A Canticle for Leibowitz

A Canticle for Leibowitz: Walter M. Miller, Jr.: This is another one of those books I've started a million times but never got past, "Brother Francis Gerard of Utah might never have discovered the blessed documents, had it not been for the pilgrim . . . ." I heard Mary Doria Russell, author of the excellent The Sparrow, speak about her love for this book and thought I might try it again. It's a novel that fits within the same apocalyptic tradition as Alas, Babylon and The Road. Only it covers centuries. It begins with the discovery of the "blessed documents"; items from the time before an unexplained but likely nuclear event plunged the world into a new dark age. We follow the brothers of the Order of Leibowitz through the centuries as they struggle to get their patron canonized and also maintain what little knowledge is left until the world is ready for it again. The novel is divided into three parts that take place in different eras; Fiat Homo (when the documents are discovered), Fiat Lux (when man is beginning to show an interest in knowledge again -- especially science), and Fiat Voluntas Tua (what man does with that knowledge.) A Canticle for Leibowitz also addresses issues of faith, human nature and the rise and fall of civilizations; it is steeped in Catholicism and Latin. The Latin was annoying to me because I don't know it, but I could always get the gist of the conversation from surrounding textual clues. The Catholicism, however, was like coming back to the place where you born -- I know it and understand it. It's been several weeks since I finished this book, but I still miss the brothers of St. Leibowitz, and I will re-read this novel -- I can't think of a higher compliment. If I were rating this novel as Les does, I'd give it a 4.9 out of 5.

Friday Shuffle -- one actually done on Friday!

1. The Sporting Life: The Decemberists from Picaresque
   
2. Casino Nation: Jackson Browne from Solo Acoustic, Vol. 2
3. Myriad Harbour: The New Pornographers from Challengers
4. 15 Step: Radiohead from In Rainbows
5. I Can't Quit Her: Blood, Sweat and Tears from Greatest Hits
6. The Wreck of the Barbie Ferrari (I love the title of this song): John Hiatt from Perfectly Good Guitar
   
7. Heaven Help Us All: Madeleine Peyroux and Willie Galison from Got You On My Mind
8. Conquest: The White Stripes from Icky Thump
9. In the Ghetto: Elvis Presley from Elv1s 30 #1 Hits
10. American Woman: Lenny Kravitz from Greatest Hits

Dark of a Thousand Nights

Alas, Babylon: Pat Frank: When I was a kid, I went through this apocalyptic fiction phase -- I read every novel like that I could get my hands on. Shockingly, I never read a classic of the genre, Alas, Babylon. I remember trying to read it, but I never got past the first page. Les's positive review of it encouraged me to try reading it once again. It's an amazing read. Despite the fact that America is destroyed by nuclear bombs, Frank's novel is a hopeful one. His characters come together to take care of each other and to rebuild their world. The main character, Randy Bragg, who before The Day, seemed pretty much aimless, steps up to the plate and shows that he is strong and becomes a leader in his small town of Fort Repose, FL. Some of the stereotypes of women and blacks bothered me, but only for a minute -- the novel was written in 1959 after all. Helen, for instance, although a completely capable woman in all other respects, is one of those women who needs a man. Randy's wife, Lib, hesitates to suggest something because she feels that what she's thinking about should be first brought up by a man. Helen's daughter, Peyton, longs to be a hero like her brother but is told that the things she wants to help with are better left to boys and men. Despite the stereotypes, you can feel all the women beginning to chafe against these arbitrary rules. In some ways too, in its treatment of African Americans, Frank's novel and his character are just a little ahead of the times. Randy feels that race shouldn't matter -- this is vividly pointed out when after The Day, Randy is in a park staring at two water fountains trying to remember why there are two separate ones like that. The characters eventually realize that they are all interdependent on one another and race becomes unimportant. Randy's niece and nephew, who've come to Florida from Omaha, have grown up expecting that their schools will be integrated. In spite of that, Randy's friend, Malachi, whom he's known his entire life, calls him, "Mr. Randy." All that said, Alas, Babylon, is a wonderful read with characters you can relate to and care about.

