Fiction – Page 24 – Lemuria Books

Category: Fiction (Page 24 of 54)

If I Ever Get to Read Again… (No. 2)

On December 24, 2014

As I said in my last blog, there are many books piling up around me; threatening to cave in and come crashing down upon me if I do not show them the proper attention they deserve- and soon. Luckily all book lovers (or should I say book hoarders) know that there is no shame in having stacks of books around the house. They’re an extension of furniture and decoration; but I can see where it can be a slight inconvenience in a small space like a dorm room (many apologies to my roommate). So let’s raise a book to the piles and endless stacks in your home as we count down the novels I’d like to get my hands on, as soon as possible.

Part Two

Novels, of the Adult Variety:

Tell the Wolves I’m Home by Carol Rifka Brunt

Two summers ago a customer came into the store and successfully sold this book to three Lemurians. I am the last of the three who has not yet read it, and it eats me up inside. Hannah can tell you, this book is amazing.

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The Tropic of Serpents by Marie Brennan

I love the first book in this series, A Natural History of Dragons, and I mean love. Then again, I do love dragons, but there’s more to this book than just mythical creatures. Personally, I think the main idea behind this series is really creative. It’s a memoir of a fictional woman in a fictional world where there are such things as dragon naturalists. Did I mention the action and adventure?

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The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

HOW HAVE I NOT YET READ THIS?? My life is missing crucial elements and experiences and this book is one of them. One day, Mr. Wilde, I will read this book of yours, hopefully, in the not too distant future.

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Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

While Jane Eyre is not necessarily something Ron Weasley would describe as “a bit of light reading,” (that’s a Harry Potter reference for you crazy kids out there who have yet to read the series) I have always wanted to read this classic. And I think this winter, under the cold and rain-drenched skies, would be an excellent time to start.

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The Orenda by Joseph Boyden

If you have found yourself within Lemuria during this past year, then you have most likely heard of this book. It’s even been blogged about before, by Hannah and Andre; and for good reason, it’s amazing. Maybe I’m not allowed to technically say that yet since I’m only halfway through, but who cares? I’m going to say it anyway. IT’S AMAZING.

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The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Have you ever experienced that moment when you come across a book and find yourself drawn to it without knowing anything about it, other than what the cover says, that this is the book for you? Well, that is how I feel about this book. I can’t say whether I will love it or not since I have not read it yet, but there is something inside me that says I don’t have a choice in the matter. Just read this excerpt:

“Once, in my father’s bookshop, I heard a regular customer say that few things leave a deeper mark on a reader than the first book that finds its way into his heart. Those first images, the echo of words we think we have left behind, accompany us throughout our lives and sculpt a palace in our memory to which, sooner or later—no matter how many books we read, how many worlds we discover, or how much we learn or forget—we will return.”

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The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

This just looks wonderful, if you’re into fantasy, then this is the book for you. When anyone comes into the store looking for something in this genre, it’s one of the first books either Austen or Daniel will recommend.

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The Kept by James Scott

I’m not far into the story, just thirty pages or so, but it was interesting enough to get me to buy a copy of the book for myself. Which is saying something, because I am a poor college student who can’t afford to purchase a copy of every book I want to read.

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Written by Elizabeth

The Slow Regard of The Kingkiller Chronicle

By Former Lemurians

On December 16, 2014

In Fantasy, Fiction, Newsworthy

by Austen Jennings

The Slow Regard of Silent Things, Patrick Rothfuss’ latest novella, is a stray moon beam in an otherwise unlit cellar. Focusing on a mysterious character from the first two (full length) installments of the trilogy baptized The Kingkiller Chronicle, Slow Regard comes as a much appreciated lens, though not without a warning from it’s author.

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As Rothfuss prefixes – ‘If you haven’t read my other books, you don’t want to start here.’ He’s referring to the aforementioned LP’s The Name of The Wind and The Wise Man’s Fear. Slow Regard concerns one of the ‘lesser’ characters named Auri. She, despite being lesser in page count, occupies a pivotal space for the hero of the tale, Kvothe. Like Mr. Rothfuss, I too will provide a caution before you read the rest of this. While it contains no spoilers, some of the references will ‘fall on deaf ears’ if not familiar with at least his first book. Don’t let this discourage you as it’s unimportant. What is important is that it may prompt you to read the books, which is the best decision you could make at this point in your life. So too much caution is ill advised.

