Hello everyone.  As of yesterday, I am officially done with college.  I am very much stoked; however, between studying for and taking my finals, I haven’t had as much time as I would like to read.  This will change in the coming days for sure.

Nonetheless, I have been as busy as possible flexing my nonfiction muscles with Chris Hedges’ most recent book When Atheism Becomes Religion, and the already highly praised Woodsburner by John Pipkin.

Chris Hedges is a graduate of Harvard Divinity School and wrote for the New York Times for a number of years.  Prior to reading When Atheism Becomes Religion, I read his book War Is a Force that Gives Us Meaning for a sociology class I took my sophomore year of college.  Hedges lived in the Middle East for a number of years, documenting the conflicts taking place there from each perspective involved.  I thought he had an interesting stance regarding the futility and necessity of war, as he has studied the history books of the winning and losing perspectives.  He proclaimed the truth that all of humanity is in need of “mercy and forgiveness,” and that when a nation chooses to go to war they should do so with the perspective that what they are doing is at best “slightly less immoral” than the problem they are trying to eradicate.  I enjoyed the book immensely, and purchased his book American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War on America sometime later.

In American Fascists, Hedges writes about the Pat Robertson’s and Rod Parsley’s that are invading the political mentality of the United States.  He believes that these men are attempting to create an official Christian nation out of the U.S., an idea that is most definitely contrary to the constitution, as well as the basic tenets of Christianity.  The book called for self-reflection, for the right of all tolerant people to be, and declared that tolerating the intolerant is a dangerous feat.

When Atheism Becomes Religion focuses on the opposite side of the perspective covered in American Fascists.  Hedges focuses on the ideology of the “new atheists” such as Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins, and Christopher Hitchens.  He draws connections between the mentality of the Christian fascists and the new atheists.  Each group seeks to create a utopian society of perfection, believing that if they can convince the world to conform to their ideology that humanity can progress into a higher state of thinking and living.  A world of perfection.

Hedges vehemently argues against the absurdity that humanity can progress past our natural, broken state, conjuring the words of great literary figures, psychologists, philosophers, and thinkers to back up his argument.  He also makes the distinction between the new, fundamentalist atheists, and the atheism of those that were involved in the Enlightenment: an atheism that can involve positive change.  Of the latter Hedges writes, “[such atheists] have often been a beneficial force in the history of human thought and religion.  They have forced societies to examine empty religious platitudes and hollow religious concepts. They have courageously challenged the moral hypocrisy of religious institutions.  The humanistic values of the Enlightenment were a response to the abuses by organized religion, including the attempt by religious authorities to stifle intellectual and scientific freedom.”  Hedges view is balanced, intelligent, and humble.  The book poses many great questions that do not have easy answers.

I highly recommend the book to anyone regardless of their affiliation with a religious tradition or abstinence from one.  Hedges makes it clear that all of us, regardless of our differences in faith or disbelief, must come together in the battle against fascism.  I enjoyed the book immensely.

Moving forward, John Pipkin’s debut novel Woodsburner is a must-read.  It takes reading only a few chapters of the novel to know right away that Pipkin is a wordsmith.  The language of the novel is absolutely gorgeous, and the character development is excellent.

As previous posts from my co-workers will reveal, the novel provides an interesting historical fiction account of Thoreau’s mistake of setting fire to the woods.  I’ve yet to read a novel quite like this one, where an author creates a character out of one of the most important literary voices in American history.  The novel has the potential to be an important work in American fiction, providing insight into a little known occurrence in Thoreau’s life.

Most interesting to me is the fact that this very incident quite possibly spurred Thoreau into his Walden experiment.  Had he not set fire to the woods, perhaps Walden would not exist presently.  To hear Thoreau voice his regret over his actions in this novel is moving.  No longer is Thoreau simply a figure of high school and college textbooks, he is a character in a work of excellent fiction.  We see his world through his eyes.

The novel allows the reader to watch Thoreau combat nature: a perspective rarely associated with Thoreau.  I agree with my co-worker Lisa wholeheartedly when I say that the fire is a character in this work.  It is brooding, consuming force of nature that shapes the characters it encounters.  Read it.

I recently discovered a wonderful book called The Natural Cat… yes, I actually bought a manual for caring for my Patsy cat. SO, I thought I’d write a little review of this book since I’ve found it so interesting and enlightening…

…And what would a blog about cats be without some references to T. S. Eliot’s collection of poems, “Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats?”

