Lemuria Books – Page 150

Page 150 of 257

How might we better prepare our soldiers for war?

On October 4, 2011

“Mellas stood beneath the gray monsoon clouds on the narrow strip of cleared ground between the edge of the jungle and the relative safety of the perimeter wire.”

With these words Karl Marlantes began his amazingly powerful novel about the Vietnam War, Matterhorn. The first step to becoming, as Sebastian Junger says, “the preeminent literary voice on war of our generation“, and in no way were we left unsatisfied. Matterhorn quickly became a bestseller, hundreds – many of them vets themselves – commented on our blog about Matterhorn (here) and we had a wonderful evening with Karl at Lemuria books. Then, back in the winter, we discovered that there was more – Karl has written his non-fiction/extended essay – with the title that says it all – What Its Is Like to Got to War.

There have been many reviews of What It Is Like to Go to War, but none of them do the book any justice. LISTEN: this book is so good, so well balanced, so exactly what we need to understand about war. The reviews haven’t done justice because a review never could. This book is about what it was like for Karl – as an individual – to go to war and what it has been like for him to have been someone who went to war.

As Karl says, “All conscientious citizens and especially those with the power to make policy will be better prepared to make decisions about committing young people to combat if they know what they are about to ask them.”

Please don’t miss this chance to meet Karl Marlantes on Wednesday, October 5th for a signing and reading from What It Is Like to Got to War at 5:00 and 5:30.

Worm

By Former Lemurians

On October 3, 2011

In Culture

I mentioned to John the other day that I was planning on blogging about Mark Bowden’s new book, Worm, and he told me that there was a review of it in the Wall Street Journal. John brought me the review and I read it. I was immediately conflicted. The review was…well, it wasn’t good. I began questioning my own judgment. The reviewer raised some valid concerns, not just minor annoyances, but problems at the very heart of the book. Could I still in good conscience write a positive recommendation for the book? Worse yet, would I be identifying myself as a numb and uncritical reader if I did?

It bothered me for a while, right up until I sat down to read and realized that, bad review or no, I found myself wanting to pick the book back up and finish it. Not out of duty, or as a challenge, or even out of spite — just because I had been enjoying it, and I wanted to continue the story. And really, that was enough.

So let’s just address some of the concerns. Yes, the book is about the spread of the Conficker computer virus (or, more appropriately, worm), and the efforts of a small team of computer security experts to defeat it. Yes, that is, to put it mildly, a rather nerdy topic for a serious book. And while Bowden does an admirable job of explaining the long-reaching consequences of such a potentially-damaging worm, he can’t quite escape the fact that he’s writing about security loopholes in Microsoft Windows and lines of code, instead of Army Rangers and Blackhawk helicopters.

The bigger issue to me, however, is that the Conficker worm just isn’t the best story available in computer warfare. Two years after the Conficker worm was discovered, a worm that became known as Stuxnet infected computers in the Iranian nuclear program, eventually sabotaging and damaging some 1000 enrichment centrifuges. I can’t help but wonder if Mark Bowden, already committed to his book and deep into his research, swore under his breath when the Stuxnet story broke.

The decision he faced in his research and writing is really the same decision we face in reading, I think. Somebody may write a book about the Stuxnet worm in the next few years. And it may be a perfectly readable book or even a great book. But we don’t have that book yet. What we do have is a very good book by Mark Bowden, one that covers a legitimately interesting story, and that features some excellent writing. I figure that if someone can point out all the flaws in a book, can list them out and discuss them in great detail, and at the end of it, I still pick the book up and enjoy what I’m reading, then there’s no reason to get worked up over a bad review. Just read and enjoy.

Want to know what this is all about?

By admin

On October 2, 2011

In Newsworthy

Come to The Night Circus Event with Erin Morgenstern Monday at 5:00!

Click here for more details.

Murakami Love at Lemuria

By admin

On September 30, 2011

In Fiction, Foreign Fiction

I had never heard of Haruki Murakami before I started working at Lemuria about four years ago. Our wonderful foreign fiction section became mine to take care of and there were Murakami’s books. I couldn’t take my eyes off a hardback copy of After Dark. It had just come out that year in 2007. Finally, I gave in and took a chance on an author I had never heard of and one that nobody I knew had ever read.

