult novels online. [Because who needs real society when the internet is just as good?]:

in America the internet is the top way to buy books.

And I am guilty of buying books online, but in my defense it isn't because I don't want to go to a bookstore, rather, the bookstores just don't carry the books I'm looking for, thus forcing me to order online. [I recently went on a feverish search for Cicero's On Obligations, calling every bookstore in a 10 mile radius... all had no idea what the hell I was talking about]. Smaller bookstores are going out of business. I myself have lost a great small bookstore. These are probably the places that would have carried some Cicero, but alas, this is the world we are living in now.

Call me old-fashioned, but I think reading a good book (that is not a "Mystery" not a "Romance" or The Bible) may actually increase our overall thinking capacity. And maybe if the country had read more, we could have avoided this 8 year catastrophe:

The Time Has Come

...for me to do a full blown Twilight post.

Where to begin? I guess I should address the fact that I have read the whole series. And I did so very quickly. Whenever I try to discuss how terrible the series is, my sister points out that I read them on my own accord. And she's right. I did read the whole fricken' series. And, this is hard to say, I was thoroughly entertained. Being entertained by trash isn't bad, as long as you know it's trash, and maybe you can even inscribe yourself in an academic discourse that surrounds said trash. So, my issue stems from the fact that it is not recognized as purely embarrassing entertainment by most of its readers.

It is disgustingly popular. Fans have no shame! They buy shirts from Hot Topic declaring their love for the series. [I should mention that Hot Topic actually increased revenue in the fourth quarter, thanks to their Twilight products]. Fans swarm the internet replaying the supposed nuances of Bella's relationships (as if the book even has nuances). I've mentioned Twilight Lexicon before. If you really want to feel depressed about the state of the world, check out their discussion forum. There's also a notorious fan known as Nutty Madam who provides enough second-hand embarrassment in her videos to last a lifetime. Or you can check out this fan site. How about this one? There's even a site dedicated to ranking Twilight blogs! MY GOD THERE ARE SO MANY OF THEM:



Let's put the literary merit of the series aside, I don't think that any piece of literature should inspire such unhealthy obsession. But, there is something that has to be addressed here. Whether I want to admit it or not, Stephenie Meyer tapped into something. And that is quite frightening. What is even more disturbing is the fact that the fans are comprised almost entirely of females.

Allow me to just lay out the very basic facts. Edward Cullen stalks her. He goes into her bedroom at night and watches her sleep. Bella is aware of this as they start "dating," but isn't too freaked out by it. Edward is rather aggressive in his "protecting" of Bella. For example, he has his sister kidnap her and keep watch over her for a weekend because Edward is out of town. Edward takes the engine out of her car, making sure that Bella can't visit her werewolf friend Jacob. After their honeymoon night, Bella wakes up covered in bruises. I guess Edward is pretty rough in his love-making. These are just the big, in-your-face examples. Going below the surface is far more troubling. It's hardly an ideal relationship.

Now, Bella herself is not a strong female character or role model for young women. She essentially gives up her entire life and well-being for this vampire dude. When Edward breaks up with her, Bella basically cannot live. In fact, we don't even get to see what Bella is doing without a man in her life because Stephenie Meyer dramatically passes through those months. We can only assume that she was tortured and depressed. Because really, what else would she be up to when her boyfriend of a few months has broken up with her? Bella only feels slightly better when she hangs out with Jacob. She really is nobody without a male counterpart. She marries after high school graduation, which is just weird. I'm sorry, but the thought of getting married fresh out of high school is laughable. It's not like this is the Middle Ages where our life expectancy was 40. Geez. She then has a crazy ass vampire spawn baby, at the age of 18. Apparently, Edward being a vampire does not hinder his baby-making abilities.

These are just the surface facts of the book. I don't even have the energy to delve into the book's psyche and how messed up it really is. So, the problem is not that the books are being read, or even that they are making a lot of money. The problem is how they are being received. I managed to walk away from the books and look back on them critically. But, many readers don't do that. They allow themselves to be taken over by the craze. The sexism that runs rampant throughout the novel is starting to permeate into female mind. And that is what's most disturbing of all.