I have only read forty pages of the book thus far and yet I am already shocked about all the information I lack and all the misinformation I have received over the years! For instance, I never realized that I was supposed to TRAIN Patsy to use a scratching post… who knew? I thought cats were supposed to like scratching posts and that I was unlucky enough to have a cat who chose my oriental rug as a matter of preference. I also never realized how particular cats can be about ETIQUETTE! I hate that I have spent the past year and a half being impolite to my Patsy!

A segment from Eliot’s collection of poems, Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats,

The Ad-dressing of Cats

“…With Cats, some say, one rule is true:

Don’t speak until you are spoken to.

Myself, I do not hold with that-

I say- you should ad-dress a Cat.

But always keep in mind that he

Resents familiarity…”

Anyway, I got interested in learning more about cats after watching Cesar Milan in the popular TV show, “The Dog Whisperer.” Cesar says that he “trains people and rehabilitates dogs,” and I thought, if there’s something similar out there for cats I need some training, otherwise my rugs may not have another year in them. All to say I found the book, The Natural Cat, aka The Cat Bible, which was originally published in the 70’s and was recently updated so if you have questions Anita Frazier has the answers.

There are many of you out there who may not give much credence to holistic therapy but even if you fall in that category this Anita Frazier’s book will help you create a more comfortable life for your cat as well as a better understanding of its behavior.

Frazier’s abilities as a “cat purrer” are incredible… She even teaches us how to “speak cat!” For all you naysayers, just give it a read… I have been amazed at all that I have learned and very surprised to realize that the book is actually fascinating!

The Rum Tum Tugger

The Rum Tum Tugger is a Curious Cat:
If you offer him pheasant he would rather have grouse.
If you put him in a house he would much prefer a flat,
If you put him in a flat then he’d rather have a house.
If you set him on a mouse then he only wants a rat,
If you set him on a rat then he’d rather chase a mouse.
Yes the Rum Tum Tugger is a Curious Cat—
And there isn’t any call for me to shout it:
For he will do
As he do do
And there’s no doing anything about it!
The Rum Tum Tugger is a terrible bore:
When you let him in, then he wants to be out;
He’s always on the wrong side of every door,
And as soon as he’s at home, then he’d like to get about.
He likes to lie in the bureau drawer,
But he makes such a fuss if he can’t get out.
Yes the Rum Tum Tugger is a Curious Cat—
And there isn’t any use for you to doubt it:
For he will do
As he do do
And there’s no doing anything about it!
The Rum Tum Tugger is a curious beast:
His disobliging ways are a matter of habit.
If you offer him fish then he always wants a feast;
When there isn’t any fish then he won’t eat rabbit.
If you offer him cream then he sniffs and sneers,
For he only likes what he finds for himself;
So you’ll catch him in it right up to the ears,
If you put it away on the larder shelf.
The Rum Tum Tugger is artful and knowing,
The Rum Tum Tugger doesn’t care for a cuddle;
But he’ll leap on your lap in the middle of your sewing,
For there’s nothing he enjoys like a horrible muddle.
Yes the Rum Tum Tugger is a Curious Cat—
And there isn’t any need for me to spout it:
For he will do
As he do do
And theres no doing anything about it!

Maggie Lowery

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Maggie Lowery is co-manager of Lemuria Bookstore in North Jackson. The lifelong Northsider and graduate of Jackson Prep and Belhaven College recently spoke with Northside Sun Staff Writer Anthony Warren about the book industry and the recent changes she’s seen in it.

How long have you been with Lemuria and what has changed in the publishing industry in that time?

“Nine years. Trends in book publishing change every year, in part, because of changes in what people want to read. I’ve worked here during major events, like the September 11 attacks, and there was such a huge surge in books on 9/11 that we created a special section that has developed into a Middle Eastern history section. Additionally, many publishers are releasing paperback originals, meaning that books that would originally be published as a hardcover are going straight to paperback.”

Why are publishers doing that? Is it a result of the weak economy?

“Publishers are doing it a lot with newer authors. It costs less money to publish a book in paperback and less money for the consumer to purchase it. This has been going on for the past couple of years and isn’t happening because of the economy’s downturn.”

Is this a positive move for publishers?