You know the feeling you get when you realize that not only did you find a good book but that you found a new author, a whole body of work in which to indulge? At that time, I could not exactly say yet what it was that was so different about Murakami’s writing. And maybe I am still trying to figure that out. And that’s part of what makes reading and finding other Murakami readers so much fun.

Eventually, other staff members members picked up on Murakami. Kaycie started with After Dark and she quickly came down with Murakami fever. Then Joe–he’s had a serious case of the fever, blazing through all of Murakami’s 14 books in six months! And then I began to realize we had a few customers who were Murakami fans, but they were indeed few. But that was then. It is now Lemuria’s hope, and the hope of Random House publicity director Paul Bogaard’s, that 2011 is the year to expand Haruki Murakami’s American audience.

Fans all over the world have been waiting varying amounts of time since 1Q84 (published in three volumes) came out in Japan two years ago and sold over 4 million copies. The book has since been translated into 42 languages.

It took the teamwork of Jay Rubin and Philip Gabriel to translate the English edition. Knopf, an imprint of Random House, decided to publish 1Q84 in a single volume, feeling that Americans readers would value holding the entire story and conclusion in their hands. 1Q84 will hit the shelves October 25th.

Once I heard the first whisper about it, I began to make my plea for an advanced reader copy. Liz, our wonderful Random House rep, provided the treasure! But I could not have imagined the length: nearly a thousand pages. I was determined in my own daily swirl of reading temptation to finish Murakami’s 1Q84. Here is the joy: I am thrilled that it’s 928 pages long. It’s amazing and I’m on page 650 now. Fifty pages at a time fly by.

I’ll just tell you a little bit about the long awaited novel. 1Q84 is a twist on George Orwell’s dystopic novel, 1984. It is not necessary that you have read 1984, though I am sure that it does not hurt. The novel takes place primarily in Tokyo, Japan in the year 1984. The Q represents the Questions in the novel about time and space, the parallel realities that the reader discovers along with the characters. The sound [kyu] is the Japanese sound for the number nine. Neat, eh?

The storyline follows two characters, Aomame [ah-oh-mah-meh] and Tengo, as they navigate a world where a person can have two souls, where a night sky has two moons, and where the Little People mysteriously exert their power. 1Q84 is a love story, a mystery, a dystopia, a story of self-discovery, and a fantasy.

1Q84 the book was designed by the legendary Chip Kidd. The outside will feature a translucent jacket over a printed case and unique page design on the inside.

This is the beginning of a series of blogs about Haruki Murakami and his books. I hope, with the help of other readers, to share the Murakami love this fall on the occasion of what is said to be his magnum opus: 1Q84.

If you have read Murakami, you’d better leave me a comment!

“Most American readers who like Haruki Murakami’s stories do not merely like them. They fall in love. They cling to the meanings they find, they caress the books. They see in Murakami narratives the tones and colors of their own dreams, expressions of something lyrical yet pure, and partly ineffable. Something they know and feel, but maybe cannot explain.”

-Roland Kelts, “What We Talk About When We Talk About Murakami,” A Wild Haruki Chase: Reading Murakami Around the World

Click here to reserve your copy of 1Q84.

Click here to see all of Haruki Murakami’s books.

hmhm

Cutting-Edge Fiction in Jackson, Mississippi

By John

On September 29, 2011

In Newsworthy

Chuck Palahniuk’s skill of observation seems to be the root of his creativity. His experiences spark his imagination through his writing. Are his novels really fiction? Yes, but let’s think about what might be happening here. Could this cutting-edge fiction have something to say about our daily lives in Jackson, Mississippi?

On the surface, we are affected by the oddity or perhaps insanity of his character and plots. He pulls the reader into an array of bizarre situations–for me at least. As Jung might say, Chuck’s images present archetypes we can use to examine our own subconscious life. He digs into myths, fables and images we all have in common.

In reading Chuck, I feel we are reading something bigger than appears on the surface. Is reading Chuck like putting on training wheels to understand our lives better? Is he perhaps trying to wake us up, or open our eyes wider, as we shape our future?