Friday Shuffle on Saturday

1. Come Pick Me Up: Ryan Adams from Heartbreaker
2. I Must Be High: Wilco from A.M.
3. What a Wonderful Man: My Morning Jacket from Z
4. Off Broadway: Ryan Adams from Easy Tiger
5. Pot Kettle Black: Wilco from Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
6. Another Rainy Day: Corinne Bailey Rae from Corinne Bailey Rae
7. Somebody's Baby: Jackson Browne from Solo Acoustic, Vol. 2
8. Old Times Sake: Shelby Lynne from Suit Yourself
9. All We Can Really Do: Melissa Etheridge from The Awakening
10. White Rabbit: Patti Smith from Twelve

Piles of books

I've got a whole pile of books by my bed that I haven't read yet, but still yesterday I felt the need to buy more. I came home with Keith Olbermann's Truth and Consequences, Shalom Auslander's Foreskin's Lament (who could resist that title?), David Gerrold's The Martian Child, and Pat Frank's Alas Babylon, a book I've always felt I should read since I went through this apocalyptic fiction phase but never read one of the classics of the genre. I've already finished Olbermann's collection of his special comments from his show, Countdown. It was interesting, reminded me of things I'd forgotten and was a quick read.

Friday Shuffle

1. 15: Rilo Kiley from Under the Blacklight
2. Strong and Wrong: Joni Mitchell from Shine
3. Sejedo: Angelique Kidjo from Djin Djin
4. When the Man Comes Around: Jorma Kaukonen from Stars in My Crown
5. Sweet Sacrifice: Evanescence from The Open Door
6. That's How I Got to Memphis: Solomon Burke from Nashville
7. T.V. Age: Joe Jackson from Night and Day
8. Follow: Brandi Carlile from Brandi Carlile
9. No Other Way: Jack Johnson from In Between Dreams
10. My Lover's Box: Garbage from Garbage
    

Books and my own library meme + the Friday Shuffle

I love this meme which I found on several book blogger sites.

Which book do you irrationally cringe away from reading, despite seeing only positive reviews?

Michael Chabon’s The Yiddish Policemen’s Union. I have tried to read it but I just can't. I have the worst time with Chabon -- it took me forever to finish Summerland and I was never able to finish The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay. So I guess it's not really irrational since I've had bad reading experiences with Chabon before, but still, I just can't read it.

If you could bring three characters to life for a social event (afternoon tea, a night of clubbing, perhaps a world cruise), who would they be and what would the event be?

Dream from the Sandman series (he's my fictional crush), Roland from Stephen King's Dark Tower series, and Morgaine from The Mists of Avalon. None of these people would actually get along, I don't think, so the event would probably be hard to plan. I think I'd play it safe and have them all to dinner to discuss each of their worlds. Dream would probably claim he invented all their worlds, so even dinner would be difficult. Maybe I should have Dream over for a separate dinner.

(Borrowing shamelessly from the Thursday Next series by Jasper Fforde): you are told you can’t die until you read the most boring novel on the planet. While this immortality is great for awhile, eventually you realise it’s past time to die. Which book would you expect to get you a nice grave?

Herman Melville's Moby Dick or else any Tom Clancy book -- I just don't care about all that shipbuilding and stuff.

Come on, we’ve all been there. Which book have you pretended, or at least hinted, that you’ve read, when in fact you’ve been nowhere near it?

Moby Dick -- I don't bother to pretend I've read any Tom Clancy. For a long time I pretended I'd read Pride and Prejudice until I actually read it last year.

As an addition to the last question, has there been a book that you really thought you had read, only to realise when you read a review about it/go to ‘reread’ it that you haven’t? Which book?

No, that's never happened.

You’re interviewing for the post of Official Book Advisor to some VIP (who’s not a big reader). What’s the first book you’d recommend and why? (if you feel like you’d have to know the person, go ahead and personalise the VIP)

Blackwater by Jeremy Scahill -- I guess my fictional VIP is a politician because I think it's important for her to know the dangers of mercenary private armies.

A good fairy comes and grants you one wish: you will have perfect reading comprehension in the foreign language of your choice. Which language do you go with?

Spanish -- there are so many Latin American writers, such as Gabriel Garcia Marquez, whose works I'd like to read in the original language.

A mischievous fairy comes and says that you must choose one book that you will reread once a year for the rest of your life (you can read other books as well). Which book would you pick?

The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley. I love Arthurian legend and this book tells the story from the points of view of the women and it does it extremely well.

I know that the book blogging community, and its various challenges, have pushed my reading borders. What’s one bookish thing you ‘discovered’ from book blogging (maybe a new genre, or author, or new appreciation for cover art-anything)?