“In some ways, I think it’s a positive for an unknown author. But it’s not keeping people from buying hardbacks. We still have customers who only want to purchase hardbacks. Even if the book has been in paperback for five years, people still come in and ask for the hardback and we hunt it up for them. I think anything that keeps books in print is a positive move. I’m not crazy about Kindle, a wireless device from Amazon.com that allows you download an electronic copy of a book.”

As manager of a bookstore, how can you combat things like Kindle?

“We fill a niche in the community. We have events where people can meet and greet authors and get signed first editions of their books. This makes reading and purchasing the book a lot more personal. At Lemuria, we also have a staff of readers. People can come in and we happily discuss books with them.”

How often do you read?

“I probably read two to five books a month, depending on the type of books. I’m primarily a fiction reader. I do like biographies and have discovered historical narratives, like ‘Sin in the Second City.’ A historical narrative isn’t fiction, but it reads like a novel.”

What is that about?

“It’s set in Chicago’s levee district at the turn of the 20th century. It focuses on two sisters who are madams at an infamous brothel.”

What are the more popular books right now?

“Our biggest two sellers, as far as fiction goes, ‘The Help,’ by Kathryn Stockett, and, of course, John Grisham’s newest book, ‘The Associate.’ For a while, books on Barack Obama, both positive and negative, were flying off the shelves. We’re also selling a lot of economic books and a lot of gardening books because it’s that time of the year.”

How do you select books to sell at Lemuria?

“Publishing companies send sales representatives and provide us with catalogs. We also look at past sales histories on known authors and what we’ve sold by them before, and judge how many new books we need to bring in. One of the perks of working here is that the staff gets advance copies of different books. One of the best things about Lemuria is that we all read and have different tastes. We talk to each other about what we’re reading and what we think would be a good book to sell. I think everybody on our staff has read ‘The Help.’”

One of the things I understand about Lemuria is that you showcase local authors. Tell me about that.

“We want to support authors in the community. One of the biggest success stories is John Grisham, who self-published his first novel, ‘A Time to Kill,’ with Wynwood Press. Not many stores across the country would sell it. There were about seven, including us, on this side of the Mississippi River below the Mason-Dixon Line that helped him out. Now that’s big and famous, the only bookstores that he does signing events at are the ones that helped him with his first book. We want to help our local authors. It’s always good to help people become successful in what they do.”

Do you write?

“I am a reader, not a writer.”

F a m i l y: To be a term that everyone on the planet is familiar with, its actual definition turns out to be as individual as each person. In reading the new memoir by Isabel Gillies, Happens Every Day, a gut-wrenching, heart rending account of the dissolution of her marriage, the dream of “family” is powerful and moving. Married to a college professor and living in a small town in Ohio with their two little boys, Gillies recalls with grace, candor and poignancy, the details of a life and a family that is falling apart.

“I was wholly in love with my life: two healthy children, a brilliant, tall professor, a husband who was carefully placing the evidence of our happy family all over the bathroom walls so everyone could see. When I came back, there in the main upstairs bathroom, was a love letter to our family, and to me. Frame after frame of generations of us, our people, and the little ones we had made. It was security and peace, and everything I had always wanted.

Josiah left me and the boys a month later…”

This is not a self-pitying rant. It reads like an intimate conversation between friends. It is ultimately a readable, redemptive story about love, marriage, family, heartbreak, and the unexpected turns of a life. I loved it. After finishing the book, I got to thinking about other books, new and old, that talk of “family” and its importance in all of our lives whether intact or something we have lost; we feel its effects forever.

Wyatt Cooper wrote a wonderful book entitled, Families. He was from Quitman, Mississippi, was married to Gloria Vanderbilt and father to newsman, Anderson Cooper.  He describes in poetic words what family meant to him.

“They are saying these days that the family is finished, at least as we have known it. That’s a sad and lonely thought. I suppose they may even be right. Everything passes. Other venerable institutions have vanished. Civilizations fall. Worlds end. Gods, even, have died and are dying, so there is no reason to think that anything lasts forever.

Still, for most of us, whatever the stress and strain contained therein, it was from the warmth, support and security of the family nest that we first looked out with wonder at the universe. It was in the shelter of that family that we first glimpsed the complexity of life. It was from the fortress of that circle that we ventured forth to experiment and explore, and back to it that we fled when fears and failures affronted us. There, seeds were planted. There, our characters were formed, our destinies shaped. There, we were to learn almost all we would ever know
of loving.”

