This Week in Books Kim Gordon Talks to Carrie Brownstein

I haven't done a 'This Week in Books' post in a few weeks; it's one part apathy, one part late-winter depression, but March is here and it's 50 degrees out and my snowdrop bulbs started popping up, so I'm back and ready to round up.

The folks working on the Joan Didion document 'We Tell Ourselves Stories in Order to Live' have made a nice pseudo-trailer/fundraiser video. If you've already donated, it gives you a better idea of what the finished product will look like.

The National Book Critics Circle Awards were handed out this week, with top prizes going to Marilynne Robinson and Roz Chast. I don't know why, but I feel a sense of accomplishment when a book or author I've read wins a major award. It's validating of how I spent that time, I guess.

My post on Kim Gordon's memoir Girl in a Band is forthcoming, but in the meantime you can watch this terrific interview between Kim Gordon and Sleater Kinney/Portlandia's Carrie Brownstein.

What I'm Reading: 'Housekeeping' by Marilynne Robinson

This is my first foray into Marilynne Robinson's fiction and I put it off in the same way I put off Joan Didion -- because I knew reading Marilynne Robinson's fiction would mean a multi-volume commitment, and I fully expect to read her four major novels within a relatively short span. Housekeeping was her first novel and is very distinct from the following three, which together make up the Gilead trilogy. It was also nominated for a Pulitzer Prize -- yes, her FIRST novel was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.

I often struggle with writing about books because I hate the way most people talk about books -- "What are you reading? Is it any good?" etc. A book's value has nothing to do with whether or not the average reader thinks it's "good," and to say I've enjoyed reading Housekeeping or even that I admire Robinson's prose seems completely pointless. No one should care what I think -- she's one of the most decorate authors in America today, and writing about her is just a reminder of how humbling this experience can be. I was very anxious to read her work and write about it, but when it actually comes down to putting down my thoughts, everything I want to say seems incredibly dumb and insufficient.

Just read her books. This literary blogging identity crisis will probably pass.

The Gift of Books: All the Prizes...

They say gifts often reveal more about the giver than the recipient, and the following books, the biggest and best of 2014, will inevitably show the world your impeccable taste.

Lila by Marilynne Robinson -- Probably best in combination with the first two volumes of Robinson's  Midwestern trilogy, this has been a major prize-winner from a Pulitzer Prize veteran.

The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell -- If your friends or family are already David Mitchell fans, they've undoubtedly already read this, but if they aren't yet, they soon will be. His novels are ambitious and he nails it every time. This was a finalist for the Man Booker Prize this year.

An Unnecessary Woman by Rabih Alamedinne -- An NPR Staff Pick for 2014, this novel follows a reclusive woman in Beirut as she reflects her memories on the Lebanese War.

Bark by Lorrie Moore -- A collection of short stories by an American master, and a NYT Notable Book of 2014.

Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacquline Woodson -- Yes, it's technically YA, but it's also a National Book Award winner for young adults, and was recently purchased by the Obama girls. A ringing endorsement, if ever there was one.

This Week in Books Ursual K. Le Guin Breaks the Internet

The NYT asked authors Gillian Flynn and Cheryl Strayed to discuss women authors and women characters and the experience of having your runaway best-seller optioned for a movie adaptation by Reese Witherspoon.

Usual K. LeGuin was the recipient of an award for her distinguished contribution to American letters at the National Book Awards (hence her inclusion in this week's #ReadWomen2014) and she used the acceptance speech to throw shade at the literary community for largely ignoring writers of genre fiction, like herself. She also is not a fan of Amazon, apparently.

Meanwhile, there were some surprises in this year's National Book Awards recipients; I was very pleased to see Louise Gluck and Jacqueline Wilson win for poetry and young people's fiction, respectively, and was very surprised that Marilynne Robinson didn't take home the prize for Lila, which is certainly still a contender for every other major literary award for 2014.

This Week in Books Jess Mariano is Josie Pye

The finalists for the National Book Award were announced, and there were some no-brainers like Roz Chast and Marilynne Robinson, but also some surprises like Emily St. John Mandel. Even so, Robinson is going to win the fiction award, right?

The Toast created a Definitive Character Guide to Stars Hollow and Avonlea. I am deep, deep into Gilmore Girls these days, and Anne of Green Gables and I go way, way back, so this is pretty much everything. I particularly appreciated the Tristan DuGrey/Jen Pringle match-up analysis, "Garden-variety bitches."

This Week in Books I Forgot Two Important Posts

Marilynne Robinson's new novel Lila was published this week, to almost ridiculous critical-acclaim. I haven't read any of her fiction yet, but Gilead and Housekeeping are in the pile next to my bed, so expect a post on her soon. In the meantime, enjoy this engrossing profile from the New York Times Magazine.

My personal favorite podcast, NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour, did an episode on fall books last week, and it featured two of their all-star guest contributors, editor Barrie Hardymon and librarian/super-fan Margaret H. Willison, who recommended their favorite books and authors for the latter half of 2014. I strongly agreed with many of their picks, and I took their recommendations very seriously, hence my immediate purchase of a book by Sarah Waters. I can't imagine ever being the type of person who struggles with finding my next book to read, but if you are that type of person, NPR is the best place to look. Their book coverage is really fantastic, consistent, and thoughtful. Plus, they are never judgmental and cover genre fiction and literary fiction with equal fervor.

Bookhive Afield: Portland, OR and Powell's

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, I headed to Oregon recently for my sister's wedding. The wedding was in Corvalis so I was very lucky that I got an afternoon of exploration in Portland before my official MOH duties started. I visited Powell's Books in the Pearl District the last time I visited, and I could not wait to get back there.

Size-wise, it compares to Strand in NYC or John King in Detroit, but what I especially love about it is how wonderfully organized and well-laid out it is. I enjoy an enormous bookstore as much as the next literary hoarder; it can be really pleasurable to get lost in a sea of shelves and discover something you didn't even know you wanted. But on the other hand, book stores are a rarity these days, and for them to serve any practical function in an urban environment, folks need to be able to find what they're looking for. Powell's gives you the best of both worlds; it's a several story building, with different genres on each floor, so it's not hard to find at least the vicinity of what you're seeking, and it's just as easy to wander as you please.

I'm also impressed by how not-seriously they take themselves. That sounds like serious shade so let me clarify: so many bookstores put themselves up on pedestals because books are an expensive luxury (unfortunately) and reading is for serious, smart people (or something like that). Powell's seems to remember that reading is meant to be pleasurable, as is shopping for books, and they have no shame in stocking their shelves with toys, games, stationary, and other nifty book-adjacent merchandise. They have a nice cafe upstairs, a huge selection of magazines, and they devote fairly equal real estate to each genre. If you were a hardcore fan of sci-fi or fantasy, for example, this is the bookstore for you. 

I saw a copy of Marilynne Robinson's Gilead on sale on the very front table, so I snapped that up quickly and then wandered with my husband, who has never been. He wanted to check out some comics, so I found myself leaving with a copy of the complete Persepolis book, which I've been meaning to buy for a long time. I left with a Powell's tote bag too, natch.

I don't get to visit my sister and beautiful Oregon often enough, but I already can't wait to get back to Powell's, and I hope that someday I find myself in Portland with a few hours to just soak it all in.