Val McDermid -- I'd seen Wire in the Blood on dvd but I'd never read any of her books. Also I discovered Mary Doria Russell -- first with A Thread of Grace and then with The Sparrow and Children of God. Both of these authors were courtesy of Babelbabe.

That good fairy is back for one final visit. Now, she’s granting you your dream library! Describe it. Is everything leather bound? Is it full of first edition hardcovers? Pristine trade paperbacks? Perhaps a few favourite authors have inscribed their works? Go ahead-let your imagination run free.

I don't want it to be too big but there's room for a sofa and a couple of chairs. It's a well-lighted space with windows, high ceilings and good lamps. Underneath the windows are window seats, so I can read by the windows. All the walls that don't have windows have built-in bookshelves and there are steps and walkways that go around each level of book so I won't have to use a ladder to get to books that are up high, since the bookshelves go up to the top of the high ceilings. I'm scared of heights. The books are well read. Some are leather bound, some are paperback -- I'd not include mass market paperbacks in my library though as they are hard for me to read. Many books have been signed by their authors. I'd also, like Superfast Reader, add a touch of magic -- I'd have Dream's library (he of Sandman fame) -- the library of books that haven't been written or were lost -- incorporated into my library.

Friday Shuffle

1. Cash Grab Complications on the Matter: The White Stripes from Conquest (EP) where they worked with Beck.
2. Broken Bricks: The White Stripes from The White Stripes -- two in a row!
3. My Lover's Gone: Dido from No Angel
4. She Came Along to Me: Billy Bragg and Wilco from Mermaid Avenue
5. The Lonely One: Wilco from Being There
6. All I Want is You: Barry Louis Polisar from the Juno soundtrack
7. Addicted: Kelly Clarkson from Breakaway
8. I'm Gone: Shawn Colvin from These Four Walls
9. Magic: Ben Folds Five from The Unauthorized Biography Of Reinhold Messner
10. And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going: Jennifer Hudson from the Dreamgirls soundtrack

Friendly Differences and a shuffle

I thought this was interesting because sometimes our differences from our friends can be illuminating. This is from Hilda:

• Name a CD you own that none of your friends do - I have a weird, eclectic collection but the one cd I own that my friends don't is Eminem's The Marshall Mathers LP
• Name a book you own that none of your friends do - La Vendee by Anthony Trollope. Not a good Trollope novel but part of my thesis was about it.
• Name a movie you own on DVD/VHS/whatever that none of your friends do - Starship Troopers. I recognize that this is a bad movie but I still like it anyway.
• Name a tourist attraction in the US that you have visited that none of your friends have - the Vulcan statue in Birmingham, Alabama

Friday Shuffle

1. Blues Power: Eric Clapton from The Cream of Clapton
2. Blame it on the Stones: Kris Kristofferson from Kristofferson
3. I Found My Everything: Mary J. Blige from The Breakthrough
4. World Without Sound: Roseanne Cash from Black Cadillac
5. A Change is Gonna Come: Aaron Neville from Bring It On Home
6. A Song for You: Gram Parsons from G.P./Grievous Angel
7. Fame Infamy:Fall Out Boy from Infinity on High
8. Let's Build a Home: The White Stripes from De Stijl
9. Wolves: Garth Brooks from No Fences
10. I Trained Her to Love Me: Nick Lowe from At My Age

Emmylou Harris

Tonight I'm braving the horrible audiences of this city to see Emmylou Harris. I've loved her music for a long time but I've never seen her -- I can't wait. As soon as tickets went on sale, I snapped up two of them. In honor of the concert, an all Emmylou shuffle:

1. Michelangelo: Red Dirt Girl
2. Sorrow in the Wind: Blue Kentucky Girl
3. So You Think You're a Cowboy: Honeysuckle Rose
4. Love Hurts (with Gram Parsons): G.P/Grevious Angel
5. Pancho and Lefty (with Rodney Crowell): Luxury Liner
6. Satan's Jewel Crown: Elite Hotel
7. Calling My Children Home: Spyboy
8. Wayfaring Stranger: Roses in the Snow (yay! I love this song by almost everyone who sings it.
9. Loving the Highwayman (with Linda Rondstadt): Western Wall
10. If I Needed You (with Don Williams): Cimmaron
    