Bestseller Lists Make Me Want to Cry

So, I was looking through the many many bestseller lists on the NYTimes website. [Can we just have one bestseller list?] It always makes me melancholy to see the kind of crap people are reading. Or more importantly, the kind of crap people are continually reading, week after goddamn week.
Case in point:
These are the Paperback Non-Fiction Bestsellers. All I can say is I feel sorry for the authors of Three Cups of Tea for being the meat of that crap sandwich they are in. First of all, Glenn Beck is an ass. I don't care what your political backgrounds are, that guy is just a jackass. It's depressing that people believe that this guy has any political gravitas and buy into the hatred that he spews. Although, I am just saying that based on what I've heard him say, and I haven't actually read any of his books. Maybe he is actually a logical, decent being in writing...

Now, let's move on to the colossal douchebag that is Tucker Max. I mean, do we even need to discuss it when he has a name like that? Why doesn't he just change it to Turdy McDouche? I actually have read a bit of that book. And it's essentially a glorified 30 year old frat guy talking about being an alcoholic misogynist and LOVING IT! Yay for sexism!

I know nothing about Three Cups of Tea, but just the short description makes it seem sort of bestseller worthy. However, it's hard for me to praise one possibly good book being on the bestseller list when its surrounded by stuff that sucks. It's like one piece of chocolate in a pile of crap... you can't really tell it apart and the overall smell is pretty horrendous.

For shame, book buyers. FOR SHAME.

My Eyes Love Nothing More Than The Glare From A Screen

Kindles, ebookmachines, and Google books are all the rage now. But will this fad last? And is it "book kosher"?

This topic has made its rounds on the book blogs. So, that means it's a big deal, people.

And... I'm not sure how I feel about this whole futuristic machine thingy. Frankly, it makes me think of robots... and I don't like robots. [Has Terminator taught us nothing?]

But, there are some things that we need to consider. On one hand, I hate lugging my books around campus (damn you Norton Anthology!), so Kindle looks like a hottie in a mini-black dress in comparison. I also don't have money, so Google Books looks free, therefore awesome in comparison.

However, I can't forget that each book has its own feel with its own special pages. There is nothing more satisfying than turning a page and seeing your physical progress. Or putting the book down after reading it. It feels like such an accomplishment! [Yay literacy!]

I think my favorites Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell said it best: Ain't nothin' like the real thing.
And since they sing that phrase with such conviction and great harmony, I think I will stick with the real thing:

Summer Reading

Many people often like to think of the summer time as an opportunity to take a break from the arduous reading done during the academic year. I know I do, but I generally take the time to catch up on reading older books, in order to better my literary palette. But, perhaps I am the only one who takes the time to do that. Cosmopolitan Magazine had a nice little spread recommending books to read:

Smarter girls have better sex lives, according to a recent study. Boost your brain — and your libido — with these must-reads.

While I may consider Moll Flanders to be a sexy sexy book written in the 1700s [see image below], I highly doubt others would agree let alone pick it up for some fun, Summer reading.
So, this past Summer I decided to read something contemporary after reading a couple of oldies, but goodies (Moll Flanders and Dracula). When I visited an old high school English teacher, I asked him for a recommendation, he handed me The Lovely Bones.

It took me approximately three minutes to read. Very engaging, but I found myself pissed off by the tacky writing. I felt like the author, Alice Sebold, was trying so, so hard to be profound throughout the book and that shown through more than the actual characters. The plot itself was interesting: the idea of a dead girl viewing her family and friends from heaven after dying. That alone is interesting. But after a while, the plot twists were just too much. And I could do nothing but scoff at the last line of the novel:

I wish you a long and happy life

Really now? Really? Can we please have some crackers with that ginormous hunk of cheese? The characters lives ended up so neatly packaged to a degree that was just too much for me. I know I am behind the times, since this novel came out in 2002, but it was a book so well received by sources that are supposedly hard to appeal to. Just look at the Amazon page for the book, which has soundbites from these sources. The New Yorker said

the book remains a stunning achievement

Ugh! This just goes back to my frustration with contemporary literature. We are so caught up in the idea of a story that writing and deeper meaning just are thrown out the window. The Lovely Bones was not good writing. It oozed with cheesiness (and while I am a big fan of cheese, this kind left me with indigestion), but it was an interesting concept for a story and that is what we will focus on.

When I went back to my high school teacher, I expressed my sincere discontent with the novel. And he agreed that it wasn't very good. And then we spent the next thirty minutes talking about what was wrong with it...

