Book Trailers: 'Bleak House' by Charles Dickens

Apologies for the terrible quality of this video, and the utter cheese-fest that is the Masterpiece Classics  Bleak House trailer. Try to ignore the fact that this trailer seems more excited by the actors than by the characters or the story, and don't pay too close of attention or the plot will be completely spoiled. Try instead to focus on the transcendence of Agent Scully, on display here in all her melancholy glory. I saw this trailer a few years ago, probably on the DVD of some other Masterpiece mini series, and it prompted me to read not just Bleak House, but six other novels by Charles Dickens, who I had ingeniously avoided up to that point. And all for Gillian Anderson. And just in case you need further inspiration:

If you enjoy this type of thing, there are literally hundreds of mini series you should be watching (and accompanying novels you should be reading).

#Readwomen2014 Non-Fiction: 'The Secret History of Wonder Woman' by Jill Lepore

This book is a bit on the nose for me; it's a history of a feminist comic book character whose creation is firmly grounded in the history of the American woman suffrage movement, written by a beloved New Yorker contributor, so in other words, all the things I like.

Even so, I was genuinely surprised by how much I've loved it so far; Lepore has such a knack for rhythm and storytelling, and despite the fact that it's meticulously researched and very grounded in historical fact, the narrative moves forward at a brisk, comfortable pace. It is rewarding for a ten-page stretch, and rewarding for a ten chapter stretch. For a non-fiction work of history, that is saying something, and that kind of pacing is so incredibly difficult to manage, and yet comes across so effortlessly. It is certainly buoyed by the fact that the true story of the creation of Wonder Woman is stranger than fiction. I have never read a Wonder Woman comic, and I was too young to enjoy the Linda Carter series, so she was never a character I connected with, but even so I've found Lepore's account endlessly fascinating, in large part because it focuses so tightly on the real people adjacent to the Wonder Woman character.

What I'm Reading: 'Teaching a Stone to Talk' by Annie Dillard

Full disclosure: I'm reading Teaching a Stone to Talk for something like the tenth time. It is simultaneously one of the shortest and most complex books I've ever read, which is why I dust it off at least once a year. It started in high school with one of the most frustratingly amusing and difficult reading assignments of all time, which ended with our entire class yelling over each other about weasels and ghosts and Annie Dillard's incomprehensible imagery. Needless to say, this is not, in my opinion, an ideal title for inspiring interest in non-fiction among 17-year-olds.

But that isn't to say I didn't learn to love it eventually, and I enjoy and anticipate the experience of revisiting it every year.

Books to Help You Cope with the 'Serial' Finale

It feels like everyone I know is listening to the 'Serial' podcast; more realistically, it's probably only a very small percentage of people I know, but sometimes Twitter can really skew your perceptions of reality (something like only 19% of adults are on Twitter. This is mind-boggling to me). If you haven't gotten into it yet, do so immediately. You will be instantly hooked; it has been characterized as this year's 'True Detective,' which I can't speak to because I never got around to watching that, but I remember the conspiratorial fervor with which people watched it. 

There are eight Serial episodes thus far, and we've been promised "a dozen or so" by creator/producer/host Sarah Koenig, which means we are in the final stretch before the true crime drama comes to a close. This is inevitably going to leave a big, homicide-shaped hole in your life, so the following are my suggestions for how to fill it.

'In Cold Blood' by Truman Capote. The greatest true crime story of all time and a piece of storytelling so masterful, it essentially ended the career of Capote, who was never able to produce anything like it ever again, and who delved very deeply into drugs and alcohol while awaiting the final verdict in the case. It is not easy to read. It is bleak and disturbing, but so, so rewarding. This is a nice way to get over 'Serial' because you will be sick of true crime after reading this.

'Gone Girl' by Gillian Flynn. Not a true crime story, but a really thrilling and suspenseful novel with as many twists and turns as 'Serial,' and a very similar approach to the audience. One of the things I love about 'Serial' is the way my perception of the case changes from week to week, and 'Gone Girl' achieves something very similar. Both are able to exist in an ambiguous. grey area between "guilt" and "innocence."

'Top of the Lake' directed by Jane Campion. Not a book, I know, but excellent and a worthwhile endeavor, nonetheless. Arguably even more difficult to stomach than 'In Cold Blood,' but equally as addictive and rewarding. I heard they are planning more episodes, which has me distraught because it is the perfect mini-series, and I desperately want more and yet never want to think about how it made me feel ever again.