I’m prone to saying I rarely reread books – at the expense of abusing this qualifier once again to (over)articulate my feelings for The Kingkiller Chroncicle, rarely do I read a book twice. Mid-way through Slow Regard I found myself desperately craving a second romp in the barn with Name of The Wind (I will refer to this book from here as Name or, simply as N). The first go around I had with Name was quick and passionate, ergo the romp. So I put down the novella and picked up N expecting to come back to the same sexy flash as before. But I found this vixen to be quite different from what I remembered. While still exhilarating, she had matured a great deal. I now found subtlety where before I had only experienced pace and the new. I found intricacies and complexity that were overlooked in my former hast. It was bliss, as before, but now aged and refined. This change is of course my own advancement as a reader. I was an enthusiastic E’lir; now, I’m sure Master Rothfuss would sponsor me to Re’lar.

Not ready to pick the novella back up, my lust unabated, or rather bewildered, I looked to Wise Man’s Fear (Wise or W) with a curious eye. And so, with my strange second encounter with Name, I wanted to see if the same would hold for Wise.

This was the case upon my initial reading of the series: N > W. In Wise I felt the Felurian bit was way too long, among other things, and that the story advanced in a slipshod fashion in places and not at all in others. I still loved W, but N was the one. Though, now after my second reading of the two, I’ve found the orientation of my desire to have been inverted. I found Felurian’s scene to have been the perfect length and the story never fell. So now: N < W. Not only have I found the second book to be better than the first, but I like the first book better than the first time I read the first book. In all ways it is better. Don’t let me confuse you. The books are spectacular. That’s all you need know. And if you haven’t read them, you must. Simple.

And with this I pick up The Slow Regard of Silent Things once more. I finish it and love it. It satiates aspects of the story that get (rightly) left out from the other books. It’s fresh, odd, and entirely different from anything he’s done yet. The remnants after distilling Rothfuss’s works is his prose. It’s beautiful and highly lyrical. His books feel like a tragic song, something Kvothe would be proud of.

The only books I’ve found myself doing a yearly with is Moby-Dick and Infinite Jest. The Kingkiller Chronicle is close to finding itself among them.

Written by Austen

I can’t believe it happened to an ordinary, regular boy like me: a YA adventure

By Former Lemurians

On December 11, 2014

In Fiction, Newsworthy, OZ: Young Adult Fiction

In an effort to be a more well-rounded book seller and to figure out what the teens were talking about, I was persuaded to read Divergent. I understand why it is so popular, and it’s surprisingly dark, the way old Disney movies used to be. The female lead just coming to understand her emotions and desires in an easy to understand 5 point system was a clever way to simplify everything. Not to mention- scratching a personal itch of mine- I finally got to see some protagonists with tattoos and piercings. I wasn’t a fan of the way everything developed in the story and the cheesy romances, but the book wasn’t aimed at me.

I don’t know about you but there is always a moment of panic after I finish reading a book: what do I read next? What if I pick something only realize 200 pages in that I’ve come to hate all the main characters and hope they all somehow blow each other up? Unfortunately, if I don’t have a next-book already lined up I tend to read the first book my hand physically touches. In such a manner I came to read Catcher in the Rye right after I finished Divergent.

I’ll skip the summary of a book everyone knows (what a big phony, can’t even review the book he’s writing about). Except to say, I truly loved Holden Caulfield. I was more proud of the way he handled himself than any other protagonist in recent memory, despite his self-desctruction and confusion; let’s just say I could see where he was coming from. Yes, he ruined everything he touched, but I don’t think he can be directly blamed (or at least, should be forgiven) for the stupid things he did. It was so nice to see a classic live up the reputation… Now that I’m thinking YA thoughts, Perks of Being a Wallflower is sounding pretty good again. If you need me, I’ll be the one in the group of crying teenage girls that has the beard.

Written by Daniel

Creamy Brains

By Former Lemurians

On December 10, 2014

In Fiction, First Editions, Foreign Fiction, Newsworthy

Jacket (5) Haruki Murakami released Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage earlier this year and it was pretty lackluster in the “creamy brains” department. Oh, you haven’t read Murakami? You’re unsure why someone would title a blog Creamy Brains. Well, Murakami is a master of magical realism, and magical realism is probably my favorite genre of books. Think plot-lines like those of 2010’s Inception directed by Christopher Nolan, add men that wear sheep costumes and fry donuts, and you have the basics of a Murakami novel.

