Blogging Around the World

Not to make excuses, but when you’re helping plan a wedding, it doesn’t leave a lot of time for things like blogging. I’ll keep posting as often as I can, though. So without further ado, here are three interesting news items that caught my eye today. The first, from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer is the suggestion that Harry Potter may not survive the series of books that bears his name. (LINK). At csmonitor.com, Amazon’s list of bestselling books among US Military Personnel (LINK). And, from the Guardian UK, John Updike tells the Brits that they don’t have to be jealous of American novelists any more because those Brits are pretty good after all (LINK).

Goodreads is a vibrant and feisty place – if you can even call an online community a place. Its slogan boasts, “it’s what your friends are reading!” and perhaps that’s true: the site’s more dedicated members are so busy posting the books they’ve read, and want to read, or are currently reading, that you might assume they no longer have time to actually read. But the opposite is true for me – since joining the site, and becoming obsessed with it, I’ve been reading quite voraciously. Chalk it up to a pure-hearted love of sharing my thoughts about literature; or to some illusory sense of accountability (“Everyone’s breathlessly awaiting my opinion of Junot Diaz’s The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao!”); or to my desire to read a novel as soon as it’s lauded by a friend (“Wow, Katie gave 5 stars to The Dud Avocado, I must see what’s so great about it!”). Or maybe it’s just a primitive lust to build up my roster of books read, to assert myself as the most bookish.Goodreads allows you to organize your books in self-created bookshelves (mine include “Theory” and “Tried but Failed to Read”), and to see if you and a friend have similar reading tastes (apparently, my taste is 100% similar to the aforementioned Katie’s, which is just creepy). Most importantly, the site lets you rate books on a star system, one star signifying “I didn’t like it,” and five signifying, “It was amazing.” The fact that there isn’t an “I hated this piece of crap” option suggests that Goodreads is generally promoting a positive reaction to books. You can, however, say whatever you want in your reviews, and your friends can respond as they wish in the comments section. On my page, for instance, there’s a 33-comment thread that covers Jonathan Lethem (the original subject of my review), Haruki Murakami, Miranda July, Michael Chabon, hipsters, blonde women, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Kelly Ripa and Faith Ford (that is, who’s hotter), Rushmore, irony, Colson Whitehead, and more. Another friend’s two-star rating (denoting “It was okay”) of On The Road caused another friend to comment, “You also gave two stars to The Stranger, you tool. For that I should bypass this comment box and toss a flaming bag of shit at your house.” This, unsurprisingly, led to a heated ping-ponging of comments. My, my, reading is more fun than I thought.I’d say more, but I must get back to that Junot Diaz novel – which is definitely already 4 stars-good, if not 5.

The summer, that great season of reading, is now on the wane. And as the autumn swings into view, you might be looking for a book to prolong the escapism of the season or perhaps to provide you with some comfort as the cooler months settle in. August is not traditionally a great month for new books. It’s too late for “summer reads” and too early yet for the holiday retail push. Still, this August there will be several books that will be worth a look. It’s an eclectic and intriguing list, and I’ll start with the title that I am most looking forward to. Harbor is a novel about an Algerian immigrant named Aziz who has stowed away in a tanker’s hold for 52 days in order to illegally enter the United States. Upon his arrival, however, there isn’t much stopping him from becoming an unwitting participant in the war on terror. The book was written by Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, Lorraine Adams. For those who enjoy short stories, check out a new collection by young writer named Courtney Eldridge. Unkempt consists of seven stories as well as a novella entitled “The Former World Record Holder Settles Down” in which the “world record” refers to the now happily married title character’s past life as a porn star. The Wasp Eater, a debut novel by William Lychack, sounds especially intriguing. The book is set in New England in 1979 and is about a nine-year-old boy who is caught between his estranged parents. It is, I’m told, beautifully written, and both wrenching and uplifting. For those looking for a more light-hearted book there’s another debut effort: An Evening of Long Goodbyes by Paul Murray. The lead character, Charles Hythloday, is a loveable drunkard from an eccentric family, and his life of leisure is about to be severely curtailed by his feisty sister and the return of his long lost mother. This one is being described as a hilarious update on classic British humor and it was shortlisted for the Whitbread First Novel Award no less. Also sure to tickle your funny bone is Eating Crow by Jay Rayner about a restaurant reviewer named Marc Basset whose cruel review drives a chef to suicide. Basset is compelled to make an apology, and, after discover the palliative effects of such an act, decides to make a career of it, eventually becoming Chief Apologist for the United Nations. Viciously funny, I’m told. Two better-known authors will be releasing books in August as well. Arthur Phillips will release The Egyptologist, which is supposed to be even better than his big selling debut Prague. Turkish writer Orhan Pamuk has a new book out as well, Snow. Pamuk’s previous book, My Name is Red, was a favorite among many readers, but this new offering is supposed to be dense and challenging. Still, some believe that a dense and challenging book is the best way to counteract a summer’s worth of fluffy beach reading.Harbor by Lorraine Adams — excerptUnkempt by Courtney Eldridge — short storyThe Wasp Eater by William Lychack — interviewAn Evening of Long Goodbyes by Paul Murray — excerptEating Crow by Jay Rayner — excerpt, The Apology LogThe Egyptologist by Arthur Phillips — excerptSnow by Orhan Pamuk — excerpt