Book Reviewing

Hilda had a badge on her blog that links to the National Book Critics Circle's Campaign to Save Book Reviews. They're concerned because many newspapers such as The Atlanta Journal Constitution are simply eliminating the book reviewer position from their newspapers. If they are still publishing book reviews, they are getting them from national services. I find this to be a disservice to both local audiences and local authors. The importance of the local book reviewer has always been to let his or her audience know about books that would be of interest to the local community. This is often the only way a local author has of getting noticed as many of them will rarely show up in national review sources. I find this a disturbing trend and hope it doesn't continue. I know our local paper has often been a source of information on Alabama authors for me -- I don't have time or the inclination to hunt all these authors down, so learning about a possibly interesting book in the paper is important to me. I wouldn't have known about Ravi Howard's Like Trees, Walking about the Michael Donald murder, a subject of interest to me, if it hadn't been for our local paper. So I wish the NBCC luck with their campaign.

Friday Shuffle

1. Bad Habit: Joss Stone from Introducing Joss Stone
2. Happy Girl: Martina McBride from Greatest Hits
3. My Dream: The Platters from Enchanted: the Best of the Platters
4. Begin the Beguine: Sheryl Crow from De-Lovely
5. Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out: Eric Clapton from Unplugged
6. What am I Living For?: Van Morrison from Pay the Devil
7. Late Breaking News: Jorma Kaukonen from Stars in My Crown
8. Wayfaring Stranger: Emmylou Harris and Ricky Skaggs from Heartaches and Highways
9. Cloud 9: Rahsaan Patterson from Wines & Spirits
10. Honestly OK: Dido from No Angel

Wilco

The Show

I've never seen Wilco before and never really thought that they'd come here, but they did. Thanks to Robin, I found out in time to buy really good tickets -- I was three rows back and almost in the center. I've been to so many shows where I couldn't see the band that well but I had no trouble seeing Wilco. Sorry the picture is so small and unclear -- I really should have learned to use my digital camera before the concert, not during. They opened the show with You Are My Face and did almost everything I love except Forget the Flowers. I'd heard that they played 2 and a half hours at the Ryman right before this concert and, of course, they'd been on Saturday Night Live, so I wasn't expecting much from this show, figuring they'd be tired. If they were tired, they didn't show it. They played a straight 2 and a half hour show here too that was energetic and simply amazing. And the show was TIGHT -- I like other artists better than I like Wilco (and please don't get me wrong -- I love Wilco) but I've never seen a better show than the one Wilco put on. I understand why people travel to see them; if they come to Atlanta, I'll go. I don't have the world's best memory, so this is the set list someone posted on Via Chicago from our show -- I think there was more and the list is in no order:

Airline to heaven
California Stars
Box Full of letters
Pick up the change
Passenger side
Monday
Outtasite (Outta Mind)
Kingpin
Muzzle of Bees
Hummingbird
Handshake Drugs
Wishful thinking
Theologians
You are my face
Impossible Germany ( absolutely incredible solo by Nels)
Side with the seeds
Hate it Here (this was fun with the audience also singing the "hate it here" part)
Walken
What Light
Via Chicago
A Shot in the Arm
War on War
Jesus Etc.
Heavy Metal Drummer
I'm the man who loves you
Pot Kettle Black
I Am Trying To Break Your Heart
Magazine called Sunset

I'd heard a rumor or read somewhere that once they did Heavy Metal Drummer, they didn't do any more songs. It must not be true; they came out for an encore where they did at least five songs.

The Audience

You know I have to describe the audiences because they are always so awful here -- this was not true of the Wilco show. People listened and responded to the band, but there was no one really obnoxious except the Drunk Rowdy Guy sitting right next to me. He shouted, "Whoooo!!!!" right in my ear -- I finally told him that when he did that, he actually hurt my ears. DRG said, "Well you must have never been to a rock concert and the band must really bother you then." I said, "They are not shrieking right in my ear like you are." I finally decided to ignore him -- he was NOT going to ruin my Wilco experience. His friend got up and changed seats with him so I was no longer next to DRG.