Right: Chuck Palahniuk has been involved with The Cacophony Society, “a randomly gathered network of individuals united in the pursuit of experiences beyond the pale of mainstream society through subversion, pranks, art, fringe explorations and meaningless madness.” Or not so meaningless?

Often in real life, we may be confronted by issues we don’t understand and perhaps fear. (I’m not sure Chuck has any fears left.) The fast world we live in may restrict our inner selves from addressing serious issues thoroughly, and we may just give up, not understanding what’s going on and move on down the road to our next situation or connection.

I believe Chuck is consciously directing his skill of observation and metaphorical expertise of writing, in attempting to cause us to free up ourselves, to free up the reader from his/her own limited ego. He wants us to expand into our wholeness. He wants us to dig into who we already are, into the depths of ourselves.

Left: Stranger Than Fiction, a collection of true stories, a showcase for Chuck’s keen sense of observation.

We Jacksonians (and Mississippians) come up with many reasons to live our lives as is, not consciously trying to activate our creativity. We can deny the possibility of successfully creating change and blame it on something or someone else. We can choose to complain about everything or everybody. Through pretensions are we keeping ourselves down? How authentic are we living our lives to create “our” sense of place, for ourselves and our community? We can stop living so much as a reaction to circumstances and start activating the force of control and awareness of what could be? Can we?

Special events in the life can go by too fast and our memories can be too short to have solid effects of change. However, I believe that if we shed our fears and pool our creative efforts, we can help create our vision of Jackson. We sold our first book on October 20, 1975. What are the possibilities in 2011?

Celebrate Chuck October 20, 2011.

JX///RX

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cpcp

The Duchess, the Queen and the King’s Mother

By Former Lemurians

On September 28, 2011

In Fiction

Philippa Gregory continues telling the stories of the women of the War of the Roses.

With The Lady of the Rivers she lets us into the the world of Jacquetta, the Duchess of Bedford. Jacquetta is a descendant of Melusina, the river goddess, and like many of her family before her has inherited the ‘gift’ of second sight. As advised by her aunt, Jacquetta tries to keep her powers a secret but soon catches the eye of the Duke of Bedford. After their marriage, he introduces her to the mysterious world of alchemy and tries to use her ‘sight’ to keep the English in control of France.

While in his household, Jacquetta befriends her husbands squire, Richard Woodville, and after the Dukes death secretly marries Woodville. The Woodvilles return to England and take their place at the Lancastrian court where Jacquetta becomes a close friend and loyal subject to the new Queen Margaret. Jacquetta and Richard are leading a very happy life at court and their home full of children until King Henry VI falls into a mysterious sleep and the Queen turns to advisors who may not have the kingdom best interest at heart.

War ensues between the Lancasters and the Yorks for the throne and Jacquetta does her best to fight for her King and Queen but also the best interest of her children especially her daughter, Elizabeth. She has sensed a very fortunate turn of events for Elizabeth’s future which mysteriously involves the white rose of York.

The Lady of the Rivers is a prequel to Gregory’s previous books in The Cousin’s War series, The White Queen about Elizabeth Woodville and The Red Queen about Margaret Beaufort. This series tells the story of the Plantagenets, the houses of York and Lancaster, who ruled and constantly were at war for the crown before the Tudors came into power.

I have throughly enjoyed reading Gregory’s novels about both the families of the War of the Roses and the Tudors. I try to always read some non-fiction about the characters that I read in all the historical fiction that I read so I was pleased to see that along side the publication of this new novel Philippa Gregory along with David Baldwin and Michael Jones have published a book with historical essays about the three women of The Cousin’s War Series.

What is also interesting is that Gregory discusses the differences in history and historical fiction and just exactly how speculation plays a role in writing each. Anyone who has any interest at all in this time period will be well served to pick up this book also. The Women of the Cousin’s War is on my beside table at this very moment.

Chuck Palahniuk’s Damned Book Night & The New Orleans Bingo! Show

By Lemuria

On September 27, 2011

In Newsworthy

Lemuria is two times lucky: one to have Chuck Palahniuk and two to have The New Orleans Bingo! Show make their Jackson debut at Hal & Mals on Thursday, October 20th.