The Night

". . . it is curious," says Cyril Connolly, as quoted by Anne Fadiman (thanks again Nutmeg for introducing me to her -- I love essays and hers are excellent) in At Large and at Small, "that although I do not despise people who go to bed earlier than I, almost everyone is impatient with me for not getting up." I've been a night owl all my life and have always found this to be true. I'm married to a lark -- that man wakes up naturally at 5:00am and is ready to go for the day. What kind of person wakes up at 5:00am without 3 alarm clocks? What can possibly be natural about that? I have to arrange my life around a mostly 8-5 job; the only day that truly feels productive is my one evening shift a week. If our library were open 24 hours, as some libraries are, I'd volunteer for night work. I'd be the one lonely vampire librarian, however. Everyone else feels as if they are missing out on the day if they aren't up early. But my ability to think clearly and focus on a problem gets better the later the hour. My little night owl daughter and I have even been known to take nocturnal strolls around our neighborhood, looking at the moon and the stars. This weekend, I'm by myself so I can indulge my night owl persona by staying up as late as I want without someone saying to me (as happens every night), "It's late. Are you coming to bed soon?" Freedom!

Friday Shuffle

1. Sky Blue Sky: Wilco from Sky Blue Sky
2. Enough Cryin: Mary J. Blige from The Breakthrough
3. Metal Heart: Garbage from Bleed Like Me
4. Get Over It: The Eagles from The Complete Greatest Hits
5. In and Out of Love: Bon Jovi from Cross Road
6. Matrimony: Whiskeytown from Faithless Street
7. Is There Life After Breakfast?: Ray Davies from Other People's Lives
8. Liza: Joan Armatrading from Into the Blues
9. Satan Gave Me A Taco: Beck from Stereopathetic Soul Manure
10. Can't Wait: Bob Dylan from Time Out of Mind
    

Friday Shuffle -- the back home edition

After a ten hour drive, I'm back home -- I arrived last night. I enjoyed visiting my friends and my family but frankly I'm glad to be back home where I don't have to worry about conforming to other peoples' standards of housekeeping or living. After awhile that gets just plain tiring. I did read while I was gone despite the fact that my sidebar says I'm reading nothing:

The Tenth Circle: Jodi Picoult: I read this because it was a quick read. I'd not liked an earlier book, My Sister's Keeper, not so much because of the story but because of the ending -- I thought it was a cop out. But since so many people like her, I thought I'd give her another chance. Picoult tells a decent story and that's what saves her in The Tenth Circle. I liked this book but it was crammed with tragedies -- I thought she'd have been better off focusing on one thing with maybe one subplot included. Not only is our main character, Trixie, raped, but her boyfriend commits suicide (maybe), her mother has an affair, her father is accused of murder, then Trixie herself is accused of the same murder so she runs away, making herself look guilty. And it's all wrapped up in a little allegorical package using Dante's Inferno, too heavily for my tastes. Trixie's mother is a Dante professor at a nearby college and we are treated to some of her interpretations of The Inferno. Trixie's father is a comic book artist and while I liked the inclusion of his comic art as breaks in this novel, the story, of course, was a retelling of The Inferno and it paralleled our heroine's journey from innocent little girl to someone who has a better comprehension of how the world works. I did find myself disturbed by some aspects of this novel. Trixie is 14 and she goes to parties where having sex, or at least oral sex, is expected of girls. She's only 14! I'm not positive I knew a whole lot about sex at 14. Because of these parties, whether or not Trixie was actually raped is a question. I liked this book but I wouldn't read it again.

Friday Shuffle

1. Coconut Skins: Damien Rice from 9
2. Put Your Records On (Acoustic version): Corrine Bailey Rae from Corrine Bailey Rae
3. Anytime: Robert Cray from Shoulda Been Home
4. You Can't Make Love: Don Henley from Building the Perfect Beast
5. Get Him Back: Fiona Apple from Extraordinary Machine
6. It Beats 4 U: My Morning Jacket from Z
7. Lived in Bars: Cat Power from The Greatest
8. Zombieland: T Bone Burnett from The True False Identity
9. Another Perl: Badly Drawn Boy from Hour of the Bewilderbeast
10. Black is the Color of My True Love's Hair: Nina Simone from Verve Jazz Masters 17
    

Sightseeing, ALA, and the Friday Shuffle

I got back from Washington D.C. on Wednesday. Alabama is hot, but D.C. was hotter. It's been a long time since I've done that much walking -- my shin splints and blisters have their own shin splints and blisters. ALA was its usual conferency self except I think the exhibit area was bigger than I've ever seen it. I walked through the exhibits for several hours and never visited every booth -- I didn't even get to see all the vendors I wanted to see. I did get a free advance reader copy that I can't wait to read -- The Zookeeper's Wife by Diane Ackerman. I also got tons of crap that I didn't really need.