The Shuffle

1. Howlin' Down the Cumberland: John Hiatt from Master of Disaster
2. Gone Daddy Gone: Gnarls Barkley from St. Elsewhere
3. Impossible Germany: Wilco from Sky Blue Sky
4. I'm the Man Who Loves You: Wilco from Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
5. Goodbye to You: Michelle Branch from The Spirit Room
6. Hate It Here: Wilco from Sky Blue Sky
7. Since U Been Gone: Kelly Clarkson from Breakaway
8. Oh, Mary Don't You Weep: Bruce Springsteen from We Shall Overcome
9. Gravedigger: Dave Matthews from Some Devil
10. Amy, Amy, Amy: Amy Winehouse from Frank
    

Demon Days and the Friday Shuffle

Mister B. Gone: Clive Barker: It's funny how people's tastes can be so different. I like Clive Barker - - always have. He can have a real turn with a phrase, and he can really ratchet up the dread in his books. Not so much dread here, but I still liked the book. I appear to be the only person who did if you check out the amazom.com reviews. Do I think it's the best novel Clive Barker has ever written? No -- I would go with The Damnation Game for that -- but neither do I think it's as bad as some of his detractors would have you believe. It's a quirky little story that begins with the narrator -- a demon trapped in a book -- begging you, the reader, to burn the book you hold in your hand. As an enticement for you to do so, the demon, Jakabok Botch, tells you snippets of his story from his childhood to how he got in the book. There is no intricate world created here, like Barker does in such books as Imagica and Weaveworld; the narration skips over centuries at a time and is at times thin, but the book was still, for me, a quick and enjoyable read. I wouldn't recommend it if it's the first Clive Barker novel you've ever read, but I didn't find it a disappointment.

Friday Shuffle

1. 15 Step: Radiohead from In Rainbows
2. At My Window Sad and Lonely: Billy Bragg and Wilco from Mermaid Avenue
3. What If: Lucinda Williams from West
4. Bend & Break: Keane from Hopes and Fears
5. No Vacancy: The Subdudes from Behind the Levee
6. You Don't Have to Say You Love Me: Shelby Lynne from Just a Little Lovin'
7. Corazon Espinado: Santana from Supernatural
8. The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of: Carly Simon from Clouds in My Coffee
9. Amy Amy Amy: Amy Winehouse from Frank
10. Walk Away: Christina Aquilera from Stripped
    

Dreamers and the late Friday Shuffle

Dreamers of the Day: Mary Doria Russell: Have you ever read a book and become so immersed in that world that when you finish, it's hard to pick up another book? That's the case with me right now. I was so thrilled when I heard this book was coming out -- I could barely wait for it. The Sparrow, Children of God, and A Thread of Grace are three of my favorite books. Then it turned out I didn't have to wait; I got an advance reader copy when I was at ALA. Then I was nervous about it -- what if I didn't like it as much as the other three? After all, the subject matter was something I knew nothing about -- the Cairo Peace Conference that established Iraq as a country. While Dreamers did not turn out to be my favorite Russell novel, it was still brilliant. She has a way of creating characters and making them memorable. Here, Agnes Shanklin is a woman who has always followed her mother's wishes for her and believed the things her mother has said about her -- she's mousy and uninteresting. When her family dies in the 1918 influenza epidemic, Agnes is left alone with money and the opportunity to redefine herself out of her mother's shadow. Her decision to follow her sister's footsteps and take a trip to Egypt is fateful for both her and for us. In Egypt she meets her sister's friend, T. E. Lawrence -- that Lawrence -- Lawrence of Arabia. In doing so, she falls into a social circle with Gertrude Bell and a youngish Winston Churchill and becomes privy to the events and arguments that end in the creation of Iraq. In the hands of Russell, these huge historic figures become human -- Lawrence, with his giggle, and Gertrude Bell, with her disdain for other women, and finally Winston Churchill, charging about the Middle East, annoying his bodyguard. All of this history takes place around Agnes' more everyday romance with a man she meets at her hotel. Agnes tells us we cannot understand our current story unless we understand her history, and she is right. Her story, taking place on the periphery of historic events, helped me understand more about some of the current tensions in the Middle East than any history book could have. Like I still miss Emilio Sandoz, I will miss Agnes as well. This is a novel that stays with you. It is also the only novel where I saw the sense of humor that Russell displayed in her speech at ALA; there are some genuinely funny sections in this book.