But, I suppose that is what Summer reading is for. A time to take in a sub par novel and enjoy the fast paced read. And I did enjoy how quickly it took me to read because I didn't waste much of my time and was able to jump back into classics, which apparently is where I feel most satisfied. And, let me tell you, after The Lovely Bones, Jane Eyre really was satisfying!

My Social Bookmarking Soulmate

... because who needs a "real" soulmate when Delicious offers a virtual one! HUZZAH interwebs!

So, I was on a quest to find a soulmate who shared my interest in reading. Seemed like it would be an easy task. I mean, everyone LOVES to read, right? Eh... not exactly. At least, not as feverishly as I do.

Prior to starting this blog, I was seriously searching for a blog on books that was good. And by good I mean, not just a blog of book reviews, or a blog dedicated to everything related to Twilight (I'm looking at you, crazy people at Twilight Lexicon). Sad to say, but Google let me down. All the popular book blogs I found focused on giving reviews. There is much more to the vast world of books and publishing than reviews. So, in searching for a soulmate, I was also searching for someone who was a little more book blog savvy. Or to be blunt, just more internet search savvy.

And my search was not in vain! I started my search by seeing who had also tagged my currently favorite book blog, The Book Bench. And sadly, only 50 of the 5 million delicious users had tagged this site. Although, it made my soulmate searching much easier. As I looked at the various users' other bookmarks, I soon realized that many probably just stumbled on the blog, or liked it for some reason or another, but weren't that interested in books per se. I also found a lot users who seemed to be teachers, which is cool and all, but not exactly soulmate material.

Alas, I was disheartened by these dead ends. But, after my journey through delicious, I found the user eniale. We haven't formerly met yet and I think the fact that I can't pronounce their username will not bode well. However, what's great about this whole social bookmarking thing is that they never have to even know we are social bookmark soulmates. I can just merely stalk this person and the interesting sites they tag without them ever knowing it. [The Internet: Where Stalking Is Totally Cool].

This user isn't particular wordy in their descriptions or tags. The words "book," "literature," and "blog" seem to suffice. [I wasn't looking for a conversationalist, anyway.]

Here are a couple of pretty sweet sites I found from eniale. Words Without Borders is a site dedicated to alerting an English speaking audience to some nifty foreign books that have English translations. These are books I probably would never have heard of were it not for seeing this site. We have all read Camus, Cervantes, Marquez, and other foreign what-have-yous, but the books on this site are contemporary! Turns out, books are still written in languages other than English! WHAT? Took me by surprise too, but you learn something new everyday.

Another site tagged by my newly found soulmate: Campaign for the American Reader (apparently there are several readers who happen to be American!). This is a blog that I wholeheartedly support. Essentially, the blog is just trying to get Americans to read books. And good ones at that. ["at least they are reading any book" argument be damned!] In essence, it is a blog that reviews novels, but the purpose behind the blog makes it pretty awesome in my book (check out that pun action).

I'm not really into the whole social bookmarking thing or even the internet for that matter. Had it not been an assignment for a class, I would never have checked out delicious or gone on a ridiculous search for a 'soulmate,' but I must say that I am intrigued by what I have found. I suppose the internet has more to offer than facebook and pornography...

Robert Langdon Is Caught Up In All Sorts of Tomfoolery, Again...

So... Dan Brown has recently published his latest fluff novel, this one entitled The Lost Symbol (we can only hope that Robert Langdon finds the symbol after pissing off conservative Christians). It broke records for an adult novel by selling the most copies on its first day (keep in mind that Harry Potter is not an adult novel). The book is 510 pages, yet one woman managed to read it all in 41 minutes and 55 seconds. Now, I'm not quite sure that the fact that this book was read so quickly indicates that it is a piece of literary treasure. No, actually I know it is not a piece of treasure (literary or otherwise). This book is probably full of the crappy yet addictive writing that makes a Dan Brown novel, so Dan Brown. Take this sentence from the first chapter for example:

He was sitting all alone in the enormous cabin of a Falcon 2000EX corporate jet as it bounced its way through turbulence. In the background, the dual Pratt & Whitney engines hummed evenly.

Just to be clear, there was "turbulence" on some ridiculously named plan, yet the engines "hummed evenly." OK...

I am not the only one to be bothered by his less than stable writing. Salman Rushdie laid down the best burn when saying that his books are

so bad that they give bad novels a bad name.

BOOYAH!