His dedication at the front of the book has always stayed in my mind:

“To my two families,
the one that made me
and the one I made.”

In the new memoir by Jane Alison, entitled The Sisters Antipodes, she tells the amazing story of her family which consisted of a mother, father and two little girls. When she was four years old and living in Australia in the 1960s, her family met another that seemed their twin: a father in the Foreign Service, a beautiful mother, and two little girls. With so much in common, the families became inseparable. Within months, affairs had ignited between the adults, and before long the pairs had literally exchanged partners… the fathers swapped!!….they divorced, remarried, and moved on. What resulted was chaos and heartbreak and Alison describes the broken pieces and sense of imbalance that she felt:

“During the seven years after the split, we lived in five houses….but they were just houses, not homes. We didn’t own them but shed them when we moved on.

‘Home’ or ‘house’: ‘Home’ seems roomier, more feel than structure. Yet even ‘house’ can mean more than a building, the House of Windsor, etc. House can be a synagogue, can describe both the structure and those who live in it, the breath, blood, and flesh pacing its hallways, held under the father’s name like a roof.

Father-land, father, and house: ways of knowing who you are, where you’re from.”

We are bound to and by our families and they come in all shapes and sizes. The Help, by Jackson native Kathryn Stockett,  tells the fictional account of life in Jackson, Mississippi during the 1960s from various women’s perspectives, both black and white. The book is brand new and wonderful, but I especially enjoyed “The Afterward” where Kathryn talks about her childhood and her own unique ‘family.’

“Our family maid, Demetrie…..came to cook and clean for my family when she was twenty eight. My father was fourteen, and my uncle seven. Demetrie was stout and dark-skinned and, by then, married to a mean, abusive drinker named Clyde. She wouldn’t answer me when I asked questions about him. But besides the subject of Clyde, she’d talk to us all day…

…there were several years when I thought she was immensely lucky to have us. A secure job in a nice house, cleaning up after white Christian people. But also because Demetrie had no babies of her own, and we felt like we were filling a void in her life.  If anyone asked her how many children she had, she would hold up her fingers and say three. She meant us: my sister, Susan, my brother, Rob, and me.

My parents divorced when I was six. Demetrie became even more important to me then. When my mother went on one of her frequent trips, Daddy put us kids in the motel he owned and brought in Demetrie to stay with us. I’d cry and cry on Demetrie’s shoulder, missing my mother so bad I’d get a fever from it.

… ‘this is where you belong. Here with me,’ she said, and patted my hot leg. Her hands were always cool. I watched the older kids play cards, not caring as much that Mother was away again. I was where I belonged.”

During the month of April, all of Jackson is celebrating the centennial birthday of one of our favorite authors, Eudora Welty.  I can’t end a missive on ‘family’ without including one of her stories as told in the first pages of her book One Writer’s Beginnings.

“When I was young enough to still spend a long time buttoning my shoes in the morning, I’d listen toward the hall: Daddy upstairs was shaving in the bathroom and Mother downstairs was frying the bacon. They would begin whistling back and forth to each other up and down the stairwell. My father would whistle his phrase, my mother would try to whistle, then hum hers back. It was their duet. I drew my buttonhook in and out and listened to it…..I knew it was “The Merry Widow.” The difference was, their song almost floated with laughter: how different from the record, which growled from the beginning, as if the Victrola were only slowly being wound up. They kept it running between them, up and down the stairs where I was now just about ready to run clattering down and show them my shoes.”

-Norma

We all have to shop whether we like it or not. There are things out there that we need and in some cases just plain want. I want to plant a seed in your head about shopping locally. Here are a few things to think about before you “hit the road”: first, our local business community reflects our unique culture; second, the staff at these stores knows you and knows what you want, and third, they will provide good service by listening to you and your needs. After all, you are our neighbors and our friends, and we want to continue to build relationships with our community. Fourth, trading with local businesses also helps the local economy by keeping those dollars in the community. Studies have shown that those dollars have three times the impact on your community as dollars spent in national chains. By shopping locally you are creating jobs, funding city and county services through sales tax, and investing in community development. Fifth, local businesses care about their community and in return make decisions and think about the community impact. We support local causes, charities, and support other local businesses.

