abcreads

Monday, October 18, 2010

It's a Magical Realist World After All

"One guideline (just a guideline, not a rule) for distinguishing magical realism from other types of fantasy is that in magical realism, no one controls the magic; there are no wizards. Magic just happens, much like the weather. Magical realism is often intentionally vague, and (as in Kafka's The Metamorphosis) it can be hard to determine if the protagonist actually is experiencing magical transformations, or if he's just going insane. To sum it up, magical realism is a story that takes place in an ordinary setting (this excludes futuristic space colonies, lost ancient cities et al.), where extraordinary or even impossible things are viewed as normal and thus, nobody really bothers to explain why such things happen. "
~from TVTropes.org

In November, the Cherry Hills Library Book Discussion Group will be talking about one of my favorite novels, One Hundred Years of Solitude (Cien años de soledad) by Gabriel García Márquez. This book is a famous example of what is called the "magical realism" school of literature. I hadn't given it much thought before, but after talking it over with my co-workers who run the book group, I realized I am actually a fan of magical realism in fiction. Why do I like it so much? I enjoy reading fantasy novels, with their elaborately created worlds, but sometimes I just enjoy stories of everyday life that are slightly askew. I like to imagine that there could be magic mixed in the mundane day-to-day, that there is a deeper world than one I could see-often delightful, sometimes frightening. I read One Hundred Years of Solitude back in college, but I still like to suspend my disbelief once in a while. Here are some more of my favorite magically realistic titles, in no particular order:

Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison

Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel

The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende

Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie

The Mistress of Spices by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

Dona Flor & Her Two Husbands by Jorge Amado

Magic for Beginners by Kelly Link

The Girl in the Flammable Skirt: Stories by Aimee Bender

For more about magical realism, check out these online resources:

Margin-exploring modern magical realism online

What is Magical Realism?

Magical Realism: Definitions

A new look at old books: "100 Years of Solitude"

Top 10 Magical Realism Movies

Magic Realism: A Problem

Token magical realism is a cheap trick

Salman Rushdie on magical realism

Magical Realism in a Nutshell from Oprah

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Links of Note

Are you a J.D. Salinger fan? Check out Dead Caulfields, a site dedicated to the life and works of J.D. Salinger. Latest posts include rare Salinger footage & Joyce Maynard on Salinger's death. A Salinger biography by site founder Kenneth Slawenski is due out in 2011.

Prizes:

Visit the site the National Book Foundation website to see the 2010 National Book Award nominees.
National Book Award v. the Man Booker Prize: read an article here. Also, an older (but still interesting) history of judgiing for the Booker Prize is available here.

California's Huntington Library-one of the most beautiful sites in the world-has opened an exhibition about Charles Bukowski.

Nelson Mandela's new memoir, Conversations with Myself, has just been released. Put a hold on a copy today! The Omnivoracious blog says the book "delves into his private archive of letters, private recordings, and diaries--including those he kept during 27 years in prison, recording everything from his blood pressure to the content of his dreams".

Monday, October 11, 2010

10 in '10-Reading New Mexico

The Clovis Incident by Pari Noskin Taichert

In conjunction with the Cherry Hils Library Mystery Book Group (1st Tuesday of the month, 6 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. ...all are welcome to attend!), we recently read The Clovis Incident. This book is the first in a series Ms. Taichert has written & we were lucky enough to have the author in person at the book discussion group!

The book was an Agatha Award finalist for Best First Novel & Tony Hillerman said The Clovis Incident had a "Great plot idea, well developed (and interesting) characters, lots of action, & best of all, Pari Noskin Taichert is a skilled & witty writer." We found it fun to read about places we recognized & had visited-in other novels amateur detective Sasha Solomon, a PR consultant, goes to Belen & Socorro. The Clovis Incident was full of references to Roswell & UFOs, which is always an entertaining topic. If you like quirky characters & humor, this cozy mystery may be right up your alley!