With many of the band members being Chuck Palahniuk fans, they were eager to send a shout out before the event. Here’s what The New Orleans Bingo! Show has to say:

We at The New Orleans Bingo! Show cannot be more excited about performing at Chuck Palahniuk’s Damned Book Night in Jackson, MS. As purveyors of oddities in our own right, we’re honored to be included alongside Mr. Palahniuk for a night of transgressive revelry.

Mr. Michael “Bones” Miller

Several members of the group are big fans of Chuck. For literary insight into what we like best about his work we go to our resident bookworm and bass player for The New Orleans Bingo! Show, Mr. Michael “Bones” Miller:

“The idea of personal and subjective realities are supremely crafted into lived-in and fleshed out experiences. Palahniuk’s major strength is his ability to tap into a character’s id, memory, wishes or fantasy and fully develop each scenario. For each person, those inner thoughts and musings are true, colorful realities… and in Palahniuk’s work, we get to play around inside the minds of those who do not self-censor.”

We’re equally as excited to bring our performance to Jackson for the first time. It floors us that in our 7 years of existence that we haven’t paid a visit to the City of Soul. We believe the show is a perfect fit, as we’re estimating that Chuck’s fans that are attending have a certain taste for irreverence and the unconventional. We’re also hoping that Jackson will be a continued destination for Bingo!. I mean heck, you’re only 3 hours away!

Check out official website for The New Orleans Bingo! Show here.

Chuck will begin his reading at about 8:00 with The New Orleans Bingo! Show to follow. Click here for more details about Chuck Palahniuk’s Damned Book Night.

We cannot wait to meet you New Orleans Bingo! Show!

Love,

Lemuria & Friends

JX///RX

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cpcp

Welcome to The Night Circus

By Former Lemurians

On September 27, 2011

In Fiction

When I think about books that stick with me, often I think of those books in school that made me fall in love with books (Wuthering Heights), or the ones that sparked my interest to begin with in childhood (Shiloh, The Borrowers), or the ones that I have devoured because of their amazing stories and worlds (Harry Potter, The Hunger Games).

Now, imagine a book that could have been all of those things and you have The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. I took this picture of my advanced reading copy in April, and although the cover has changed since then, my enthusiasm for this book hasn’t wavered since I first cracked it open. Erin Morgenstern has created a magically amazing world that I lingered in over a month for fear of finding myself on the last page of The Night Circus.

It is at magical Le Cirque des Rêves that most of this story takes place. A circus that opens at nightfall and closes at dawn. A world in which the only colors are black and white, where the figments of your imagination are no longer figments, and where Celia and Marco play in a game of magic they were chosen for as children.

Much like a tennis game is played on a tennis court, this magical match takes place within the night circus. Each player tries to outdo the other with their creations within the circus. From a garden made of ice to a maze made of clouds, these two magicians make their moves in the public arena of Le Cirque des Rêves. But as they get to know each other by their magic, they begin to fall for each other.

Celia and Marco are not the only ones to fall in love while at the night circus. Many become enchanted with the circus itself and although Le Cirque des Rêves never announces where it will show up next, they have created a network in which they can follow the circus from place to place. These enthusiasts are called rêveurs. They dress in black and white when they attend the circus, except for one dash of red. They want to pay homage to the circus, but yet stand apart from it. Over time, this guise becomes how rêveurs identify each other while at the circus.

Much like our friend Emily Crowe (check out her blog on their Night Circus event), many of us at Lemuria feel the same enchantment for Le Cirque des Rêves as the rêveurs in The Night Circus do. Therefore, on Monday, October 3rd the date The Night Circus author Erin Morgenstern comes to Lemuria, we will all be dressed accordingly in our black and white with a dash of red. We cordially invite you to come experience the magic and excitement for yourself.

Design Sponge at Home

By Former Lemurians

On September 26, 2011

In Decorating, Sewing & Crafts

by Kelly Pickerill

Many of us at Lemuria go pretty wild over our DIY and craft books. One of the latest to excite us is Design*Sponge at Home by Grace Bonney, the first book be published from the blog of the same name. Grace started the blog in 2004 and since then it has grown to a daily readership of over 75,000, along with over 121,000 RSS readers, 315,000 Twitter followers, and 30,000 Facebook followers.