Friday Shuffle

1. Thread: k.d. lang from Watershed
2. Square One: Coldplay from X & Y
3. International Echo: Allen Toussaint and Elvis Costello from The River in Reverse
4. Little Bird: Emmylou Harris from Stumble into Grace
5. Foolin' Around: Patsy Cline from The Patsy Cline Story
6. Cross My Fingers: John Hiatt from Perfectly Good Guitar
7. Lubbock or Leave It: The Dixie Chicks from Taking the Long Way
8. I Really Hope: The Cranberries from Wake Up and Smell the Coffee
9. Last Good Time in Town: The Eagles from Long Road Out of Eden
10. From My Own True Love (Lost at Sea) : The Decemberists from Picaresque
    

Stars in My Crown

Stars in My Crown: Jorma Kaukonen: A solo album by one of the founders of Jefferson Airplane and Hot Tuna. This acoustic offering has a lovely sound to it. There's classic gospel, evidenced by a good cover of the title song, mixed with reggae (Kaukonen does a credible version of The Rivers of Babylon), mixed with blues, in the form of Come Back, Baby. Kaukonen even does a version of Johnny Cash's The Man Comes Around, that, while not quite as powerful as Cash's, still does credit to Kaukonen, Cash, and the song. This is an album that I'm glad I bought in its entirety, not song by song, as every song seems to fit together despite the varying genres.

Wilco: They are coming here in March and I have decent tickets, thanks to Poppy! Yay! I would never have known they were coming here if it hadn't been for her -- that's how good the advertising is in our area; an out-of-state resident had to let me know one of my favorite bands was coming to my town.

Friday Shuffle

1. Hand Me Down: The Wallflowers from Breach -- Jakob Dylan's song about his dad -- at least that's how it sounds to me.
2. Like a Star: Corinne Bailey Rae from Corinne Bailey Rae
3. Prairie Fire: Cris Williamson from Prairie Fire
4. Sister's Coming Home: Emmylou Harris from Blue Kentucky Girl
5. Hell Hound on My Trail: Cassandra Wilson from Blue Light Till Dawn
6. Catching On: Son Volt from Trace
7. Is There Life After Breakfast: Ray Davies from Other People's Lives
8. In California: Neko Case from Live From Austin, Texas
9. Dark as a Dungeon: Johnny Cash from Unearthed
10. Scythian Empires: Andrew Bird from Armchair Apocrypha
    

Beach Getaway

I'm looking outside at the day, and the weather is perfect for going to the beach -- even if a tad chilly. The irony is that I can't go because, on a Saturday, my husband and our one car are at work. But we went last weekend when it was cold and rainy. Blissfully, it was just me and my husband -- unusual, since I don't think we've been anywhere by ourselves since our son was born. But the boy surprised us and volunteered to stay with the girl (who emphatically did not want to go), so we took ourselves off to the beach for a three day getaway. It was lovely. Our hotel room faced the ocean and had a little kitchenette. It was so peaceful, plus the bonus of having no kids. Here's what the water looked like:



We frequented the local book stores, bought some books, and went out on the beach and read about Blackwater and 9/11 and the Bill of Rights. Even with those topics, we were oddly at peace.

Friday Shuffle -- the late again edition

1. Steppin' Out: Joe Jackson from Night and Day
2. In the Garden: Johnny Cash from Unearthed IV: My Mother's Hymnbook
3. If it Wasn't for the Whiskey: Zac Hacker -- this is from the fifth season of Nashville Star and I got the song from iTunes. It's amazing.
4. Up to the Mountain: Solomon Burke from Nashville
5. Anyway the Wind Blows: J.J. Cale and Eric Clapton from The Road to Escondido
6. Hell Hound on My Trail: Eric Clapton from Me and Mr. Johnson
7. You Send Me: Sam Cooke from The Man and His Music
8. Fragile: Sting from The Very Best of Sting and the Police
9. Shake it Off: Wilco from Sky Blue Sky
10. Cabin Essence: Brian Wilson from Smile
    

