The Hold List, 8.21.07

I now have so many books on hold at the library that I will be doomed when they come in. Because you know they'll all come in at once.

I'm still hoping to find a novel or memoir or nonfiction this that or the other as good as Carol Muske-Dukes' Channeling Mark Twain, but my last three library finds have been duds. For me. Fake-o chick lit dating story that did not merit a rave in People? Check. First three pages, then buh-bye. Environmental-spiritual book of essays that featured a great cover and, ack, academic writing inside? More pages perused but still vastly unfinished by this reader. Adios. Hurricane Katrina book, again with the raves, by a dude channeling Faulkner and Dave Eggers? Just couldn't get into it. And I was so hopeful. Sigh.

So, the hold list.  Oh, the promise of the hold list.

At Large and at Small: Familiar Essays, by Anne Fadiman. Enjoyed Ex Libris earlier this summer.

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Woo, by Junot Diaz. Yay, his novel! Did y'all read Drown, his book of stories? No? Go read Drown.

Free Food for Millionaires, novel by Min Jin Lee. Good review somewhere, not People, I hope.

Gifted, by Nikita Lalwani. On the Booker longlist.

Knuffle Bunny, Too, by Mo Willems. We're wild for Mo. Picture book, for the those without wee ones underfoot at home or work.

The Year of the Goat: 40,000 Miles and the Quest for the Perfect Cheese, by Margaret Hathaway. I can relate to a cheese quest. Totally.

A Year Without "Made in China": One Family's True Life Adventure in the Global Economy, by Sara Bongiorni.

I need to think of a one-year-experiment book to write. My Year on Hold, perhaps? The genre seems popular, doesn't it? And bloggish: like Julie Powell's blog about cooking her way through Julia Child's French cooking tome, which became Julie and Julia. Initially the subtitle was "365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen." Now, on the paperback, it's "My Year of Cooking Dangerously," naturellement.

Are we in a bloggish literary age?

Comments

[Kelly Fineman]

I just bought The Year of the Goat -- I read the first 4 pages while in the store, and decided it looked like something I needed. Plus, it kinda reminded me of Julie and Julia because it had that maniacal devotion to a single-minded project thing going for it.

We'll have to compare notes, yes?

[Susan T.]

Yes, we will, Kelly.

I've also read of another book in the works by a family who is devoting a year to the most sustainable living possible--and they live in Greenwich Village. Eating local, walking instead of cabs and so on, composting commodes, etc.

I've also read Dinner with Dad, which is about a working & commuting father who came home on time 5 nights a week to cook dinner and eat with his family. The results of his doing this were largely positive.

With all of these books, I do wonder how much the writer of the book subjects his or her family to the idea. I even had that feeling with Barbara Kingsolver.

[Jules]

Susan, wanted to quickly thank you for recommending Once Around the Sun in a recent coffee-table stack post. I went and got it from the pubalic liberry, and not only do I love it, but it led me to LeUyen Pham's (amazing) web site. And I'm hooked now and want to get all her books from the library. AND . . . I contacted her about contributing an illustration for an upcoming Sunday 7 Kicks list, and she's in. Woo hoo! Thanks!

[Susan T.]

oh, I loved her art, too, Jules. I'm glad you liked Once Around the Sun. Don't you think all classrooms from preschool to 3rd should have a copy?

[Amy]

Please report back on these books once you've read them. I would love to hear if they're duds or not!

[Susan T.]

Will do, Amy! One has arrived, and I'm avoiding an avalanche so far.