I took an extra day just to see some of the sights since I'd never been to D.C. My two favorites were:

The United States Holocaust Museum: I had second thoughts about going here since I knew it would be hard on me, but it's worth the visit. We saw the permanent exhibit and an exhibit about a book called The Protocols of the Elders of Zion -- a fraud known to be published and distributed by the Russian secret police about the conspiracy of the Jews to take over the world. It was interesting but didn't show me anything I didn't know -- what it was good at was emphasizing how often this thing has been proven to be a fraud but people still find ways to use it to justify antisemitism.

The permanent exhibit is arranged by floors -- each floor with a theme. You begin the tour on the fourth floor with the rise of the National Socialist Party and Hitler's appointment to Chancellor. The third floor contains artifacts and films dealing with the Final Solution. It was here I had my worst moments. At one point, to continue the exhibit, you have to walk under a sign reading "Arbeit Macht Frei" -- "Work makes you free" -- the sign over Auschwitz. I found myself unwilling to go under the same sign (actually a casting) under which so many people passed to their deaths. I thought I'd be able to get around it on the sides but that wasn't possible, so eventually I was forced to walk under that gate to get to the 2nd floor and the end of the war and the liberation of the camps.

The Vietnam Memorial: What's impressive here is the sheer number of names on the wall. You look at those names and think of all the individuals who died for a purposeless war and can't help think about how it's happening again.

Friday Shuffle

1. All Jacked Up: Gretchen Wilson from All Jacked Up
2. From My Own True Love (Lost at Sea) : The Decemberists from Picaresque
3. Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting: Elton John from Greatest Hits
   
4. Maybe Sparrow: Neko Case from Fox Confessor Brings the Flood
5. Broken Drum (Boards of Canada remix): Beck from Guero
6. Orange Crush: R.E.M. from In Time
7. Maria Maria: Santana featuring the Project G & B from Supernatural
8. Untitled: Shelby Lynne from Suit Yourself (this song is actually Rainy Night in Georgia; I don't know why they call it Untitled.)
9. Where Did My Baby Go?: John Legend from Once Again
10. Satan, Your Kingdom Must Come Down: Uncle Tupelo from March 16-20, 1992

Washington, D.C. and the Friday Shuffle

Today, 1000 yards! I promise I'll quit that -- I'm just not used to it yet. I'm going to Washington, D.C. for the American Library Association conference at the end of June. I'm pretty excited about this because I've never been to D.C. I know I should've taken my kids there, but I never did. I'm taking an extra day since I'd like to see some things while I'm there. My plans are to see the Vietnam Memorial -- I remember the controversy when it was built, how everyone thought it wasn't a proper memorial. Now it seems that if someone is going to cry at a memorial, it's that one. I'm going to see the Library of Congress as well and the Smithsonian. I know there are other things I should see but I only have one day.

Friday Shuffle

1. Everybody's Wrong: Buffalo Springfield from Buffalo Springfield
2. Optimistic: Radiohead from Kid A
3. 9 Crimes: Damien Rice from 9
4. Next Exit: Interpol from Antics
5. Anytime: My Morning Jacket from Z
6. The Forecast (Calls for Pain): Robert Cray from Midnight Stroll
7. Muddy Water: Madeleine Peyroux from Dreamland (it's been a long time since she's showed up on a shuffle.)
8. God Bless the Child: Blood, Sweat and Tears from Greatest Hits
9. Meadowlake Street: Ryan Adams and the Cardinals from Cold Roses
10. Fine and Mellow: Billie Holiday from Golden Legends

City of the Dead

I'm home today because I just don't feel well at all. We've had a short work week because of Memorial Day but it's actually seemed like the longest week in a very long time.

The Brief History of the Dead: Kevin Brockmeier. I just finished this odd little book and completely enjoyed it until the end. I don't know what I was expecting from the ending, but it let me down somehow. In this book, people exist in three different stages: alive, living dead (not vampires but people who have died but there are still people living who remember them) and dead (those people with no living people who actually remember being with them). The city of the living dead sounds oddly very much like Manhattan. Things proceed there just like they would in a city of the living. People work, they love, they go out to eat -- they just don't age from the time they died. One day the entire city empties out except for a few people, so the ones left behind know something terrible must have happened in the land of the living. A pandemic has killed most of the people left on earth except one woman -- Laura Byrd. The story shifts between the city of the dead and Laura's life. I liked it but it's not a book for everyone.