Stephen King said in a commencement address at University of Maine that Dan Brown's novels are

the intellectual equivalent of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese.

I like that analogy. Dan Brown novels are like Mac and Cheese. Most people LOVE Mac and Cheese, despite its questionable nutritious content. [What the hell is tripolyphosphate?] We scarf it down within MINUTES when it's presented to us (most likely in the blue bowl made famous from the commercials). Perhaps we even go for seconds. But, we know that Mac and Cheese isn't good for us as much as we want it to be. It is a nice little treat when you are drunk, you have nothing else edible, or you are just plan lazy, but we all know it should not be the dietary standard. The Lost Symbol is full of empty calories. But, sadly for the world, it seems we prefer to gorge ourselves on this kind of book rather than the more 'nutritious' books that remain untouched on bookshelves. [Note: It's been IMPOSSIBLE for me to find a book by Cicero in any Barnes and Noble bookstore in my surrounding area, yet Dan Brown gets to have a fricken' book display. How the times have changed...]

Trifecta

Hello Post
This is a blog about the state of contemporary literature. As a huge bookworm, I have some qualms about what is published and considered legitimate literature today. When reading a modern book highly recommended to me, I often find myself muttering about the lack of real substance or (more importantly) the lack of decent writing. It has become clear to me that, as consumers of books, the collective "we" prefer an interesting story above excellent writing and deeper meaning.

Firstly, I want to note that there is plenty of contemporary literature that has the writing and complexities that make a great book. However, these aren't the books on bestseller lists. And, I should also point out that I even enjoy some bestseller books; I am often entertained and appreciate the fast read. However, I am trying to look at the way in which most people in our society regard these books. I think it is highly probably that I am in the minority when saying that the Harry Potter series isn't a great piece of literature with complex deeper meanings. I wouldn't even call the series literature--I would call it entertainment. I have read the whole series and enjoyed them, but to call it my favorite of all time is nonsensical to me. [I can only hope that die-hard fans won't come and beat me up via the interwebs.]

A truly amazing book is one that forces you to think on a deeper level and in a different way. Perhaps it makes you ponder something you never had before, or see certain aspects of society in a new light. Popular literature, on the other hand, provides an escape from these sometimes troubling thoughts.

Any blog discussing the subject of modern literature cannot ignore the ridiculous trend of the Twilight series. What is most fascinating about this series is not that it is popular despite its seriously horrible writing, but that it has become an obsession for so many people. Many popular books suffer from the overuse of a thesaurus and overall bad writing, but very few have inspired such fanatic devotion as Twilight. Harry Potter comes close, but the more ludicrous fans manage to stay underground, whereas Twilight seems to make every fan absurd in their adoration. There is a plethora [SAT word at work] to be said about this series and the impact it has had on our society, and more importantly, the impact it has had on young women (even older women) and their definition of an "ideal" relationship.

Now, it's important to recognize that not only do novels/ fantasy books make it on bestseller lists, but an entire other genre hits the bestseller lists en masse: the memoir. Published memoirs are often later shockingly discovered as being fiction, or at least fictionalized (this revelation generally takes place on "The Oprah Winfrey" show). This is a fairly recent phenomenon that interests me. The example I turn to is James Frey's A Million Little Pieces. He had taken this book as a novel to several publishing houses, but it was rejected. Once he called it a memoir, it was picked up and went on to sell millions of copies. The book is a fascinating and engaging story, but the writing is mediocre and there's not much below the surface. Yet, why was it rejected as a novel, but celebrated as a memoir? What is it about the aspect of reality that we, as a society, favor?

In essence, I am disappointed with the literature that is published today. I am more disappointed with the literature that makes the bestseller lists, as that is an indication of what our culture craves (aside from French Fries).

Profile of a Blog
The blog on Bookslut.com is rife with personality and humor. As far as I can see there are three bloggers, two of which are males and the other is possibly a female (is Jessa a male or female name?). They do not have any profiles stating who they are or what they do. I have gathered that one of the bloggers is a teacher of some sort of workshop... perhaps writing? This is the only semblance of experience within the literary world that I can find. However, all the bloggers manage to do a good job reviewing books and alerting other book lovers to publishing news. They just happen to do so under the reliable umbrella of humor. [insert fart joke]

I had never heard of this blog before working on my own. In fact, I had never heard of any book blog, I just assumed they existed. I found out about Bookslut on a "Top 10 Literary Blogs" list on Forbes.com (I, myself, would like to find the list of the "Top 10 Blogs About Another Blog," but nothing has come up yet...)

