Art Critic in Minature

I was just about to leave the bookstore for the day when a nice family came up to the counter with their purchases.  I asked the little boy, who was maybe 4 years old, if he was going to go to school soon.  He got kind of a panicked look on his face and said, "No....I don't want to go to school.  I don't want to learn about Keith Haring!!!"

I looked at his parents and said, "So, he really doesn't like Keith Haring, huh?"  The mom said that he really disliked Keith Haring's work and then encouraged the tiny little boy to tell me his favorite artist.

"Mo -Dig-Li-Ahhh- Ni" was the extremely serious reply.     

Apparently he also is fond of Jackson Pollock's splatter paintings.

Only in the Hamptons?

If J.K. Rowling Got Really Cranky......

The Magicians by Lev Grossman is not a fantasy book for children. The characters, especially the main character, Quentin Coldwater, are journeying through some dark nights of the soul in search of happiness. The students at the college of magic in this book are not the same idealistic, young witches and wizards that matriculate at Hogwarts. The students at Brakebills are, for the most part, brilliant misfits who have to work extremely hard to master their skills. Their down time is spent drinking, smoking, experimenting sexually and agonizing over their futures. There is no fatherlike, Dumbledore figure to watch over them.

So why did I like this book so much? I enjoyed the characters, both human and magical. I appreciated the slightly sarcastic references to both the Harry Potter books and The Chronicles of Narnia. As much as I loved those books as a child (and still enjoy them as an adult), the ease in which the characters enter into the magical worlds seems false. And yes, I know this is all make-believe; but it still shouldn't be that simple.

Quentin is a character that is sometimes annoying in his prolonged adolescence. But ultimately, your heart hurts a little for him. His preoccupation with the magical world of Fillory sets him apart from his friends in Brooklyn. Once at Brakebills, he makes friends and discovers that his joke store magic is all show and no substance. He works hard and learns, he undergoes trials, he suffers pain.

This is not a light book, not a foray into a magical world where nothing truly bad will happen.

The Magicians is a story that will haunt you.

Religious Experience

I was not raised in a religious household. We celebrated Christmas and Easter, but it was really all about the presents and the tree and the chocolate bunnies. God did not play a big role in the family. As an adult, I am a questioning Episcopalian who attends church services very sporadically (ok....almost never).

So it was with some interest that I approached three books that I recently read. Two of the books were memoirs by women of Christian religions that fall a bit outside the mainstream and the third was written by a well known author about a rabbi and a minister. All three deal with faith and its importance in some shape or form.

Mennonite in a Little Black Dress by Rhoda Janzen is my first foray into the humorous, religious memoir genre. Janzen writes about her return to her Mennonite family after her husband leaves her for a man named Bob who he met on Gay.com and, adding insult to injury, she is injured in a car accident. This book is funny and at time, sweetly sad. Janzen captures the quirkiness of her family and the issues that arise when you return to a family that keeps traditions and follows rules that you left behind.

The second book is The New York Regional Mormon Singles Halloween Dance by Elna Baker. This book chronicles Elna Baker's search for love and God and the truth in New York City. It also chronicles a family that is sometimes bizarre, Elna's enormous weight loss and lots of kissing. The author is a stand up comic and skilled storyteller . Her descriptions of her ill-fated attempts at dating and her post-weight loss family vacation will have you rolling. Her sincere believe in God and her religion are refreshing and somehow, innocent.

Finally, I had a sleepless night last night and I picked up the advance readers copy of the new Mitch Albom book, Have a Little Faith: A True Story. By 3am, I had finished the book and had tears running down my face. Mitch Albom's tender depiction of two "Men of God" and the meaning of faith and religion in both of their lives struck a chord with me. Rabbi Albert Lewis' tuneful and joyful approach to life is a lesson to everyone. And Pastor Henry Covington is an inspiration and a hope for many.

After reading these books I did not have an epiphany, nor did I hear the voice of God booming. But I though a lot about faith and family and what makes for a full happy life. I decided to remember the importance of being satisfied. I was reminded of how essential hope is. If books can inspire that, it is good enough for me.

Westhampton Beach in the Summer

It is Richard's birthday in a few days, and all bookstore employees get a cake baked by Sara for their birthday.  Unfortunately, we are out of stuff to make frosting, so an early morning trip to Waldbaums was required this morning.