Friday Shuffle

1. Under the Bridge: Red Hot Chili Peppers from Greatest Hits
2. Come Pick Me Up: Ryan Adams from Heartbreaker
3. He's Mine: The Platters from Enchanted
4. Anthony: Nickel Creek from Why Should the Fire Die?
5. Ukulele Lady: Arlo Guthrie from Hobo's Lullaby
6. Afrika: Angelique Kidjo from Black Ivory Soul
7. Do: The White Stripes from The White Stripes
8. Pissing in the Wind: Badly Drawn Boy from The Hour of Bewilderbeast
9. Jacqueline: Franz Ferdinand from Franz Ferdinand
10. (Da Le) Yaleo: Santana from Supernatural

Funny how those mp3 players get in moods. I haven't had The White Stripes shuffle up in a long time but they did last week and have been all week. Apparently my iPod is waiting in breathless anticipation for the release of Icky Thump!

Favorite books

I swiped this from Bablebabe who stole it from Naked without Books, who swiped it from Bookfool, all in a long chain of thievery.

A book that made you cry: Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson

A book that scared you: Stephen King's Salem’s Lot and Scott Smith's The Ruins -- I'm still creeped out by any mention of Mayan ruins and any mention of vines.

A book that made you laugh: You Suck by Christopher Moore. Also Lamb by Christopher Moore. Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett's novel about the Apocalypse, Good Omens, practically had me rolling in the aisles. How can you misplace the anti-Christ?

A book that disgusted you: Bentley Little's The University. Although I've read and enjoyed many other books by Little, I just found the violence and mayhem in this one too gratuitous and too gross.

A book you loved in elementary school: The Little House books, Caddie Woodlawn, Island of the Blue Dolphins, and Harriet the Spy. And almost any biography -- I read so many biographies at this age that other kids preceded my first name with Biography.

A book you loved in junior high: The Faraway Lurs by Harry Behn -- if the Jean Auel books had come out then, I would have read them -- I liked books involving prehistoric people when I was this age. I also loved and kept rereading Andre Norton's Daybreak 2250 A.D.

A book you loved in high school: Meet the Mob and, in keeping with that theme, The Godfather. In a complete switch in tone, I also loved James Herriot's books.

A book you hated in high school: I can't come up with one I just really really hated, although I wasn't fond of The Great Gatsby.

A book you loved in college: Oddly, I think because of the English major (which sounds contradictory but really isn't) I didn't read much in college but I did go through an Anthony Burgess phase and loved Devil of a State.

A book that challenged your identity: This is a hard one. Ann Coulter's Treason, not much but still it made me wonder.

A series that you love: Anne Perry's William Monk series, Katherine Kurtz's Deryni series (except the last three books) and Stephen King's Dark Tower series.

Your favorite horror book: Still after all these years, I think it's SK's The Stand. Also Richard Laymon's The Traveling Vampire Show.

Your favorite science fiction book: Kurt Vonnegut's Cat's Cradle, Anthony Burgess' The Wanting Seed and Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale.

Your favorite fantasy book: Marion Zimmer Bradley's The Mists of Avalon.

Your favorite mystery book: Anything by Michael Connelly.

Your favorite graphic novel: The Sandman series is my absolute favorite although I do like Marvel 1602 and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.

Your favorite biography: In a total reversal of how I was as a kid, I rarely read biography even though I enjoy it when I do. So this one is not strictly biography -- Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer

Your favorite “coming-of-age” book: This is not really a coming of age book; it's more an understanding your identity book but the character is young and her understanding of her heritage makes her grow up -- Jane Yolen's The Devil's Arithmetic.

Your favorite classic: Thomas Hardy's Jude the Obscure. I know many people who love or hate Tess but for me it was always Jude.

Your favorite romance book: I don't read romance much but when I was young, my aunt sent me Victoria Holt's The Shadow of the Lynx. I loved that book -- I love it still.

Favorite kids’ book: I like Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are and this book I used to read to my daughter -- it had a great mother/daughter relationship in it -- Big Big Sea by Martin Waddell and Jennifer Eachus.

Favorite cookbook: The River Road Cookbook -- Louisiana cooking

Your favorite book not on this list: Possession by AS Byatt -- this is one of my favorite books ever. The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova. Stones from the River by Ursula Hegi. A Thread of Grace by Mary Doria Russell.