Once on the site, I immediately noticed that they depend heavily on linking within their blog post. An entire blog post may just be a link (such as: "I want to fuck this blog post so hard.") They may not tell you where the link leads you, but just rely on the fact that you will click on that link in order to better understand their comments. They link to articles, interviews, and even other blog posts (above) that relate to books (so far, no links to pornography).

Each blogger has their own personality. They each mention little things about themselves, as they are reviewing/mentioning a book. [Michael likes the song Apple Bottom Jeans... should he be shunned? I say yes.] Often times, rather than doing a thorough review they just mention a book they are reading and state that they are loving it. To me, this indicates that their audience is probably fast paced and young (I don't think older people, like my mom, would appreciate the cursing or fully comprehend how the links fit into the post). The readers don't want a full out review, just little snippets of what the bloggers think.

They do try to hone in on specifics, so the reader can find what they are looking for. One blogger, Jessa, compiled a list for their readers:

If you believe that cell phones are not just annoying but might bring down civilization itself, man, do I have some books for you.

Some posts go beyond just mentioning books, but also publishing news. The blogger, Michael, made this small post:

Publishers love them some dead authors. Probably because they don't complain about being edited or freak the hell out when they get a late royalty check or a negative review.

The blog works in highlighting all sorts of different books and book news. It will help me in filtering through publishing news that will be appropriate for my blog. While Bookslut may not be particularly academic or feed exactly into what I am doing, I find it very entertaining. I'm actually glad that I haven't found a blog that is exactly what I plan on doing because it makes me at least feel original (even though I'm probably not).

I will end this with a small post from Bookslut written by the sexually ambiguous Jessa (seriously, male or female?) and it just so happens to be my favorite.

Katie Roiphe is controversial. She's been controversial ever since she made a name for herself in 1993 with "The Morning After," a critique of anti-date-rape feminism.
As opposed to pro-date-rape feminism.

Voice Analysis
Macy Halford blogs for The New Yorker, automatically making her not only better, but cooler than the rest of us. According to her short bio, she was a "nanny" before getting this sweet gig. [For whom was she nannying and how do I apply?]

Halford's voice oozes with sarcasm like it's her job (maybe it is a part of her blog contract).

In one particular post, she discusses the influx of writing communities within Pittsburgh, which is a concept that is already absurd there really is very little need for sarcasm. Nonetheless, Halford uses it well.

The title of the post is "The Hills Are Alive." These words, inevitably, cause every person to go watch The Sound of Music before continuing on with the rest of the post. [If you didn't do that, then you are most likely a robot.] She immediately continues the blog with same The Sound of Music theme, except that she refers to the hills of Pittsburgh, and unfortunately for the readers, they are not alive with the sound of music. Rather, the hills of Pittsburgh are alive with the sound of "an indie literary revolution." She successfully destroyed The Sound of Music theme with which she started. However, it makes sense for the rest of the post. In going against the grain of the lyrics of the song, she is setting a tone. She's talking about something that isn't obvious, well known, or will cause a uniform response from all that are reading.

She goes on to portray the attitude of the movement:

If twee could be edgy, that might describe it.

The word "twee" definitely alienates a particular audience. Only people who know that word will continue reading, softly chuckling to themselves as they push their hipster glasses onto the bridge of their nose. [I, myself, happen to know the word and felt naked without hipster glasses].

She lists the names of a few of the literary journals/ small publishers populating Pittsburgh. My personal favorites: Debutante Hair, Air and Nothingness, and Unicorn Mountain. Each name she listed links to their uber hip websites. She then asks her readers:

Aren't these names beautiful?

That's not the word I would use. I would describe the names as indescribably indescribable.

She does, however end the post on a more serious note. While a writing movement in Pittsburgh makes most of us think that New York city with its infinite supply of coffee shops and bookstores would be a better locale, Halford states that:

It's an amazingly complex place, in terms of both culture and landscape.

So, maybe Pittsburgh is not as romantic as New York City with its Strand Bookstore, but it can offer something just as worthwhile.

