Books the Change You

I recently heard an interview on the Washington Post Book review podcast with the author the author Jay Parini about his recent book Promised Land: Thirteen Books That Changed America. The books he selected were by no means great books but I would agree that they did have a profound impact on American culture in general. Parini argued in the interview that these 13 books represent the soul of America and shaped America's morals and character. After this interview, I started to think about the books that have changed me, shaped my morals and character. At first my list included all my favorite books but then it occurred to me there is a difference between loving a book and being influenced by a book. I didn't necessarily love Blink but I was highly influenced by the arguments Malcolm Gladwell makes about how perceptions shape my reality. There are many sentences or scenes from specific books that are with me forever and that I routinely return to shape the way I approach everyday situations. Some of those influences are obvious, such as Fast Food Nation compelling to eat only organic beef and to frequent Fast Food restaurants only on rare occassions. Where as books like Lolita and Anna Karenina had more subtle and profound impacts on the way I see the world and my relationships. To this day when I think of the frustrations of relationships, I think of Levin and Kitty mushroom hunting in the forest. No scene in fiction better captures the awkwardness of relating to someone. Having read that I feel I better understand my own shortcomings and insecurities when trying to communicate with someone I love.
For me, there are few thrills more exhilerated than comming across a passage or an idea in a book that shifts the world for me- a little like peering into a kaleidoscope. To be changed is actually one of the key reasons why I read and why I am so compelled to read.

So what are those thirteen books for me? I will list them below and I think in future posts highlight one book and explain why it is on the list. I will warn you it is fairly predictable list.

* The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - Mark Twain
* The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe - C.S. Lewis
* The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald
* The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
* Love Medicine - Louise Erdrich
* Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
* Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
* Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser
* Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
* The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner
* Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser
* Blink by Malcolm Gladwell (honorable mention for The Tipping Point)
* The Wind-up Bird Chronicle Haruki Murakami
*

You Love the Collection

Self-Help by Lorrie Moore

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
After reading this collection of Lorrie Moore stories, you can see why so many writers frequently copy her style. For one thing she makes it look so easy. Her prose is so perfectly paced and all those tough things like character development, plot, and setting just seem to flow effortlessly and logically out of the story. "Look" you say to yourself, "if she can create a beautiful story peppered with puns and thieving wives, why can't I?" And then you try and then you see why you can't. And then you are in a deep despair because you realize it is always the best writing that looks so deceptively easy. You could spend years trying to perfect this style but you know it would never be as good. Just when you are at the brink you read "When Robert MacNeil talks about mounting inflation, you imagine him checking into a motel room with a life-size, blow-up tall." and you giggle and you forgive Lorrie Moore for being such a great writer and you love the collection.


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Reading Visually

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars
This was our book club selection for January. This is definitely not the girly, let's-have-a-good-cry, Oprah-esque book club and that's why I love it. We started the bc with the Watchmen and decided to see what the other seminal graphic novel was like. In fact, I am really glad I could talk about this book with a group of mutual comic novices because there were a lot of plot points and even characters that I was clueless about and in this group I felt more than free to admit my ignorance. On a story level it is fairly well written and I can see that at the time the ambiguously moral batman was fresh and exciting take on the classic story. Now of course, we are used to this ambivalent batman and I got a little tired of the story beating over my head whether or not he was good guy or a bad guy. I did like the comments Miller was making about the media and their influence on public opinion. Twenty years later it is still relevant. In fact, I feel the media he depicted as an exageration is very close to our own reality now. One thing that became clear for me in this book is that I am not very good at reading visually. Often I would find my self skipping panels if they did not include text. I would miss important pieces of the story because of this oversight. It is interesting to me that there is almost a skill in being able to read these. I have a feeling that in the future my book club will give me a few more opportunities to practice.


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Read the Right One

As part of my obsession with reading books before I see the movie, I picked up the swedish vampire novel Let the Right One In just before christmas and while the movie was in theatres. In fact, I missed seeing the movie in the theatre because I decided to read the book and didn't have it done in time. Large book + indie movie with short run = see movie on dvd. I just started a couple of days ago because I figured I should get my sustenance from Netherland before I get my little treat of genre. So far I am not disappointed. The writing is snappy, engaging, and quite creepy. The perspective and shifts of point of view are very cinematic and I wouldn't be surprised if the story translates pretty well on film. My only worry is that reading the book before bed each night might give me creepy dreams. I might have to pick a different book for the night stand and keep this one for Saturday afternoons.