On the blog there are tons of step-by-step DIY projects for crafting and improvements around the house and decorating ideas in many formats. The book is largely comprised of the most popular features of the website: the “Sneak Peek,” the “DIY,” and the “Before and After.”

In the “Sneak Peek” part of the book, we get a two or four page tour of the homes of some of the designers that have been featured on the Design*Sponge blog, including its editors. These glimpses, just like those on the blog, are packed with photos accompanied by captions that almost always say “refurbished piece from thrift store.” That’s one of the best things about Design*Sponge — all of the amazing design ideas are completely doable on a budget.

The “Before and After” section rivals the “Sneak Peek” for being the most fun to look at: before and after photographs that people have submitted to Design*Sponge of refurbish or repurpose projects.

This is a project I’ve been inspired to undertake, from the “DIY” section, the rolling storage bench.

I found this crate at an antique mall, and couldn’t pass it up because it was marked with the location where whatever “goods” it originally transported were delivered: Crystal Springs, Miss. I decided to pass on the “rolling” part of the project; for now, at least, I think I’ll prefer a stationary bench. The previous owner already made “improvements” on this crate to make it functional — the lid has a hinge. So all I have to do is create a cushion for the top and I’ll have a rustic entryway or foot-of-the-bed storage bench.

A House Only You Can Dream Of…

By Former Lemurians

On September 25, 2011

In Decorating, Staff Blog

Recently married, there are a number of favorite moments I have collected over the past five months. My sister, who knows me so well, threw me a book shower. Those invited were asked to “bring a book that reminds you of the bride for her library.” I drove home with a large stack of new books for my personal library. What a dream, right?

With a thankful heart and a bit teary eyed, I went through each book and read who they were from and why that friend thought I needed it for my collection. There were a few beach books–perfect for the honeymoon. There were several children’s books-some favorite ones that keep me reminded of my time at Kirkpatrick Elementary. There were a few faith books–something I always need to keep me in check. And then….there were several decorating books. Just. what. I. need.

Setting up a house can be a tricky thing. It can be even trickier if you are trying to mesh two different people’s styles and pieces of furniture. Bradley and I are having a great time trying to get things just where they should be. Slowly but surely it will be just as we hope. To say it’s a work in progress is an understatement.

As I look at all the boxes, furniture and hanging things, I turn around and walk out of the room. I sit down with my stack of decorating books and hope to get an idea that will get me on my feet again. Here are the books I am relying on. With these, I do believe I’ll pull together a house I can only dream of.

Domino the Book of Decorating by Domino Magazine

If you are like me, you were sad to see Domino the Magazine go under. This fabulous book came out a few years ago. I do believe it has some ideas that are fresh and different. Not sure your style type? This book can help you determine your style. Domino will point you in the direction of who you are-in a decorating sense, of course.

Modern Vintage Style by Emily Chalmers

Vintage is in style these days. It’s almost as if people strive to make recently purchased items look vintage. If only my mother or grandmother had saved more things, I feel certain they would be just what I need in my house. This book puts a twist on it: modern vintage. This book is divided into two sections. The first is pure inspiration. The second section guides you how to pull it all together “so you can cook and eat, live and sleep and bathe in modern vintage style.”

Scrapbook for Living by Bunny Williams

This beautiful book takes you on a tour of several rooms from a variety of her client’s homes. There are so many details of each room to soak in. In addition to the pictures, she also gives advice on a little bit of everything you may have in your house. There are notes on how to best use anything from a bedside table to a small flat screen television. She also gives you a run down of must haves for your guest bedroom and bathroom. If you are looking for a small change to make a big impact in one of your rooms, this book may give your house the uplift it needs.

These books are so nice to have in your house to get your creative juices going. However, if I do say so myself, they make wonderful gifts! With Christmas around the corner, consider these ideas! -Quinn

Page 150 of 257

How might we better prepare our soldiers for war?

Worm

Want to know what this is all about?

Murakami Love at Lemuria

Cutting-Edge Fiction in Jackson, Mississippi

The Duchess, the Queen and the King’s Mother

Chuck Palahniuk’s Damned Book Night & The New Orleans Bingo! Show

Welcome to The Night Circus

Design Sponge at Home

A House Only You Can Dream Of…

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