In a different post, she maintains a sarcastic tone throughout as she throws a couple punches at the New York Times Book Review. The post revolves around some poorly chosen words in the headlines. She introduces the issue by saying that things weren't:

looking good for the entire family, as these headlines attest:

The image is just the icing on the cake. A screen-cap of the NYTimes website is definitely necessary, otherwise I wouldn't have believed or truly appreciated the ridiculousness of such a combination of words. [Couldn't the NYTimes come up with another word for 'anguish,' just to spice it up a bit? After all, they are the fricken' New York Times and should have a thesaurus lying about! And, more importantly, why isn't there a father in anguish?]

One of the books is entitled The Lost Child: A Mother's Story. It's a memoir by Julie Myerson

in which she details her son Jake's drug addiction.

This book, apparently, has critics at The New Yorker

all in a tizzy

because the son (the one in anguish) was disgusted by his mother's memoir for exploiting his former drug problem. [To be fair, the mother did waddle around for nine months to produce this being, so I say she should be able to exploit him as much as she wants!]

The post comes full circle as she ends with another headline from Salon.com reviewing the Myerson book:

This is fucking bonkers, right?

Her thoughts on the Salon.com heading:

Now, that's a headline.

I'm not sure if Macy Halford has the qualifications to be critiquing books for the New Yorker considering that being a nanny doesn't properly prepare you for the role. [Although, I must admit the children's book, Spot by Eric Hill, has a lot of nuances. Such as, the surprise of flaps on every page!] Despite her questionable background experience for this job, I really enjoy her humor. But perhaps, I am partial to liking her. As a pretentious nerd, I love almost anything that is attached to the New Yorker. Whatever my reasons, I like the blog and I plan on wasting more of my future time reading it.

Comment on The Book Bench

This post dealt with the issue of classic children's books being transferred to the medium of film, so I decided to comment on it because it is an issue that I take very seriously.

I totally agree with everything you've said. I just don't think that Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs should have been made into a movie. The story doesn't really transfer well to the screen. But then again, I could probably have said the same thing about Where the Wild Things Are, but clearly when the material is put into the right hands it can work beautifully. I have yet to see either film, but Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs in not on my list of "Things I Want to Spend 10 Dollars On." Actually, very few things are on that list, but I am willing to give out the ten bucks for Where the Wild Things Are as it looks magical!

Next Up: The Apocalypse!

I didn't want to talk about Twilight so soon in my blog. I wanted to wait a bit before I do a full-blown post discussing how the series has increasingly decayed the intelligence of our society. And I will wait to do that full-blown post, but right now, I must address a pressing Twilight issue at hand:

That's right. HarperCollins is publishing Wuthering Heights with a Twilight theme attached. I can't deal with the absolute RIDICULOUSNESS of it all. In case you can't see well, there's a stamp on the book cover that reads: Bella & Edward's Favorite Book.

It then has the tagline: LOVE NEVER DIES.

Excuse me, I just threw up a bit in my mouth.

Twilight should not be used in the same sentence as Wuthering Heights (starting now). Unfortunately, these texts are often compared as equals. Last semester, I wrote an article for a newspaper on campus and sent it to a former high school teacher (I would link to the article, but that would reveal my "true" identity). She responded with:

I enjoyed the op ed piece so much that I'm printing it out to use next semester in A.P.! Students actually referenced Twilight (ugh!!!) when we were researching archetypes during Wuthering Heights. Talk about pop cultural allusions!

A.P. English is supposedly for intelligent students, yet Twilight has permeated into this intellectual space. Here's the serious issue here, Wuthering Heights is a real piece of literature that invokes some sort of thought process. Fans of Wuthering Heights can build discussions based purely on the biblical references that are sprinkled throughout the novel, whilst Twilight fans' generally refer to Twilight as a "great love story." Anything else you want to add to that? Are there any nuances that can seriously be considered positive? I, myself, could probably write a 10 page essay about Twilight, but it wouldn't really be about all the significant references that Stephenie Meyer's uses because there aren't any. Instead, my essay would be about how unintentionally misogynistic the book is and how it's popularity is a sad commentary on the state of our society. The point is, there really isn't anything literarily significant to say about the novel.

When reading about this atrocity, my jaw dropped (it's a medical condition) and I explained to my sister what was going on. Her response?

As long as it's getting people to read Wuthering Heights...