Friday Shuffle

1. Dirty: Christina Aguilera from Stripped
2. Low Down Freedom: Waylon Jennings from Honky Tonk Heroes
3. Somebody More Like You: Nickel Creek from Why Should the Fire Die?
4. Anyone Can Play Guitar: Radiohead from Pablo Honey
5. Boulder to Birmingham: Emmylou Harris (with Herb Pederson) from Heartaches & Highways (I have tickets!)
6. Summertime in Wintertime: Badly Drawn Boy from One Plus One is One
7. I'm Not Afraid: Jill Scott from Beautifully Human
8. Moonshiner: Uncle Tupelo from March 16-20, 1992
9. Prayer for New Orleans: Charlie Miller from Our New Orleans
10. David Had the Blues: Rory Block from From the Dust
    

Cataloging

I've been cataloging my books in Library Thing for a long time now but I'm feeling like it's a project that's never going to be finished. I have rooms of books but I only have 416 in my catalog. I'm glad to have a place to do this because it makes the neat, organized freak in me happy (and it also ensures that I won't buy another copy of a book I already own) , but it makes the person inside me who wants instant gratification very impatient. I feel like the Pope asking Michelangelo, "When will it be done?" "When it is finished." the Michelangelo in me replies to the Pope in me. Secretly I know it will never be finished because there are always new books out there, but I like to think of it as something that will one day be ended and I can say to myself, "Now I know what I have."

Friday Shuffle (the not really late edition -- it was 12:07 when I started)

1. Cheated Hearts: The Yeah Yeah Yeahs from Show Your Bones
2. India's Song: India.arie from Testimony: Vol. 1, Life & Relationship
3. Question: Son Volt from Wide Swing Tremelo
4. You're All I Have: Snow Patrol from Eyes Open
5. Baby: Shelby Lynne from Identity Crisis (I love this album)
6. I Turn My Camera On: Spoon from Gimme Fiction
7. Children of the Night: Cassandra Wilson from Blue Light Til Dawn
8. Hot Knives: Bright Eyes from Cassadaga
9. Strangers: Martina McBride from Greatest Hits
10. Planet Telex: Radiohead from The Bends

Alone Time

I've always been the kind of person who needs to be alone. Even if it's just an hour a week where I'm doing nothing but wandering bookstores by myself or seeing a movie, I need that time. When I work on the weekends, I get a day off the following week, usually a Friday, giving me a three day weekend. I depend on this Friday to supply me with some of that coveted alone time. Today was one of those Fridays and I was looking forward to spending it all by myself -- I was thinking, "Yay! I get extended time by myself!" I should have known better. The girl child ended up staying home with me today and the boy called me and said, "I need to go here and after that I need to go there." So I was a chauffeur and an entertainer all day instead. Maybe I'll be able to sneak in some of that time tomorrow. I hope so.

Friday Shuffle

1. Golden: Jill Scott from Beautifully Human: Words and Sounds, vol. 2
   
2. Hex: Neko Case from Live From Austin, Texas
3. Sparks: Coldplay from Parachutes
4. A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall: Bob Dylan from Greatest Hits, vol. 2
5. Way Out: Yeah Yeah Yeahs from Show Your Bones
6. More and More: Van Morrison from Pay the Devil
7. Just for Now: Imogen Heap from Speak for Yourself
8. I Know: Eric Benet from Hurricane
9. Respect: Otis Redding from The Very Best of Otis Redding
10. Kamera: Wilco from Yankee Hotel Foxtrot

May Music

I'm not sleeping well tonight, so here I am writing about music because I can't write about more painful things, such as the anger I feel over the Virgina Tech shootings -- it's too much for me. I can't be eloquent and write about that incident in the manner it deserves, so I'm writing about more trivial matters. Music months are either feast or famine for me. I haven't bought much new lately -- some older stuff that I've always liked -- but nothing new. May, however, looks like a ridiculously overflowing month. This is just what's in my wish list -- the music I know about.

Djin Djin: Angelique Kidjo: I love her voice. Here she does the Rolling Stone's Gimme Shelter -- I'm looking forward to that. She also works with Joss Stone and Santana on this new album.



Sky Blue Sky: Wilco: The new one from my favorite group. I hear it's more a return to older Wilco -- as in Being There. The one song I've heard from this album, What Light, seems to bear that out.