Colorless rarely ventured into the realms unknown and left me extremely underwhelmed. I think if the book would have completely omitted the dream sequences and replaced those pages with more of what the novel is actually about (a middle aged man examining a life once lived) it would have been much more enjoyable for me. As it stands, the book is a great reflection of the title character: it was somewhat colorless, and drab.

The Strange Library is the second book Murakami has released this year, and I consider it masterful. The book is a concise tour de force of magical realism. Knopf has paired Chip Kidd +(designer and art director) with the author Murakami to create a beautiful book that allows the reader to fall into an uneasy and uncomfortable experience.

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It tells the story of an unnamed narrator. He quickly finds himself trapped inside of the library, uneasy and intruding. He is tasked with memorizing three tomes with a one month deadline. His only companion, the aforementioned sheep man. His captor tells him if he completes this task, he will be set free, but conflicting information tells him his captor traps young minds, has them read for one month, and eats the brains to absorb the information.

The more information, the creamier the brain.

Creamy brains.

This is all weird stuff, and if you have ever read any of my past blogs here on the Lemuria Blog, you’ll understand that I love weird. The Strange Library is like a bad dream. A bad dream of a small Japanese boy that is fundamentally incapable of disobeying the wishes of an elder. Despite his terrifying predicament, his primary concern is that of worrying his mother by showing up to dinner late. The book reminds me of a Studio Ghibli film. Ghibli is famous for turning Japanese parables and fairy tales into modern masterpieces.

The Strange Library is available now at Lemuria Bookstore, and is absolutely perfect for an afternoon away from reality.

Written by Andre

Jubilee – A Labor of Love

By Lisa

On December 8, 2014

In Fiction, First Editions, Lisa's First Editions, Southern Fiction

Jubilee by Margaret Walker. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1966.

Poet Nikki Giovianni described her good friend Margaret Walker as “the most famous person nobody knows.” While known for her signature poem “For My People,” her novel Jubilee was the first modern novel on slavery.

Walker’s parents were both teachers and always encouraged her to do well in school as they moved from Birmingham to Meridian to New Orleans. By the Great Depression, Walker had finished college at Northwestern and was working for the WPA Writer’s Project with Richard Wright in Chicago. Her collection of poems, For My People, was published in 1942 by Yale Press and she became the first black woman to be awarded Yale Younger Poets Prize. Her literary reputation was established.

Despite this literary success, Walker had an even greater and perhaps an even more personal ambition: to write a novel based on the life of her grandmother. Jubilee was a thirty-year labor of love for Walker. The novel was to span slavery, civil war and reconstruction. She immersed herself in historical records and slave narratives, collected the stories of her family and visited old home sites while juggling the responsibilities of teaching and raising a family with four children. Sadly, Walker’s grandmother died before the Jubilee was published in 1966.

Jubilee is significant because until the 1960s black historical fiction had hardly been attempted by black writers. Jubilee was the first novel to be written by a black writer from slavery to reconstruction from the daily perspective of the black population. That Walker took 30 years to research it from a historical perspective while maintaining the heart of the story gleaned from her grandmother’s stories is no surprise. Scholars have credited Walker with paving the way for other black historical novels like Ernest Gaines’s The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman and Toni Morrison’s Beloved.

Margaret Walker devoted her life to teaching and her community at Jackson State University for thirty years before retiring in 1980. As Walker was involved in her community, many may cherish signed copies of her work. For collectors, first editions of Jubilee can be found at a reasonable price though signed copies are scarce.

Learn more about Margaret Walker’s Centennial Celebration at the Margaret Walker Center.

Written by Lisa Newman, A version of this column was published in The Clarion-Ledger’s Sunday Mississippi Books page.

“The Long Valley in the Golden Age of the Short Story”

By Lisa

On November 18, 2014

In Fiction, First Editions, Lisa's First Editions

The Long Valley by John Steinbeck. New York: Viking Press: 1938.

Many of The Long Valley stories were written at Steinbeck’s childhood home in Salinas, California. Unemployed and with little money earned from his previous publishing efforts, Steinbeck cared for his mother after she suffered a stroke. Not a natural caregiver, Steinbeck found the situation quite challenging. While his wife and father carried on with their daily lives, he stayed at home. Steinbeck later commented that it was this very hardship that pressed him to produce his highest quality work yet: short stories composed in three old ledger notebooks he found in his father’s office.