Pari Noskin Taichert is currently "working on the 4th Sasha book and...starting a new series featuring Darnda Jones, a singularly misanthropic and quirky psychic". Her advice to aspiring writers is: "Read. Write. Learn to edit yourself well. Learn to accept constructive criticism. Don’t be afraid to revise and rewrite. Let your work breathe and ripen before you send it out. Never, ever, give up."

Saturday, October 9, 2010

The Girl Who: The Millennium Trilogy on abcreads book banter

First off, the news: according to the L.A. Times, Stieg Larsson's father & brother will be on CBS Sunday Morning (tomorrow!) to talk about Millennium Book #4! Don't miss it!

But back to our book banter forums. We have a new section called "The Millennium Trilogy" for you to write about all things Stieg Larsson-the books; the movies; the new biography of Larsson, The Man Who Left Too Soon; Reg Keeland of Albuquerque, Stieg Larsson's English translator; the author himself; the tour of Salander's Sweden; Larsson's disputed legacy... Love the books? Hate the books? Let us know your opinions on our forums! Here are some articles to give you something to talk about (may contain spoilers):

The Girl Who Read Enough of Stieg Larsson

The Stieg Larsson Phenomenon

The Original Stieg Larsson

Göran Lindberg and Sweden's dark side

The World of Millennium (includes a plug from the 2010 Nobel Prize Winner for Literature!)

"The Author Who Played With Fire" by Christopher Hitchens

"Stieg Larsson’s Heir? Camilla Läckberg"

Stieg Larsson's biographer Barry Forshaw explains what makes the Millennium Trilogy such a worldwide phenomenon:

Happy 70th Birthday, John Lennon!

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Unhappy Hour

Here at abcreads, occasionally we hit a dry patch thinking of subjects to blog about. Then we start looking at History.com's "What Happened Today in History" or the New York Times' "On This Day" or other such sources for inspiration-which led us to Edgar Allan Poe. We thought October 7th was his birthday. Unfortunately, it's the anniversary of the day he died, which is not something we tend to blog about.

However, it's almost Halloween, it's Poe, & the Poe Museum in Richmond, Virginia, has some interesting celebrations this month! On October 7th, they're celebrating a Poe Memorial Service, which they claim puts "the 'fun' back in 'funeral'." The memorial service will be an "evening with Poe's last fiancée, Elmira Royster Shelton", with live music, a coffin race, & a chance to learn about Victorian mourning customs. On the 28th, the Poe Museum will have their "Unhappy Hour". This month's theme is The Fall of the House of Usher, & there will be live music, games, activities, & something called "The Madeline Usher Experience". Costumes are encouraged.

This would be a good time to mention Poe's grave & the "Poe Toaster". The Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore has the full scoop on the Toaster, who "since 1949, on the night of the anniversary of Poe’s birth, ...has entered this cemetery and left as tribute a partial bottle of cognac and three roses on Poe’s grave." Also, his month the Poe Society sponsors an annual commemorative lecture on the life and/or works of Edgar Allan Poe, presented by a noted Poe scholar. This lecture has been held since 1923 on the first Sunday in October, more-or-less coinciding with the anniversary of Poe’s death. "Prior to this event, it is traditional for members of the Poe Society to gather at Poe’s grave, placing flowers on the monument in a brief and informal ceremony to honor Poe’s memory." On Halloween night, there will be a tour of the cemetery & catacombs!

I had no idea there was so much fun stuff to do to celebrate Edgar AllanPoe. Even just online-visit Poets.org for a selection of Poe's poetry online; you can also read his story "Murders in the Rue Morgue". How about a list of Poe-related songs from the fansite House of Usher? Take a tour of the Edgar Allan Poe National Historic Site! Or, make a selection from our library catalog!

Monday, September 27, 2010

All Rise in Praise of Bread

I love the smell of fresh-baked bread. I don't make it very often, but every Easter Sunday I spend the better part of my day making Easter Bread using the recipe of an old friend's Russian grandmother (the bread has to rise 3 times!). Do you like to make your own bread? The bread book that has been making its way around my workplace lately is Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery That Revolutionizes Home Baking by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois (you can also check out their website, or the video below). I have not tried to make it yet but several of my co-workers are fans.