'God'll Cut You Down' by John Safran. This was only just published and I'm still no the wait-list for a copy from the public library, and I'm growing very impatient. This will violate my adherence to #readwomen2014, but it is almost December and I have very little control over the library's request schedule, so I'm leaning into it. Like 'Serial,' it is a true crime story, with the writer himself functioning as a character; like Sarah Koenig, John Safran disappeared into his investigation of the story, and having a journalist serve as the reader's entry point into the story can be really effective.

#ReadWomen2014: J.K. Rowling

Almost everyone on Earth has already read the Harry Potter series, which is fine. I encourage it. But it upsets me greatly when people who haven't read the Harry Potter series dismiss J.K. Rowling as yet another YA author who is too famous for her own good and whose writing career is motivated by a desire to pen the next cash cow franchise. I doubt very much that Rowling ever could have imagined the eventual pop culture saturation of her series, and its popularity in no way diminishes her incredible skills as a writer and storyteller.

The Casual Vacancy, her first non-HP novel (and her only novel for adults (published under her own name)) was so highly anticipated when it was finally published that it was naturally dragged pretty thoroughly by critics. The bad reviews became the only thing anyone knew or remembered about the book, which was especially disappointing to me because I read it and although it was far from perfect (especially the ending, which is pretty rocky), I really enjoyed the experience of reading it. That is to say, it suffers from some bad narrative points and plotlines, but it is incredibly well-written and the character development is stellar. I felt like I could have continued to read about these characters doing really mundane things for hours. It is not the greatest book I've ever read, and it is nowhere near as strong as the HP books, but it really is pretty good and didn't get a fair shake.

Thus, the Robert Galbraith books, aka the J.K. Rowling books published under a pseudonym and very well-reviewed. Thriller/spy novels fall into a distinctly guilty pleasure reading category for me, so I haven't read these yet and I'm waiting for the perfect opportunity, like a long flight, to finally get into them, but everything I've heard about them is overwhelmingly positive.

And for those who just can't get enough of the HP stuff, Rowling recently published a series of short stories on her website Pottermore that expand on existing characters. Along with several spin-off movies she's writing and the Tales of Beedle the Bard (a companion book she published as a fundraiser for her favorite charity), she clearly isn't ready to leave the HP universe behind, which is fine with me.

#ReadWomen2014 Non-Fiction: 'Joni Mitchell: In Her Own Words'

I don't think anyone who has read this blog in the past would be surprised to hear that I'm a huge Joni Mitchell fan. Along with Margaret Atwood, Joni is up there on a pedestal for me because of my mom, who loves Joni Mitchell and played her music around our house. It's only natural to question your mother's taste in anything, but Margaret Atwood and Joni Mitchell are two women she got very, very right, and I'm very thankful that she passed it on to me.

This is a nice contrast to Just Kids by Patti Smith, which I read not too long ago, and which was a very straightforward, chronological memoir (that makes it sound less good than it was; it is exceptional). Joni Mitchell: In Her Own Words is more like a very extensive interview that took place across decades between Joni and her friend and fellow musician Malka Marom. This really makes the book a rewarding experience for fans, because the interviewer is bringing a lot of prior knowledge to the conversation, and Marom seamlessly references song lyrics, previous interviews, Joni's writing and artwork, etc. It's gotten me into a very Joni Mitchell state of mind, and I've been playing her albums all week.

What I'm Reading: 'The Lover' by Marguerite Duras

Everything I had heard about this book suggested that it would be racy but it was pretty tame, and I think that speaks more to the style of the prose than the actual content. Duras' descriptions are so aloof and although the narrator is looking back on her youth and coming of age, there is no sense of nostalgia or sentimentality. 

I wish I had read The Lover back when I was reading Graham Green's The Quiet American, a book I absolutely loved, and which is possibly my favorite Graham Greene novel, which is saying something. The make the perfect pairing, two sides to the same colonial Vietnamese coin. Both are also really slim and concise and could be read back-to-back in a matter of days.

This Week in Books Almost Nothing Happens

What can I say, it's been a slow week in the world of books and book-adjacent news.

Tom Hanks is releasing a book of short stories, and no one cares.