But, that is precisely my issue. We shouldn't have to "get people to read." Is this really the world we are living in? Can an amazing classic only be picked up by young individuals when its cover is plastered with images and words associated with a series that is so sub-par? Not only that, but I have a sneaking suspicion that Twilight fans won't quite understand that Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff's relationship is far from ideal. In fact, that was the major internal conflict for Catherine and Heathcliff. Their love for each other was past unhealthy (case in point when Catherine screams, "I am Heathcliff!"). If Twilight fans can so easily embrace the relationship between Edward and Bella as being absolute perfection, then they will most certainly have trouble understanding the subtleties of Catherine and Heathcliff's relationship.

What's even more upsetting to me is that the Galley Cat blog failed to discuss the blasphemy of associating these books together. Rather, Ron Hogan (the poster) decided to blather on about the style of the covers. He finds the UK cover (the one in the middle) most unappealing:

What's most wrong with the UK cover of Wuthering Heights is where it deviates from the Twilight model: ugly typeface, tiny ugly flower, and an ugly background that isn't sheer black

Seriously? It's really refreshing to see that voices in the literary world have their qualms in the proper place.

Well, if we are starting to judge a book by its cover then I think this would be the most appropriate way to end the post:

New Yorker Book Blog is Better Than You

Macy Halford blogs for The New Yorker, automatically making her not only better, but cooler than the rest of us. According to her short bio, she was a "nanny" before she got this sweet gig. (Who was she nannying for and how do I apply?)

Halford uses sarcasm in all of her posts. In one particular post, she rather backhandedly compliments Pittsburgh as having a great writing community.

The title of the post is "The Hills Are Alive." These words, inevitably, cause every person to go watch The Sound of Music before continuing on with the rest of the post. (If you didn't do that, then you are most likely a robot). She immediately continues the blog with the same Sound of the Music theme, except that she refers to the hills of Pittsburgh, and unfortunately for the readers, they are not alive with the sound of music. Rather the hills of Pittsburgh are alive with the sound of "an indie literary revolution." She successfully destroyed the Sound of the Music theme with which she started. But it makes sense for the rest of the post. In going against the grain of the lyrics of the song, she is setting a tone. She's talking about something that isn't obvious or well-known or will cause a uniform response from all that are reading.

She goes on to describe the movement:

If twee could be edgy; that might describe it.

The word "twee" definitely alienates a particular audience. Only people who know that word will continue reading, softly chuckling to themselves as they push their hipster glasses onto the bridge of their nose. (I, myself, happen to know the word and felt naked without hipster glasses).

She lists the names of a few of the literary journals/ small publishers populating Pittsburgh. My personal favorites: Debutante Hair, Air and Nothingness, and Unicorn Mountain. Each name she listed links to their uber hip websites. She then asks her readers:

Aren't these names beautiful?

That's not the word I would use describing the names. I would describe them as indescribable.

In another post, she throws a couple punches at the Times Book Review. Her blog revolves around some poorly chosen words in the headlines. She states that things weren't

looking good for the entire family, as these headlines attest:

She showed this image, so readers could truly appreciate the ridiculousness of a such a combination of titles:

(Couldn't the NYTimes come up with another word for anguish, just to spice it up a bit? And, more importantly, why isn't there a father in anguish?)

As later revealed in the post, one of the books (entitled The Lost Child: A Mother’s Story by Julie Myerson) has reviewers

"all in a tizzy"

because the son (the one in anguish) hated on his mother's memoir for exploiting his former drug problem.

The blog comes full circle as she ends with another headline from Salon.com reviewing the Myerson book:

This is fucking bonkers, right?

Her thoughts on this headline:

Now, that's a headline.

Her observations and sarcastic humor definitely appeal to me. But, then again, I'm pretentious and therefore, predisposed to love anything with the New Yorker attached to it.

Profile of Blog: Bookslut

The blog on www.bookslut.com is rife with personality and humor. As far as I can see there are three bloggers, two of which are males and the other is possibly a female (is Jessa a male or female name?). They do not have any profiles stating who they are or what they do. I have gathered that one of the bloggers is a teacher of some sort of workshop… perhaps writing? All the bloggers manage to do a pretty good job reviewing books and alerting other book lovers to publishing news. They just happen to do so under the reliable umbrella of humor.

I had never heard of this blog before working on my own. In fact, I had never heard of any book blog, I just assumed they existed. I found out about the blog on a “Top 10 Literary Blogs” list on Forbes.com (I, myself, would like to find the list of the “Top Ten Blogs About a Blog,” but nothing has come up yet…)

They depend heavily on linking within their blog post. An entire blog post may just be a sentence of their commentary that is referring to a link (such as this post: “I want to fuck this blog post so hard.”) They may not tell you where the link leads you to, but just rely on the fact that you will click on that link to better understand their comments. They link to articles, interviews, and even other blog posts that relate to books.