Point Clear + a Shuffle

Point Clear by Jennifer Paddock: I picked up this novel because it's set right across the bay from me in an absolutely beautiful town. The main character, Caroline, leaves her two jobs in New York to go to Point Clear and work through the writer's block that's plagued her since she left school. She arrives at the Grand Hotel just in time for Hurricane Ivan, and this is the point where the character just irritated me no end. In spite of a mandatory evacuation and the fact that Ivan is a Category 4 hurricane expected to hit right at Point Clear, Caroline decides to hide in the hotel and ride out the storm. How stupid is that! I realize there would have been no story without this decision, but having to realize that took me out of the story and I found that annoying. I like to be able to suspend disbelief for an entire novel, not be in the story, then thrown out and have to work my way back in. After the hurricane, Caroline has a casual meeting with a man on the beach who has also stayed in Point Clear for the storm. He's preparing to go for a swim in a bay still full of debris from the hurricane -- another stupid decision. They exchange greetings and part. Later, he turns up missing and Caroline was the last person to see him. Her struggle to explain in writing what could have happened to him helps Caroline work through some family problems and her writer's block. It also gives the story some focus. The book was a quick read, it was okay -- I didn't hate it, the writing is pretty decent, but I don't think I'll read this again although I will keep it because I love the cover picturing Middle Bay Lighthouse.

Friday Shuffle

• Shadow on the Wall: Brandi Carlile from The Story
• Jesus Children of America: Stevie Wonder from Innervisions
• Put It On Me: Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals from Lifeline
• Photograph: Weezer from Weezer (Green Album)
• Your Memory, Me, and the Blues: Delbert McClinton from Cost of Living
• Outsiders: Franz Ferdinand from You Could Have It So Much Better
• Distant Lover: Marvin Gaye from Every Great Motown Hit of Marvin Gaye
• One With the Sun: Shelby Lynne from Identity Crisis (I love this album)
• The Gutterati? : The Fratellis from Costello Music
• Under the Bridge: Red Hot Chili Peppers from Blood Sugar Sex Magik (this was the song that made me love the Peppers)

Jane Austen -- sort of

I'm having a hard time with The Yiddish Policeman's Union, so I gave up for awhile (in fact I may give up on Michael Chabon altogether) and read Faye Kellerman's The Burnt House and Karen Joy Fowler's The Jane Austen Book Club. Kellerman's was typical Kellerman -- a fast read -- but more boring than usual and full of improbable coincidences and a Rina Lazarus who's even more insufferably good than usual ; that's all I'm going to say about that book.

The Jane Austen Book Club: Karen Joy Fowler. The reviews of this book have been really good and I liked the idea of a book club devoted to one author, so I picked this one up. I didn't hate it but I wasn't as enamored of it as the reviewers were. Five women and one man start a book club where all they read is Jane Austen novels. I liked the discussion of the different Austen books and the way in which Fowler segues those discussions into reflections on the characters' lives -- I've seen this done much less skillfully before in Elizabeth Noble's The Reading Group. The characters' personal lives fit Fowler's thesis, stated in the prologue, that "Each of us has a private Austen." Jocelyn is so much like Emma it's a wonder that she herself doesn't remark on it. What I didn't like was the sheer number of characters -- some of them, such as Prudie, seem completely unnecessary to the plot and Fowler spends far too much time dwelling on Prudie's new sexual awareness without doing anything with it. Some characters such as Prudie's husband, whatishisname, are thinly drawn. Other characters, such as Bernadette, are a distraction from the main story, which is really about Allegra, Jocelyn, Sylvia, Daniel and Grigg.

Friday Shuffle -- the late edition

1. I'm Not Bitter: Minus 5 from Down With Wilco
2. Bloodletting (The Vampire Song): Concrete Blonde from Bloodletting
3. I Never: Rilo Kiley from More Adventurous
4. Me and Baby Jane: Leon Russell from Carney
5. The Right Place: Taylor Hicks from Taylor Hicks
6. Promises: Eric Clapton from The Cream of Clapton
7. Change: Tracy Chapman from Where You Live
8. Meadowlake Street: Ryan Adams and the Cardinals from Cold Roses
   