There are lots of Joan Didion think pieces because of the successful Kickstarter campaign to fund a documentary on her, but I won't even link to them because you should just use your time to read Joan Didion, not about Joan Didion.

Lena Dunham is a lightning rod for controversy again. She is never as bad as anyone says, but that doesn't mean I'm defending every single decision she has ever made. I'm just getting tired of feeling the need to have an opinion on her anymore.

Finally, I'm sketching out the blog schedule for 2015 and would love feedback and suggestions. What kind of posts would you like to see? What books do you want me to read? Let me know in the comments section.

#ReadWomen2014: Mallory Ortberg

I have been recommending Mallory Ortberg's writing sneakily for many months now, mostly tucked away in 'This Week in Books' posts. Anything excellent and literary and funny via The Toast is written by Mallory, and reading through her backlog of content is a very good way to spend an afternoon, or two, or ten. She is one of those writers of the Internet Age who demonstrates the value of a medium like Twitter and whose fantastic body of work is largely archived and available for free at any time. I've added The Toast to my RSS reader and my quality of life has increased significantly. 

For those who prefer their witty entertainments in book format, Mallory has a new book, out this week, that is the hard-copy version of her very popular 'Texts From Jane Eyre' series. She added tons of new content and includes texts from lots of literary characters, both fictional and non. I'm hopeful this is only the first of her many hilarious books.

#ReadWomen2014 Non-Fiction: 'Yes, Please' by Amy Poehler

I don't think this needs any endorsement or stamp of approval from me; you know you want to read this, and you're going to. I had the audiobook pre-ordered on Audible, and the narration credits include Amy Poehler, Seth Myers, Carol Burnett, Kathleen Turner and Patrick Stewart; this is one instance in which I will very strongly recommend the audio book version, because Poehler uses the medium very thoughtfully with very funny results. It's also going to be the best way to get your Amy Poehler fix while we wait a few more months for 'Parks and Rec' to return to NBC.

What I'm Reading: 'A Thousand Acres' by Jane Smiley

A Thousand Acres has been on my radar since high school when an English teacher recommended it as a companion to King Lear, as it's loosely based on the play.  I saw a really terrific production of Lear this summer at the Stratford Festival, which reminded me to check it out, so finally, over ten years later, I've gotten around to reading it.

Jane Smiley is head of the Iowa Writer's Workshop (arguably the best writing MFA program in the country) and it will probably surprise no one that most of her fiction takes place in the Great Plains. A Thousand Acres is a re-imagining of Lear in a mid-twentieth century farming community, with the family patriarch dividing his very profitable land among his three daughters at the start of the novel. The stand-in for Goneril serves as our narrator, though she is significantly more sympathetic than her literary ancestor. I'm really enjoying it so far, and the Lear connection is obvious enough but doesn't bog things down. Regardless of its source material, it is a very well-constructed novel (and a Pulitzer Prize winner).

If you've made it this far in life without having read Lear, cross that off your list first, and then dive in to A Thousand Acres, which provides a much slower, subtler, feminine perspective on the same story.

Spooky Books for Halloween

My go-to scary book is Wait Til Helen Comes by Mary Downing Hahn. It is basically a children's book, but my sister and I read it in our pre-teen years and it scared the shit out of us. I'm also a big fan of The Turn of the Screw, which my husband and I read aloud one Christmas (because Christmas is scary too. Recall Scrooge McDuck's adaptation of A Christmas Carol), although I must admit we had to read a lot of cliff notes to figure out what was going on in that book. The answer is that no one actually knows.

Anyway, if you'd prefer some more sophisticated recommendations for scary books to enjoy this Halloween, look no further than Flavorwire and their 50 Scariest Books of All Time.

#ReadWomen2014 Non-Fiction: 'The Penguin Book of Witches'by Katherine Howe

I came across this book on a recent trip to Quebec but couldn't justify paying the marked-up/exchange rated/credit card fee-inducing price, so now that I'm stateside again I can't wait to get my hands on it, and just in time for Halloween, too. Katherine Howe is a descent of no fewer than three accused Salem witches, in addition to being a talented and prolific author who has already published a popular YA book (an adaptation of The Crucible set in a Massachusetts private school) and several novels. This anthology includes a variety of primary source writing on witches and witchcraft and functions as a historical treasury for those interested in the history of witchcraft (or I should say, the accusations of witchcraft; this book doesn't explain how to do spells and whatnot). Follow it up by watching 'Hocus Pocus' and 'The Craft' and celebrate a Feminist Halloween this year.

