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Yes, The New York Times Book Review is the sine qua non of bestseller lists, but for a snapshot of regional reading tastes take a look at:
Bay Area bestsellers from the San Francisco Chronicle
SoCal favorites from the Los Angeles Times
Washington Post DC area list
What can you say about a man who is said to have titled himself “His Excellency President for Life, Field Marshal Al Hadji Doctor Idi Amin, VC, DSO, MC, Lord of All the Beasts of the Earth and Fishes of the Sea, and Conqueror of the British Empire in Africa in General and Uganda in Particular”?
The Last King of Scotland won author Giles Foden a 1998 Whitbread First Novel award. Forest Whitaker just grabbed an Oscar for Best Actor in his portrayal of the eccentric Ugandan dictator Idi Amin. Beyond Hollywood, Ugandans praised Whitaker’s performance as being acutely right on. This one sounds like a win-win: read the book, see the flick.
The Anna-Nicole saga being played out in the media is a tragedy on many levels. We tend to think our most modern of times has produced never before seen levels of incompetence and greed particularly in the legal system. Not true.
In 1853 Charles Dickens published his indictment of the British legal system, Bleak House. Dickens novel appeared in 20 installments in magazine format which is why his chapters always end with a cliffhanger. Like the TV show "Law & Order", Dickens plots were 'ripped from the headlines' and fictionalized.
In Bleak House we find a decades old battle over an inheritance involving scores of people, gaggles of lawyers, babies born with parentage in question. Bleak House is scathing, tragic and not so different from the coverage of current events except for the fact that it is so well written. Big difference.
Ben Schott, who created quite a stir with his Schott's Original Miscellany in 2003, is at it again. He has published Schott's Almanac 2007 and he has designed the book as an almanac to be read rather than stored on the shelf. One of my favorite sections is Words of the Year. I was struck by FRATIRE: male equivalent of chick lit, emphasising sex, drinking, sport, etc.; part of the MENAISSANCE rejection of metrosexuality and gender ambiguity.
Go to www.benschott.com
There’s a new movie coming out featuring the life and work of English churchman John Newton (1725-1807), author of the hymn “Amazing Grace.” As a young man, Newton served on slave trading ships. During a violent storm in 1748, he prayed for salvation and converted to evangelical Christianity. He dedicated the latter part of his life to the abolition of the slave trade, and 2007 marks the bicentennial of both Newton’s death and the end of slavery in the British Empire. Adam Hochschild’s Bury the Chains: Prophets and Rebels in the Fight to Free an Empire’s Slaves is a good book about the subject, but also try iConn’s History Reference Center database for more information about the 18th-century slave trade.
Snow, freezing rain, howling winds, temps in the single digits. Winter’s heels dug in. Our thoughts turn to food...for comfort...for culture, and oh yeah, for gossip, sex appeal, celebrities, globetrotting and explosive flavor! My recipe for eating your way out of the winter doldrums:
The Nasty Bits, from culinary bad boy Anthony Bourdain.
Heat, Bill Buford’s amusing experience as Mario Batali’s kitchen slave.
Best Food Writing of 2006, for a bit of everything food (more fun than the title sounds.)
Restaurant Girl, from she who gets “more excited about a good steak than a good man.”
The Amateur Gourmet, from he who covers it all (see Feb.13 post, a chance to win Blue Man Group tix with your blue-themed dish.)
The American Dialect Society has chosen 'plutoed' as the word of 2006. If you've been plutoed--it is not a good thing. The meaning of this new word is "to demote or devalue someone or something". So if you've been plutoed at work, you might want to take a look at our job hunting books.
If it is your love life that's been plutoed, the many relationship books can help.
Merriam -Webster has chosen 'truthiness' as the word of 2006. "Truthiness' deserves its own entry. Stay tuned.
Forget about watching CSI and Law & Order etc. Grab a copy of Jasper Fforde's The Big Over Easy. Join Inspector Jack Spratt and his partner Mary Mary of the Nursery Crimes Division as they try to solve the murder of Humperdinck Jehoshapat Aloysius Stuyvestant van Dumpty, better known as Humpty Dumpty. Their investigation shows that Humpty Dumpty was a womanizer, a drinker and a stock manipulator. They have to solve the case admidst budgetary problems and interdeparmental rivalries.
For more about this book (and a sequel titled The Fourth Bear) go to the author's web site Fforde Grand Central.
This week, Apple Inc. reached an agreement with Apple Corps, ending a long standing feud between Apple (formerly Apple Computers) and the Beatles. Apple Corps, the record label started and owned by the Beatles, has fought the electronics company over their trademark and logo since 1980, coming to an agreement in 1991. With the advent of iTunes and the iPod, Apple Corps filed suit again. The new ruling favored Apple Inc., who will license the needed trademarks and logos to Apple Corps.
The big question is: will the Beatles' music now be available on iTunes? British bookmaker William Hill has 8/1 odds that it will happen and "Hey Jude" will be the Beatles' first number one download. Will you be queuing up for the fab four's first mp3s?
If you don't want to wait for the Beatles to catch up with the digital revolution, you can find their CDs, movies and sheet music at the library.
Joe Queenan asks readers what's in an adjective? in the New York Times Book Review [Jan. 21, 2007]. After feeling overwhelmed by the onslaught of good books in his world, he limited himself only to books called astonishing by a mainstream publication. This still left him with plenty to read and, perhaps more importantly, it left him with the type of book he prefers. Specifically, "books that go off like a Roman candle" as opposed to those that "veer toward the introspective, the arcane or the wise".
Are we reaching adjectival exhaustion? Are reviewers (movie, book, performance, music) hyperbolic in their praise? Are you seduced by a certain turn of phrase when looking for your next read? Personally, I'm a sucker for anything called a New York Times Notable Book.
If you are desperately seeking connection, meaning and fulfillment in your humdrum existence, perhaps acquiring a collection of 3,000 Barbie dolls (in original boxes) is a good place to start. Folks with a zealous, all-consuming love for something---Barbie, ice fishing, storm chasing, Josh Groban—are profiled in Shari Caudron’s delightful new book, Who Are You People? A Personal Journey into the Heart of Fanatical Passion in America. Each person profiled in this book is a proud member of a tribe of like-minded souls, finding fellowship in pursuit of a shared dream. And if that dream is a Mayberry-themed wedding, complete with Barney Fife impersonator, that’s cool, too.
Want to find your group? Check out Meetup There are meetups for Ghost Trackers, Graphic Designers, Expat Filipinos…you get the idea!