9. Salala: Angelique Kidjo featuring Peter Gabriel from Djin Djin
10. Vapour Trail: Aqualung from Memory Man
    

Books on Books and a late Friday Shuffle

I seem to be reading a lot of books about books this year, from Anne Fadiman's Ex-Libris (thanks Nutmeg) to Maureen Corrigan's Leave Me Alone, I'm Reading to Sara Nelson's So Many Books, So Little Time to Nick Hornby's The Polysyllabic Spree and Housekeeping vs. the Dirt. I've even just ordered The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop (isn't that a great title?) by Lewis Buzbee and bought The Bookseller of Kabul by Asne Seierstad. I think this qualifies as an obsession and I need to back off the books about books for awhile. Even some of my fiction choices, such as The Thirteenth Tale, Shadow of the Wind, and The Book of Air and Shadows, have books as a major plot point.

A review of a book that's not about books:

Kabul Beauty School: Deborah Rodriguez: The story of Rodriguez's move to Afghanistan to help establish a school to train hairdressers is compelling. Once you get into it, it reads almost as easily as a novel. I was, however, troubled by her attitude toward the Afghan people. She says she loves them, but it seems as if she holds herself a little bit above the Afghans. They all call her "Miss Debbie," while she calls them all by their first names. She is often very unaware of Afghan culture -- wanting to dance in celebration with some of the women in front of men. She often refers to her students as "kids" even though it's clear they are not children. While I enjoyed the book, this attitude was a distraction for me. Rodriguez's decision to marry an Afghan man is presented in an almost off-handed manner. Although it may not be true, her book leaves the impression that she married this man, whose language she could not even speak nor could he speak English, on a whim -- without thought -- or as a way to stay in Afghanistan without incurring problems. Recently an NPR story reported that this book has actually put Rodriguez's students and their families in danger, making moot any sense that Deborah Rodriguez might have done some good in Afghanistan.

Friday Shuffle

1. Portions for Foxes: Rilo Kiley from More Adventurous
2. Werewolves of London: Warren Zevon from Excitable Boy
3. In California: Neko Case from Live From Austin, Tx
4. Orphan Girl: Emmylou Harris with Daryl Johnson from Heartaches and Highways
5. That Teenage Feeling: Neko Case from Fox Confessor Brings the Flood
6. Your Memory, Me, and The Blues: Delbert McClinton from Cost of Living
7. Child is Father of the Man: Brian Wilson from Smile
8. When My Love Crosses Over: John Hiatt from Master of Disaster
9. Everyday is Like Sunday: Morrissey from Viva Hate
10. Lose Control: Evanescence from The Open Door
    

Shopping Mania

Confessions of a Shopaholic by Shopie Kinsella: I was in the mood for something light and fun but I still approached this book with trepidation because the last "chick-lit" book I remember being hyped like this was Bridget Jones' Diary and I was not fond of it at all. Shopaholic was a different experience. It was fun and silly, but in a weird way, I found that I could relate to Rebecca Bloomwood -- Bridget just always annoyed me. Not that I've ever convinced myself that I was saving money when I overspent, but I've had those kind of thoughts before. Rebecca's attempts to reduce her debt are funny and desperate at the same time. I love the scene where she goes to the Victoria and Albert Museum and finds herself vaguely disappointed because there are no price tags on the art work -- she's sure the museum could make money if it put price tags on its exhibits. And then she discovers the museum gift shop! So much for saving money. She's funny when she tries to convince herself that she can fall in love with a man just because he's rich -- then she can pay off all her debts, buy more clothes, buy this and buy that; inevitably she ends up spending more in her mind than the man has. Her thinking process is hysterical; she starts off with something small and the next thing you know, she's buying a house. When things turn really bad for her, I understand the impulse to runaway. I've often wished that I could escape my life, although I've never gone so far as to runaway to my parent's home just to avoid the bad things going on. I'm looking forward to Shopaholic Takes Manhattan to read about Rebecca's further adventures.

