most people hate short stories · Mar 18, 02:26 pm

how we are hungry — by: dave eggers

how we are hungry

when i let people know i’m reading a new book of short stories most crinkle their nose and raise up the corner of their lip in a sneer. it seems that short stories occupy the same place in reading as fractions do in math.

many people enjoy novels because they are a complete thought. a novel is a fully explored idea or theme. in general the actions are predictable, the plot is recognizable and complete and fits into the conventional standard of a story.

a short story is more like a sketch. it is an exploration in form and style. the point of a short story is not to meet the convention of narrative form – but to experiment and create in dense, intense experiences.

the rare novel might toy with the conventions of form and style, but it is expected in the short story. that may be why many people don’t like them. they hint at something difficult. there are parts to the puzzle you have to invent yourself for it to feel complete. or even worse – you have to be comfortable with the odd missing piece.

i have to hand it to eggers. he’s well know and respected as an accomplished and renown author of novels, but his book of short stories is quite enjoyable.

read it yourself – it’s not as bad as fractions.

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riding with rilke · Feb 22, 07:30 am

by: ted bishop
Riding With Rilke - Ted Bishop

as the subtitle suggests this book deals with riding and books, in an equal measure. i heard an interview with ted bishop on cbc, which brought me to a bookstore for further insight.

the moment i opened to the first page i knew i was leaving with a copy. the first thing my eyes set on was the table of contents – first chapter: why a duc?

i headed straight for the checkout, and as i set the book on the counter the merchant explained for several minutes how mr. bishop had taught his literature class at the university of alberta, and had introduced him to many of his now favourite books.

i started to get a bit of an author-crush as i left the store.

the book is divided in three. the first section deals with riding a ducati motorcycle to texas. the reasons for the method of travel and the reasons for the destination are explored creatively and thoroughly. the third section brings the author and the book home.

bishop quickly triggered my boyhood love of motorcycles and drew me into his adventure. i’m sure a contributing factor to my headfirst dive into his experience is that we share the same city of residence, so his perceptions and bias were easy lenses to look through. nevertheless, by the time ted was on the road, i was glad i was along for the journey.

after the book travels to texas the reason for the destination comes to the forefront and the style and substance of the book shifts to a more scholarly, opinion-driven style. it is no less interesting, but is a marked shift in pace and tone.

the middle section wanders through a few different styles, and near the end of the writing adventure it begins to feel as though the story is about to morph into a spy novel.

the third section eases into the familiar travel style of the first section, and finishes off the book and the trip with a climax that almost feels fictitious.

you should pick up a copy and read it yourself. an entertaining read from a strong canadian author.

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sailor's word book · Jan 30, 04:46 pm

Sailor's Word Book

you’d think a sailor’s dictionary would be full of naughty words. but not this one. i love discovering the culture and history of words: where they came from, where they’re going and how they were used on the decks of ships in times past.

here are some of my favourites:

tempest: a word not much used by seamen. it is, however synonymous with storms, gales, &c.

ascii: the inhabitants of the torrid zone, who twice a year, being under a vertical sun, have no shadow.

artist: a name formerly applied to those mariners who were expert navigators.

navigation: the art of conducting vessels on the sea, not only by the peculiar knowledge of seamanship in all its intricate details, but also by such a knowledge of the higher branches of nautical astronomy as enables the commander to hit his port, after a long succession of bad weather, and an absence of three or four months from all land. any man without science may navigate the entire canals of great britain, but may be unable to pass from plymouth to guernsey.

Sample page 1

Sample page 2

if you’d like a copy for yourself – click here

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for whom the bell tolls · Nov 30, 10:05 pm

by ernest hemingway

for whom the bell tolls

for whom the bell tolls begins and ends in a forest in the middle of the spanish civil war during the year 1937. robert jordan is a dynamiter whose mission brings him into the hill country where he must win the favour of the antifascist guerrilla forces so they will aid him in blowing up a bridge.

This is the best book Ernest Hemingway has written, the fullest, the deepest, the truest. It will, I think, be one of the major novels in American literature.

The New York Times Book Review, J. Donald Adams

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beautiful losers - knocked out. · Feb 23, 08:00 am

beautiful losers

“they just don’t make drugs like that anymore” – from a cbc interview.

So they voted out beautiful losers last night on the cbc canada reads. just after they voted it out (and broke my heart) they spoke in length about the magic and merits of the book.

this book was first published in 1966. it is a marvel that the book was published in this period, and a tribute to the bravery and resilience of the publisher. apparently the 60’s were a period of explosive thought and sexual revolution, and this book seems to find the voice of that time period.

it is a very difficult book to read and was disturbing in parts. one of the main objections in the cbc review was to the subject matter and particular scenes, and what that might do to young minds. i agree that a lot of this subject matter can be tough, but the ideas are important. rejecting a book because it might offend seems like a dated approach. after the CBC deems it “too hot for young folk” – what teenager you know won’t be clamouring to read this book as soon as they can get their hands on it?

the disturbing parts of this book were highlighted in the interview, but little of the beauty, the energetic and mystical language. this is a novel written by a poet, and as such, it’s a little weird, but there is power and strength in the language and thought. it’s off the rails and in many parts goes too far. but that’s the point. who knows where our limits are if we don’t probe them.

an introduction to the chinese translation:

A NOTE TO THE READER

Dear Reader,

Thank you for coming to this book. It is an honor, and a surprise, to have the frenzied thoughts of my youth expressed in Chinese characters. I sincerely appreciate the efforts of the translator and the publishers in bringing this curious work to your attention. I hope you will find it useful or amusing.

When I was young, my friends and I read and admired the old Chinese poets. Our ideas of love and friendship, of wine and distance, of poetry itself, were much affected by those ancient songs. Much later, during the years when I practiced as a Zen monk under the guidance of my teacher Kyozan Joshu Roshi, the thrilling sermons of Lin Chi (Rinzai) were studied every day. So you can understand, Dear Reader, how privileged I feel to be able to graze, even for a moment, and with such meager credentials, on the outskirts of your tradition.

This is a difficult book, even in English, if it is taken too seriously. May I suggest that you skip over the parts you don’t like? Dip into it here and there. Perhaps there will be a passage, or even a page, that resonates with your curiosity. After a while, if you are sufficiently bored or unemployed, you may want to read it from cover to cover. In any case, I thank you for your interest in this odd collection of jazz riffs, pop-art jokes, religious kitsch and muffled prayer æ an interest which indicates, to my thinking, a rather reckless, though very touching, generosity on your part.

Beautiful Losers was written outside, on a table set among the rocks, weeds and daisies, behind my house on Hydra, an island in the Aegean Sea. I lived there many years ago. It was a blazing hot summer. I never covered my head. What you have in your hands is more of a sunstroke than a book.

Dear Reader, please forgive me if I have wasted your time.

Los Angeles, February 27, 2000

Leonard Cohen