Each blogger has its own personality and specialty. They each mention little things about themselves as they are reviewing/mentioning a book. Often times, rather than doing a thorough review they just mention a book they are reading and that they are loving it. To me, this indicates that their audience is probably fast paced and young. (I don’t think older people, like my mom, would appreciate the cursing or fully comprehend how the links fit into the post). The readers don’t want a full out review, just little snippets of what the bloggers think. I have yet to read a negative review of/ shout-out to a book, so the bloggers probably don’t like wasting their time on books they don’t like.

They do try to hone in on specifics, so the reader can find what they are looking for. One blogger, Jessa, compiled a list for its readers:

“If you believe that cell phones are not just annoying but might bring down civilization itself, man, do I have some books for you.” (http://www.bookslut.com/blog/archives/2009_08.php#015038 )

They don’t just refer to books, but also publishing news. The blogger, Michael, made this small post:

“Publishers love them some dead authors. Probably because they don't complain about being edited or freak the hell out when they get a late royalty check or a negative review.”

While this blog may not be particularly academic or feed exactly into what I am doing, I find it very entertaining and fun. It will help me in highlighting publishing news that I can probably use in my blog. Honestly, I’m glad that I haven’t found a blog that is exactly what I plan on doing because it makes me at least feel original (even if I’m not).

I will end this post with a small post from bookslut that just happens to be my favorite. The blogger, Jessa, is quoting the first sentence of an article and ending the post with his/her own quite humorous commentary:

Katie Roiphe is controversial. She's been controversial ever since she made a name for herself in 1993 with "The Morning After," a critique of anti-date-rape feminism.

As opposed to pro-date-rape feminism.

Contemporary Writing: Not Exactly Literature

This is a blog about the state of contemporary literature. As a huge bookworm, I have some qualms about what is published and considered legitimate literature today. When reading a modern book highly recommended to me, I often find myself muttering about the lack of real substance or (more importantly) the lack of good writing. It has become clear to me that, as consumers of books, the collective “we” prefer an interesting story above good writing and deeper meaning.

Firstly, I want to note that I do enjoy a great deal of contemporary literature; I am often entertained and appreciate a fast read. However, I am trying to look at the way in which most people in our society regard these books. I think it is highly probable that I am in the minority when saying that the Harry Potter series isn’t a great piece of literature with complex deeper meanings. I wouldn’t even call the series literature – I would call it entertainment. I have read the whole series and enjoyed them, but to call it my favorite of all time is nonsensical to me.

In my opinion, a truly great book is one that makes you think on a deeper level and in a different way. Perhaps it makes you ponder something you never had before, or see certain aspects of society in a new light. These are just a few of the many qualities of legitimate literature, as oppose to literature that serves no purpose beyond pure entertainment.

A phenomenon that interests me is the issue of published memoirs that are later shockingly discovered as being fiction, or at least fictionalized. The example I turn to is James Frey’s A Million Little Pieces. He had taken this book as a novel to several publishing houses, but it was rejected. Once he called it a memoir, it was picked up and went on to sell millions of copies. The book is a fascinating story, but the writing is mediocre and there’s not much below the surface. To be fair, it was an engaging read. Yet, why was it rejected as a novel, but celebrated as a memoir? What is it about the aspect of reality that we, as a society, favor? This is something I intend to delve into further.

Any blog discussing the subject of modern literature cannot ignore to the ridiculous trend of the Twilight series. What is most fascinating about this series is not that it is popular despite its seriously horrible writing, but that it has become an obsession for so many people. Many popular books have horrible writing, but very few have inspired such fanatic devotion. Harry Potter comes close, but the more ludicrous fans managed to stay underground, whereas Twilight seems to make every fan absurd in their adoration. There is much to be said about this series and the impact it has on our society, and more importantly, the impact it has had on young women (even older women) and their definition of an “ideal” relationship.

These are just a few of the subjects I hope to elaborate on. In essence, I am disappointed with the literature that is published. I am more disappointed with the literature that makes the bestseller lists, as that is an indication of what our culture craves. There is much to be said about these cravings and what we find entertaining.