The Friday Shuffle -- the Saturday edition

1. Bed of Roses: Bon Jovi from Cross Road
2. Cain: Chris Thomas King from Me, My Guitar and the Blues
3. Black Cadillac: Rosanne Cash from Black Cadillac
4. Rise Up: Indigo Girls from All That We Let In
5. Stop This World: Diana Krall from The Girl in the Other Room
6. Wayfaring Stranger: Emmylou Harris with Ricky Skaggs from Heartaches and Highways
   
7. Wait for You: Elliott Yamin from Elliott Yamin
8. Harbor Lights: The Platters from Enchanted: The Best of the Platters
9. Rated X: Neko Case from The Tigers Have Spoken
10. Broken Bricks: The White Stripes from The White Stripes

Latest Reading

The book I'm currently reading, Childe Morgan, is part of a fantasy series, by Katherine Kurtz, that I've read several times about a race of people with magic powers in a kingdom similar to medieval England. It's a new one and I didn't even know this one was out -- I stumbled across it accidentally in the library. Here's what I've finished, three books and two audio books. I've also included the Friday shuffle a day late.

The Ruins by Scott Smith: Two American couples vacation in Cancun, meet some people, go to find the German character's missing brother and stumble on a Mayan village. Although the characters aren't that well developed -- it's often hard to distinguish between them except through very stereotypical traits (this is especially true of the women) -- the plot is tight. The novel also provides that one thing that almost every horror reader is looking for and doesn't often get -- that little frisson of dread. Since I finished this book, it's often been hard for me to look out at the vines in my back yard.

The Girl in the Tangerine Scarf by Mohja Kahf: I loved this story of an Muslim girl, Khadra Shamy, growing up in a strict Muslim family in 1970s Indianapolis. The characters are interesting and believable. Khadra, herself, is a compelling, if occasionally whiny and self-involved, character. Her journey from a strict interpretation of Islamic law to one that feels more organic and true to her is paralleled by her journey from feeling an outsider in America to her realization that she is indeed American.

Burning Bright by Tracy Chevalier: I picked up this book because I love William Blake and was interested to see how he'd be portrayed fictionally. I did know that he wouldn't be the main character -- that place falls to a young boy named Jem, who having moved from Dorsetshire to London with his family, falls in love with a poor girl, Maggie. It's the interaction of these two characters with the Blakes and with the circus owner, Philip Astley, that the novel centers on. Unfortunately, Blake is too shadowy of a character and his reasons for his actions are unclear. I haven't read Tracy Chevalier's novels before but I suspect this is not one of her best works.

The Murder Room by P.D. James: I generally like P.D. James but I didn't like this book, and I cannot blame it on the person reading it. I suspect I'd find this book just as boring if I'd read it instead of listened to it. For Pete's sake, I had listened to 11 chapters before I even got to the first body! And this is a murder mystery. Adam Dalgliesh, the Scotland Yard commander in charge of solving the murders which are made to look like historical murders showcased in the murder room of the Dupayne Museum, is boring in this novel and so is the subplot of his romance. The characters in this novel are pretty much stock characters and some other subplots -- like why British intelligence in the form of MI-5 would be interested in the Dupayne murders -- don't even make sense. Even more unforgivable to me is the fact that I knew who the murderer was the minute the character showed up and that was long before the body appeared.

Home to Big Stone Gap by Adriana Trigiani: This is mostly a fluffy, light listen but it was a fun, fluffy listen that brought up serious issues -- the death of a child, mountain top removal mining, how secrets can affect friendships, and a spouse's health problems. How Ave Maria panics and eventually solves and handles these problems was fun. And even though I was never in doubt that Ave Maria would solve her problems, I liked being introduced to Cracker's Neck Holler and its inhabitants through this novel read, with great affection, by its author. The only thing I hated was her attempt at a Scottish accent -- she should have left that alone.

Friday Shuffle -- The Day Late Again Edition

1. Bell Bottom Blues: Eric Clapton from The Cream of Clapton
2. E-Bow the Letter: R.E.M. from In Time
3. Ces Petits Reins: Angelique Kidjo from Black Ivory Soul
4. Bold as Love: John Mayer from Continuum
5. Are You Having Any Fun Yet?: Tony Bennett and Elvis Costello from Duets
6. Wicked Man: Ben Harper and the Blind Boys of Alabama from There Will Be A Light
7. Long As I Can See the Light: Creedence Clearwater Revival from Chronicle v. 1
8. Don't Ask: Michelle Shocked from Don't Ask Don't Tell
9. Four Winds: Bright Eyes from Cassadaga
10. Sit Down Young Stranger: Gordon Lightfoot from If You Could Read My Mind
    

Depressing reading and a shuffle

I've been doing a lot of reading -- some of it YA and some not -- plus one graphic novel.