I do every thing I can to avoid going to our local grocery store.  It is poorly stocked, badly lighted, expensive and the people that work there are surly, at best.  But I thought that 7:30am on a Saturday would be bearable.  I thought wrong.  There were hordes of people, including screaming children in pajamas and people who probably never went to bed last night. There  was a line at the checkout and the man in front of me tried to take my bagels.  Way too much stimulation and interaction for that early in the morning.

Back safely in the minivan, I headed for home, a straight mile down South Road, a quick turn and then safely in my driveway.  This is what I encountered on my journey:

A little man in tennis whites "jogging" down the road.  His running style was reminiscent of a high school majorette, arms pumping and knees popping up to heaven enthusiastically.  His eyes were on the horizon and his face carried a dogged determination.  

Two working men on bicycles on one side of the road, pumping hard on the pedals of their old bikes, while on the other side a scrum of brightly costumed cyclers took up half of the road on bicycles that probably cost more than the other two guys make in months.

Finally, a peacock.  Yes, a peacock,  wandering aimlessly around the center of the road.  I stopped and waited patiently while he (it was a he, fancy feathers and all) decided whether to head north or south.

I have really earned my morning coffee today........

The Guys

First of all, what happened to July? I turned around and fell into August. Somewhere along the way, I read some good books. Two of my favorite are by men who have sometimes been categorized as "Guy Writers". This does not refer to the obvious fact that they are men, but to their usual fans. I think that, although they do speak in the language of younger men, their appeal is wider than that. So, I want to tell you about their new books.


Juliet, Naked by Nick Hornby is the story of a musician of some popularity who disappeared from sight almost overnight and the people who have become obsessed with his life and his music. The characters are sometimes funny, sometimes a little pathetic, including the iconic musician. Along the way, illusions are shattered, self-perception is altered and everyone involved learns a bit about love. This book comes out in September, and is a perfect autumn read as it leaves you with a sense of longing for things past.

This is Where I Leave You is the story of one of the most charmingly, annoying, dysfunctional families in literature. Judd Foxman's father has died and has made a final request that his family sit shiva for him. Judd, his sister, his two brothers, his mother and assorted inlaws and neighbors are crammed together for seven days. And oh yes, Judd's wife has just left him for his shock-jock boss. Relationships are kindled and revisted, lovers come together and fall apart and every conceivable relationship (parent, child, wife, sibling, friend) is tested. This is not a soap opera. It is a smart and funny and occasionally painful look at what happens when we leave our twenties behind and have to face our families, and our pasts, as adults.

Enjoy what is left of the summer. I hope your summer reading has been as pleasurable as mine.

Cannery Row

The Open Book's classic bookclub just finished reading Cannery Row by John Steinbeck. I have always been a Steinbeck fan, but my admiration has deepened with this odd book. The opening line is " Cannery Row in Monterey in California is a poem , a stink, a grating noise, a quality of light, a tone, a habit, a nostalgia, a dream." From this line Steinbeck goes on to tell a story of the people of Cannery Row, some of whom are down and out, some of whom are dreamers, some of whom are whores. It is a beautiful mish mash of a story held together by the glue of the Chinese grocery owner and Doc, the collector of marine and other specimens. Some of the other memorable characters are Mack, Eddie, Dora (the town madam) and an enigmatic character known only as "The Chinaman". Steinbeck once said that he wanted the book to have the qualities of a tide pool. I think that he succeeded, because the stories change as the time passes and you read on. This is a great book to read on a lazy summer afternoon.

Bloomsday

Happy Bloomsday!  Every year on June 16th, people from around the world celebrate the genius of James Joyce.  The protaganist of Joyce's Ulysses was a character named Leopold Bloom - thus, Bloomsday.

I would like to say that I have read Ulysses, but I don't want to lie.  I have always found James Joyce to be a little intimidating.  I did, however, just finish the most wonderful book in which the main character was named after Leopold Bloom.  In celebration of that book, I am honoring this day with a review.

Pat Conroy's South of Broad will not be published for a few more months, but I was lucky enough to get my hands on a galley of the book.  I have been a Pat Conroy fan for years, loving both Beach Music and The Prince of Tides.  I love his writing and feel that his descriptions of place put you right there.  But it has been a while since I read him and I wondered if the older me would be touched by his writing.

The book is truly wonderful.  I fall in love with books on occasion and this one has me head over heels.  The characters, the setting, the heart-wrenching love between parent and child and husband and wife, the long, long friendships, the beauty of Charleston, the cruelty of people and nature all combine to form that gem of a book that haunts you long past the turning of the last page.