Coffeespoons

When we started planning the NYRB Reading Week , I had only one NYRB in my possession, and so I was determined to collect more. I then did some research to look for the most popular or most loved NYRBs. Two titles jumped out, which I promptly ordered from Book Depository . These two were A High Wind in Jamaica and Stoner . Reading William's review of Stoner has cemented my belief that I was right to choose it. And after reading   A High Wind in Jamaica  I know now that this book well deserves all the love its readers have for it. It well deserves any accolade given it, I believe. My own meager addition to its accolades would be to say that Richard Hughes' book is easily one of the best books I've read this year (together with Hillary Mantel's Wolf Hall ). This is the part where I shall gush, because I do gush about books I love. And I love this book. This is the kind of book that I would love to ask my book group to read because it is so rife with things to dis...

It's the middle of our NYRB Reading Week , so Mrs. B and I are making our first consolidation post. These are ordered according to the date links were left in our comments or when we found the reviews. Nov. 7 Gathering Books - The Bear That Wasn’t by Frank Tashlin I Prefer Reading - Poison Penmanship: The gentle art of muckracking by Jessica Mitford Soliony’s Blog - The Stray Dog Cabaret: A book of Russian poems by Paul Schmidt Kyusireader - Asleep in the Sun by Adolfo Bioy Casares Lizzy’s Literary Life - Aquis Submersus by Theodor Storm Lit Stuff - The Unknown Masterpiece by Honore de Balzac Nov. 8 Letters and Sodas: Book Notes - Witch Grass by Raymond Queneau Gathering Books - The Man Who Lost His Head by Claire Hutchet Bishop Bibliographing - After Claude by Iris Owens Nathalie Foy - Unknown Masterpieces: Writers Rediscover Literature’s Hidden Classics by Edwin Frank (editor) Nov. 9 Book Group of One - Summer Will Show by Sylvia Tow...

In an earlier post, I spoke about my love for poetry and mentioned my favorite poem, "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock." I said I was initially dissuaded by the title. For does it not promise a love song--a thing of beauty--only to find out that the love song is from someone named J. Alfred Prufrock? The name seems to connote someone stiff, staid, unromantic. Hence, for years, I ignored it because I judged it by its title, not knowing that Eliot intended that effect exactly--the conflict between the hint of romance and the boring name. And, my lord, what a heartrending conflict in a lovely poem it is! I say this now because I bought Skylark for the same reason that I initially avoided Prufrock--the judgment on a name. The name, of course, evoked the bird. But with the name and image were thoughts of freedom, of flight, of beauty. Of dawn, song, and heaven, like Shakespeare's sonnet 29 . But Skylark, the title character of Deszo Kosztolanyi's novel, evokes...

Photo courtesy of Thomas at My Porch It's still the middle of our NYRB Reading Week , and Mrs. B and I have cooked up this little contest for the participants. The photo above from Thomas's blog is actually the inspiration of our NYRB Photo Contest. Why a photo contest? Well, it's a more visual and creative way to show our love for NYRBs. Plus, we do have those prizes to give away anyway. Hence, we'll be giving away a copy of No Tomorrow by Vivant Denon as a prize to the NYRB Reading Week participant who takes the most beautiful/creative/artistic shot of his or her NYRB book or collection. A few guidelines: A "participant" in the NYRB Reading Week is someone who posts a review of at least one NYRB book in his or her blog or book social networking site and leaves us a link to the review in our comments section.  Only NYRB Reading Week participants can join this contest. The photo doesn't have to be the one featured in your NYRB review post. ...

It's finally Nov. 7, which means it's the start of our NYRB Reading Week ! This week is an event that's co-hosted by Mrs. B of The Literary Stew and yours truly. Basically, the event is just an entire week of reading, reviewing, and enjoying NYRB Classics , Collections , and Children's Collection . We made the announcement about the NYRB Reading Week a month ago, and we're very happy that many people have signed up to join. But, if you've just stumbled upon this now, you're welcome to join any time. All participants need to do is, within the reading week, read at least one NYRB book and write a review about it. We're opening the event primarily to bloggers, but those of you who don't have a blog can join, too, as long as you can post your reviews on any of the popular book social networking sites like Shelfari , Goodreads , or LibraryThing . The important thing is to leave us, either Mrs. B or I, a comment with a link to your review. You ca...

The last couple of weeks of October have been extremely hectic for me, and November promises to be no less hectic, work-wise. Hectic or not, however, this won't stop me from taking part in two events I've been looking forward to for the past month. Interestingly, it's my first time to try both events. Ah, the joy of trying new things... NYRB Reading Week Three weeks ago, Mrs. B from The Literary Stew and I invited everyone to join us for our NYRB Reading Week , scheduled this coming Nov. 7-13. Thanks, by the way, to all of you who signed up! If you haven't and still want to join, sign-ups are still open. Just leave a comment below or in our announcement posts . And if you still need more info about the fabulous NYRB books, just check out the NYRB website . Anyway, Mrs. B and I have updates for those joining--we mentioned that there will be prizes to be given away during the reading week, courtesy of Fully Booked , who so very kindly agreed to donate a few ...

A bit late in the game, but I still want to celebrate Teen Read Week with the rest of the world. I left my teens almost half my life ago (now there's a mathematical conundrum for you), and I really have no desire of going back, except perhaps to reminisce about the books I read while I was at those turbulent years. This post, by the way, is inspired by Zarah Gagatiga's efforts over at School Librarian in Action . Let me qualify "teen reads" first. These will be books I read while I was a teenager. And considering most of the books I read when I was a teenager, some of these books aren't really meant for teens. But then, who really reads according to his or her age group anyway? I speak as one who now enjoys a lot of children's and young adult titles. More importantly, whether my parents wanted me to read them or not, these books were discoveries. They were my first forays into the concept of empowerment--no one told me to read them. I just did, out o...