The Road by Cormac McCarthy: I've never been that drawn toward Cormac McCarthy novels, but I enjoyed Lesley's review of The Road; she made it sound intriguing. I loved this tale of a man and his son traveling through a post-apocalyptic America, looking for a better life. It is grim and it is depressing, yet it is so well told that I couldn't put it down -- I read it in two days. After I was done with it, I found myself continually coming back to the story. Its bleak vision of an apocalypse of some kind -- we are never told what kind, and ultimately that's not important -- seems all too real, too plausible right now -- like Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale felt when it was released. Yet it's not just grim and bleak; there is a place in this novel for both faith and love. It is the love of the man for his son that carries the two through their journey and keeps them safe. It is the faith of the boy, both in his father and in some kind of guiding force -- maybe God, that provides the ultimate hope in this novel. That faith also keeps the father from doing some things he may later regret -- it's something he admires in the boy. I will read The Road again -- I wish I'd bought the hardback.

Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons: Watchmen is widely regarded as extremely influential and Time even listed it on their All-Time 100 Novels. While it was good and I can see how influential it's been, I wouldn't go that far. I think Neil Gaiman's Sandman series is better. Watchmen begins with the murder of a superhero, the Comedian, and goes from there to a plot that involves setting the two greatest powers of the 1970s, the United States and the USSR, against each other in a nuclear showdown. The world of Watchmen is a depressing, paranoid one; not one of the superheroes is what you'd call "good" -- they are selfish and some are extremely arrogant. One, Dr. Manhattan, is so distant from mankind that he doesn't see the value of life. And another, Rorshach, is just plain crazy. It's a testament to the power of the storythat I ultimately felt compassion and sympathy for both Rorschach and the Comedian, who is an extremely unsympathetic character. It's important to pay attention to the illustrations -- they really add to the story. The scrawled graffiti, "Who Watches the Watchmen," is everywhere on the buildings in the city and makes the reader consider that very question. I wouldn't consider Watchmen among my 100 favorite novels of all-time, but it is good and I'm glad I read it.

The Devil's Arithmetic by Jane Yolen: A Holocaust novel that is about the importance of remembering your heritage and remembering the Holocaust. The story begins at a Passover Seder. The main character, Hannah, is fed up with always being exhorted to remember the past -- to her, the past is past. During the ritual of the Seder, she is the one who opens the door to let in Elijah. When she does, she is transported back to 1940s Poland. Here, she ends up in a concentration camp where she learns the importance of remembering.

When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit by Judith Kerr: This autobiographical novel is a different kind of Holocaust story; it's the story of a family whose father didn't trust the intentions of the Nazis and got his family out of Germany before Hitler was even elected as Chancellor. It was an odd book to read after The Devil's Arithmetic because what happened in the camps was so horrific I had a hard time feeling sympathy for Anna and her family when the hardest thing Anna and her brother, Max, really had to adjust to was learning French. I find that making that comparison between the two stories is unfair, however, since having to run from a government that puts a bounty on your father's head had to be frightening. Since the story is told from Anna's point of view, it's clear that there is much going on in her parents' lives that she's not aware of, just as she's unaware of what's going on in Germany; she's only 10 after all. I found the book to be well-written and well-told; I just should have waited to read it until I'd put some distance between it and The Devil's Arithmetic.

Friday Shuffle (a day late)

1. I Choose by India.arie from Testimony. vol 1
2. Love in the Lies by Amos Lee from Amos Lee
3. Blood of the Lamb by Billy Bragg and Wilco from Mermaid Avenue vol. 2
4. No Surprises by Radiohead from OK Computer
5. The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight by R.E.M from In Time: The Best of R.E.M
6. Billy's Bones by The Pogues from Rum, Sodomy and the Lash
7. Seven Bridges Road by The Eagles from Eagles: The Very Best of
8. Anthony by Nickel Creek from Why Should the Fire Die?
9. Out of My Mind by SHeDAISY from Fortuneteller's Melody
10. Stepchild by Solomon Burke from Don't Give Up On Me