This Week in Books Susan Sontag visits Sephora

Roxane Gay wrote an excellent piece on the feminist novel. She has been battling haters on Twitter all week long, so read and enjoy and send positive vibes.

UCLA has made Susan Sontag's entire digital archive available online, including the entire contents of her Mac Book and her e-mail account. She was on Sephora's customer listserv, so there's that. I am going to waste so many hours on this.

Karen Russell's short story collection St. Lucy's Home For Girls Raised by Wolves is going to be adapted by ABC into a tv show. Obviously it will focus on the titular story. Perhaps this will finally give me the motivation I need to read the book.

Earlier this week I posted on Katherine Howe's new book The Penguin Book of Witches, and she did an interview with The Toast that you might enjoy if you're interested in the book.

What I'm Reading: 'Changing My Mind' by Zadie Smith

I've said it before -- I prefer Zadie Smith's essays and non-fiction to her novels. The fact that anyone even needs to make the distinction is pretty significant. In other words, she is such an incredibly talented writer that she produces both fiction and non-fiction that is very much worth your time. And if I had to recommend only one Zadie Smith book to someone, it would still be White Teeth, a novel everyone should read.

Part of what attracts me to her non-fiction though, is that Zadie Smith is one of the coolest women in the literary world today. She's friends with Lena Dunham and profiles celebrities like Jay-Z, and her non-fiction reflects the reality of being a mother and an English professor in New York City so much more than her fiction does. It seems like her fiction is largely preoccupied with the world of her younger self. Zadie Smith as an adult today would never be the type of character to appear in a Zadie Smith novel, so in a way I guess I'm responding positively to her more than to her work. Either way, I'm really enjoying ambling through this book of her essays.

This Week in Books Dickon is the First to Heroically Perish and Joan Didion Gets a Documentary

The Toast has delighted me even further with their Inevitable Fates of Beloved Children's Book Characters, of course. The Toast is my delight on a daily basis.

Joan Didion's nephew created a Kickstarter fund for a documentary on his famous and literary aunt. While someone who has made a career of writing very frankly about herself seems like an odd choice for a documentary (her life is quite literally an open book, or many open books), I love her and therefore am in favor of this.

Nothing else happened in books this week, or if it did, I didn't hear about it because I was really sick, huddled up in bed with Gilmore Girls.

#ReadWomen2014: The Mitford Ladies

Surely by now you've already finished the terrific Mitford biography The Sisters, which I recommended two days ago. Now you're ready to dive in to the heady and diverse world of Mitford-penned books.

The place to start is with Nancy Mitford, the oldest and the most literary. Several of them wrote and published, but Nancy made writing her career, and since she never married and had to split an inheritance six ways, she truly wrote to make a living. She was close friends and correspondents with Evelyn Waugh and very much a part of the "bright young things" literary scene in pre-war London. Her books are the Roaring 20s equivalent of a good romantic comedy. I love Love in a Cold Climate and The Pursuit of Love, both of which make for a funny, breezy read.

If funny and breezy aren't exactly your thing, turn to Jessica (Deca) Mitford, the second-youngest daughter who moved to America and was a dedicated member of the Communist Party. She wrote several volumes of memoirs, the first of which Hons and Rebels, is truly excellent and was really widely read in Britain. This is a great pick if you enjoyed the biography, because it is much the same-- anecdotes of a life among six sisters (I should probably mention they had a brother who was largely unremarkable) in the British aristocracy. But if you prefer your aristocratic non-fiction with a touch of the macabre, I would recommend her best-selling piece of investigative journalism, The American Way of Death, a damning revelation of the corruption and excess of the funeral home industry. I had to read portions of this in high school and it was hard to stomach, but even all these years later it is still a fascinating read. 

Finally, there is Deborah Mitford/Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire, whose bibliography would give Martha Stewart a run for her money. In addition to her own memoirs about life as a MItford sister, she published volume after volume about Chatsworth, her estate, including gardening books, photography books, histories, and cook books. The publication and sale of these was part of a larger scheme to make Chatsworth a public institution, thereby preserving it, and it was quite successful. If you visit England and tour any historic homes or estates, you have Debo Mitford to thank for it.