Into the Blues: Joan Armatrading: It's been since 2003, I think, since she has released a new album - - something that wasn't just a compilation of songs I already own or a live album. I have really missed her and was glad to see a new release.


Breakfast in Bed: Joan Osborne: Joan Osborne is more than just the singer of the annoying One of Us; she has a great voice which is shown to good effect when she covers R & B singers. This album is an homage to 60s and 70s R & B, and I'm anticipating something really good.


One of the Boys: Gretchen Wilson: I never really got into Here for The Party but I loved All Jacked Up -- I'm hoping this one will be more along the lines of the latter.



Icky Thump: White Stripes: This is technically not May music since it won't be released until June and there's no cover art for it yet but it's another one I'm looking forward to. Jack is back with Meg.

Friday Shuffle

1. Make it Alright: Jay Farrar from Sebastopol
2. Casey's Last Ride: Kris Kristofferson from Kristofferson
3. Wake Up and Smell the Coffee: The Cranberries from Wake Up and Smell the Coffee
4. Trouble Man: Marvin Gaye from Every Great Motown Hit of Marvin Gaye
5. I'm a Wheel: Wilco from A Ghost is Born
6. War on War: Wilco from Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (Yay! Two Wilco songs in a row!)
7. Teach Me Tonight: Phoebe Snow from The Very Best of Phoebe Snow
8. Should've Been in Love: Wilco from A.M. (Wow! Triple Wilco and I began with Jay Farrar who was with Wilco's Jeff Tweedy in Uncle Tupelo.)
9. You Need a Man Around Here: Brad Paisley from Time Well Wasted
10. Just Like Greta: Van Morrison from Magic Time

Banned Books and a Shuffle

Even though it's more than a month into it, when I saw the Banned Books Challenge at A Patchwork of Book's blog, I signed up to participate in it at Fahrenheit 451. You set a goal for yourself to read as many banned or challenged books as you want between February 26 (Freedom to Read Week) and June 30, 2007. The site has lists of books that were either banned or challenged if you need suggestions. The American Library Association also has a list of the most frequently banned or challenged books. The problem is I've already read most of the things on the banned or challenged lists -- at least the ones I'm interested in. Maybe I will use this challenge to read The Satanic Verses, a book where I've never gotten past the first two pages.

Friday Shuffle

1. Burn Down This Town: Roseanne Cash from Black Cadillac
2. Heaven on Earth: The Platters from Enchanted: The Best of the Platters
3. The Wind: Amos Lee: Supply and Demand
4. The Big Guns: Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins from Rabbit Fur Coat
5. Waltz (Better Than Fine): Fionna Apple from Extraordinary Machine
6. ELT: Wilco from Summerteeth
7. Johnny Sunshine: Liz Phair from Exile in Guyville
8. There's a Higher Power: Buddy Miller from Universal United House of Prayer
9. Hello Operator: The White Stripes from De Stijl
10. Awake: Eliot Morris from Parker's Back

New Music and a Friday Shuffle

Neon Bible: Arcade Fire: I was never able to get into Arcade Fire's earlier release, Funeral, but because the title of their new one refers to John Kennedy Toole's first novel, which I thought was funny, I thought I'd give it a try (I also like the cover). I don't know that I've liked a rock album so much on first listen since Green Day's American Idiot, which Neon Bible is frankly reminiscent of. I like that they've added orchestral arrangements and I like the way the songs feel as if they are all meant to be together on this one album. You can download individual tunes, but, again like American Idiot, Neon Bible is better experienced as a whole.

Friday Shuffle

1. Blue Alert: Madeleine Peyroux from Half the Perfect World
2. That Teenage Feeling: Neko Case from Fox Confessor Brings the Flood
3. Church House Steps: Ben Harper & The Blind Boys of Alabama from There Will Be A Light
4. Something Heavy: Shemekia Copeland from The Soul Truth
5. Lonely Avenue: Taj Mahal from Phantom Blues
6. Soap Star Joe: Liz Phair from Exile in Guyville: Still her best album
7. Raining: Carly Simon from Clouds in My Coffee
8. Black Wind Blowing: Billy Bragg and Wilco from Mermaid Avenue, Vol. 2
9. Whip the Blankets: Neko Case and Her Boyfriends from Furnace Room Lullaby
10. I've Got Dreams to Remember: Otis Redding from The Very Best of Otis Redding, Vol. 1