Many of you know for the past 8 years I have worked at Lemuria, an independent bookstore so I am biased. John Evans opened the store in 1975, and we are currently in our third location in Banner Hall on I-55. We have been very lucky through the years because we are surrounded by a loving community, so we have survived the “big box stores” coming to town unlike many of our sister stores around the country. We would like to thank all of you who have supported us through the years and hope that you will continue to do so. For those of you who may not know much about Lemuria, I’m going to let you in on a couple of things.

Lemuria has been a part of this community for 33 years, and supports Jackson and the Metro as much as it supports us. We love for local authors to get their start with us by providing them a place to sell their books and have signings. Some of the more famous local authors to grace us with their presence have been Eudora Welty, John Grisham, Jill Connor Browne, Willie Morris, and Richard Ford. We have a great local section with books about Mississippi that you are not going to find in the chain stores. Not only do our buyers live here and know what you want, the fact that we are a locally owned bookstore allows us to have direct control over what we keep on our shelves. Although the chain stores’ managers may know about our Mississippi authors, they have less control over their inventory so they may not be able to keep up with the demands of our community and schools. The fact is the chain stores call Lemuria when they are out of a certain book. We have local artists hang their work in the store and local musicians play at our author events. We also have “not so local” authors come to entertain us by reading from their work. Lemuria also gives back to the community by donating gift certificates to local charities and schools for fundraisers. Furthermore, the staff at Lemuria is involved with our community and we always try through our website, lemuriabooks.com and new blog, lemuriabooks.blogspot.com to post various happenings around town. We have the most knowledgeable bookstore staff in town. Come by and test us!! You might not know the author or the title but you know what is on the cover of the book and little about the story. We will know the book or we will do our best to find it for you. We love books, we love to read, and we love our customers for giving us the opportunity to have a job that involves what we love! We know that without you we would not be here.

I try to shop locally whenever it is possible but sometimes I just have to go to the national chain because some items are less expensive at these “big” stores but if the price difference is very small it is in the long run less expensive to do the right thing. Support your neighbors! Support your friends! Support your community! Shop Local!

Some sweet railings for the Lemuria Pub Crawl…

Pat sent me this link for a website dedicated to adopting rescue dogs.The image above includes pictures of (from right to left) Chelsi, the litter, “Eight is Enough,” and the puppy, Whisper. Below is a picture of Lydia, a baby Catahoula Leopard Dog mixed Labrador Retriever. To find out more about Lydia and the many beautiful dogs waiting to be adopted from the Jackson Friends of Animals and other organizations associated with PetFinder check out this link for PetFinder.Com.

I don’t know if anyone else does this, but every once in a while I go on a nonfiction binge. I usually prefer to read just one novel at a time, but I tend to read nonfiction a little less intensely than I do fiction, if that makes any sense. I suppose because it doesn’t bother me to pick up a nonfiction book and read a chapter or two, and then set it aside, I can usually juggle three or four books at a time.

Anyway, this week I “binged” on some nonfiction, and I’ve been enjoying all of it, so I thought I’d pass it along.

The Definitive Book of Body Language (Allan and Barbara Pease) — A friend of mine told me I needed to read this book. This is a great, non-technical guide to developing the ability to read people’s body language, and just as importantly, to understand the effect of your own body language. Lot of stuff about gorillas and chimpanzees in here too. And funny pictures of Prince Charles.

The Only Investment Guide You’ll Ever Need (Andrew Tobias) — I don’t have much to invest, but I decided I should learn about investing before I have a lot of extra dough. There are a few different basic guides to investing out there, but this is the best combination of explanation and advice I’ve come across. Tobias writes in a conversational style that demystifies the confusing world of finance and investing.

Why Does My Dog Act That Way? (Stanley Coren) — I don’t even have a dog (yet), and I’m enjoying this book. This is not really a nuts-and-bolts dog training manual, but the in-depth explanations of dog psychology and the historical pursuit of the “superdog” make for a more interesting read I think. And you learn about the Army putting puppies in the freezer (don’t worry, the puppies lived).

God Save the Fan (Will Leitch) — ESPN brought nonstop sports coverage to the masses, but as Deadspin.com editor Will Leitch writes in this book, its near-monopoly on sports media has had some unfortunate consequences. Leitch exposes some of the stories ESPN doesn’t want you know about, and calls for sports fans to reject the dumbing-down of sports coverage. If you’re tired of Chris Berman’s endless nicknames or find yourself muting the TV when Stephen A. Smith starts yelling at you, you’ll find this book entertaining.