Daily Thoughts 6/3/2010

An engraving of Andrew Lang, January 1894, Century Magazine, Painting by W. B. Richmond, A.R.A.; photographed by F. Hollyer; engraved by T. Johnson.

Daily Thoughts 6/3/2010

I am still reading The Uncomfortable Dead (what's missing is missing). It is quite entertaining. The two detectives Elias Contreras and Hector Belascaron Shayne are searching for a character called Morales who is bad and evil. It is kind of a pun. There may be more than one Morales, but they haven't figured it out yet. There is a wonderful sense of how corrupt and sad that Mexican politics can get. I like a quote by a magician named Alakazam in the story, "there's black magic which is one you do with demons, and there's white magic, which is the one Alakazam and other magicians do, and then there's dirty magic, which is the one politicians do." It is taking a while for me to read. The book is turning out to be a lot more than a mystery. It is turning into an over the top leftist political diatribe full of puns, jokes, metaphors, and stories. A lot of the story is about the Zapatistas which was a rebellion by indigenous people from Mexico. It is hard to get a grip on what exactly they believe.

I am going to throw in another quote from The Uncomfortable Dead, this one is from an interview entitled the Punchcard and the Hourglass An Interview with Subcomandante Marcos by Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Robert Pombo on p. 288, Subcomandante Marcos, "Don Quixote is always at my side, and as a rule I carry Garcia Lorca's Romancero Gitano with me. Don Quixote is the best book of political theory, followed by Hamlet and Macbeth, there is no better way to understand the Mexican political system, in its tragic and comic aspects: Hamlet, Macbeth, and Don Quixote, better than any political columnist." This quote gives a sense of the absurdity and beauty of Marcos's writing.

This book would be hard to do justice in a traditional review. It is a unique book with a unique style. It mixes fiction, mystery, literature, revolutionary politics, and history all into a book that is absolutely unique. I do not think that there is another book even remotely like this one. This is highly recommended reading. The only way to truly understand it is to read it. The book is head spinning in its content, often writing and saying things which are completely surprising.

When I visited Akashic Books, their lineup of new titles was very interesting http://www.akashicbooks.com , For example, they have a poetry title, A Lesser Tragedy of Death by Cristina Garcia author of Dreaming In Cuban. While I was at the Book Expo America booth, there was someone looking at Anna In Between by Elizabeth Nunez about a Caribbean American family. We recently purchased Los Angeles County Noir 2, Indian Country Noir, and Orange County Noir from them which are short story noir mysteries. I like what they have to offer. Akashic Books published The Uncomfortable Dead. I think they will break new ground as a publisher and grow very fast.

I went to Queens Library today; they are doing four things for advocacy. On their website they are asking you to sign a form letter to send to a politician. They are also giving out postcards to send to elected officials as well as asking you to write personal letters. There is also a petition to sign in support of the library.

I have started reading Linchpin Are You Indispensable? by Seth Godin. So far it is about being creative and trying new things out in the work setting.

Daily Thoughts 5/30/2010

Victor Hugo, c1875, taken by Comte Stanisław Julian Ostroróg dit WALERY (1830-1890), French Ministry of Culture, from Wikimedia

Daily Thoughts 5/30/2010

Have been reading the uncomfortable dead (what's missing is missing) a novel by four hands. The chapters are written alternately, first Subcomandate Marcos will write one chapter, then Paco Ignacio Taibo II will write the next chapter. This creates a slowly interweaving setting where the characters in the book move closer and closer together.

There is a lot of politics in this book, an odd mix of left wing libertarianism and anarchism that often has an absurd and ridiculous quality to it mixed with ironic humor. The main characters are detectives in that they are trying to solve a crime, but it is often hard to tell what the crime is exactly, and it is often more of a conversation about the vagaries of life in the mixed up setting of a corrupt, greedy Mexico city. I am enjoying the book because of its unique iconoclastic style.

The characters are interesting personalities; a progressive politician with a pet dog with a broken leg, a gay revolutionary, an inspector for the Zapatistas, a Chinese revolutionary in Mexico city, a Mexican porn star who looks like Bin Laden, a corrupt business man, a sweet old grandmother who hacks computers, and others.

The characters all chain smoke, drink, often swear, and tell jokes. The book is not that clean, it might make some people uncomfortable. However, there is very little gratuitious sex or violence, the characters mainly talk about it. The book is very well written and was recommended by Library Journal and the Los Angeles Times. Paco Ignacio Taibo II has won numerous awards for his writing; he is a professor of history at Metropolitan University of Mexico City. It is odd reading a mystery cowritten by a revolutionary, Subcomandante Marcos, but then Marcos has also written a childrens book, The Story of the Colors. There is even a short interview with Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Robert Pombo, and Subcomandante Marcos called The Punchcard and The Hourglass at the back of this edition of the book.

I am about half way through reading the book. This was a free copy given out by Akashic books at Book Expo America. It is not an advanced reading copy, so I will definitely add it to the library collection. We have several other books by Paco Ignacio Taibo II featuring the detective Hector Belascaron Shayne.

Right now I am a bit tired. It was a very long week at the convention.

Thoughts On Reviews

There is a very different goal for librarians reading reviews than many people think. We can't read every book, but we need to know about many books out there in case people ask about them. This means there is no such thing as spoilers for us in reviews. If we read a review, it is nice to know the genre, plot, characters, style, setting, and framework of the book. A review that is longer than what is in a review magazine, about a page and a half is ideal for me.

I want to know how you feel about a book, your personal opinions matter. Reviewers in the literary criticism often can't give their personal feelings or emotions in their reviews. Your personal style counts a lot. Stars don't mean a lot to me. Specifics about what you like and dislike are what matters. Please tell me what is bad about a book. You may not know this but a bad book review can increase sales. People become aware of an item if it generates controversy. http://marketing.wharton.upenn.edu/documents/research/Negative_Publicity.pdf

I like it when I see both good and bad reviews on books. This indicates that the author had a specific opinion and was writing for a specific audience. There are a lot of books which will not appeal to many people or have content that has a strong, often offensive set of opinions that is not for every audience.

I have to consider books with a full spectrum of religious, philosophical, and political viewpoints. We don't have to agree with Ann Coulter or Al Franken, but we do need to know if the material is well written, entertaining, and has some degree of accuracy.

Tell me when you don't like a book, you don't have to write a full review, but saying I put this book down because it bored me or it was confusing helps me make decisions about books.

I want to see your personal style in your writing of a review. This may help me gauge whether it is right for another person. Knowing a little bit about you helps as well. Let me know in your blog if you review christian fiction, books about serial killers, fantasy, urban fantasy, science fiction, world literature, chick lit, travel writing, or whatever else you might like.

Include things which we don't normally see in a book review. Describe the layout of the text, talk about the illustrator or photographer in a nonfiction book, compare it to several other books. There are no constraints in a blog. There is no stylesheet for a personal blog like in a magazine.