The early twentieth century was the golden age of the short story and many writers established their reputation with the form; Steinbeck used it to perfect his craft. The Depression Era market supported the affordable sale of a single story to the average American. Many of The Long Valley stories were originally published on their own in popular periodicals like the Saturday Evening Post or The Atlantic Monthly or as limited editions.

Steinbeck’s friend and editor, Pascal Covici, gathered up the writer’s best short fiction, including “The Chrysanthemums”–one his most anthologized works—and all four stories that comprise “The Red Pony,” for The Long Valley collection. Covici left behind his own failed publishing house and took Steinbeck with him to Viking Press in order to publish The Long Valley. Artist Elmer Hader illustrated the dust jacket and would go on to conceive the art for The Grapes of Wrath, East of Eden, and The Winter of Our Discontent.

In 1938, The Long Valley listed advanced sales at an impressive 8,000 copies. While this print run was much higher than any of his previous publications, it is much smaller than any of his books that followed. Today, The Long Valley is often overlooked in its value for collectors and in its display of Steinbeck’s talent as a short story writer.

Written by Lisa Newman, A version of this column was published in The Clarion-Ledger’s Sunday Mississippi Books page.

“Welty penned Natchez short story collection during WWII”

By Lisa

On November 18, 2014

In Fiction, First Editions, Lisa's First Editions, Southern Fiction

The Wide Net by Eudora Welty. New York: Harcourt, Brace & Co. 1943.

While Eudora Welty composed “A Still Moment,” one of eight stories in The Wide Net, the noise of World War II surrounded her. In 1941, the Royal Netherlands Military Flying School was located at Hawkins Field in Jackson. As a further reminder of the time, the 1943 first edition of The Wide Net and Other Stories bears an advertisement for war bonds:

“This book, like all books, is a symbol of liberty and the freedom for which we fight. You, as a reader of books, can do your share in the desperate battle to protect those liberties. Buy War Bonds.”

Three real-life characters converge on the Natchez Trace in “A Still Moment.” Itinerant preacher Lorenzo Dow in search of souls, James Murrell, a storied outlaw of the Trace, whose mission through murder and crime was to “destroy the present,” and John James Audubon, the great recorder of American birds in their natural habitats, meet beside “a great forked tree” and are transfixed by a snow-white heron.

As Dow, Murrell, and Audubon were in awe of the bird, so Eudora Welty must have been captivated by Audubon’s descriptions of travel and painting up and down the Trace and the Mississippi River during the early 1800s. While recording the birds of the deep South, Audubon visited Natchez where he painted $5 charcoal portraits to support his travels. Further south in Louisiana, he rested in the long-gone Bayou Sara—one of the largest shipping ports between New Orleans and Natchez before 1860–where his wife set up a profitable teaching practice for a short time. Audubon even stopped in Jackson on May 1, 1823 when the capital was only one-year-old. He described the village in the wilderness as “a mean place, a rendezvous for gamblers and vagabonds” in Life of Audubon.

First editions of The Wide Net and Other Stories are scarce in good condition and dust jackets are usually marred, in a somewhat charming way, by faded pink print on the spine.

Written by Lisa Newman, A version of this column was published in The Clarion-Ledger’s Sunday Mississippi Books page.

Casebook by Mona Simpson

By Pat

On November 14, 2014

In Fiction, Newsworthy

Being on facebook has at least one very good advantage. My friend from high school Becky H. Parrish is a recently retired art professor at the University of Texas at El Paso; she is a fantastic artist, an outspoken Democrat, and a bibliophile. When she posts on facebook about books she has read, I usually find them at Lemuria and read them, too. A few weeks ago, she posted that she was enjoying a day outside, under an umbrella, reading a great book that made her laugh and cry; and what’s more… it is fantastic. It’s Mona Simpson’s new creation Casebook.

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A teenage boy named Miles and his friend Hector jerryrig a listening device in the basement that somehow (don’t ask me how) picks up the conversations on the upstairs phone. In the meantime, his parent’s marriage is quietly falling apart, a fact that wouldn’t be apparent if it weren’t for that piece of detective equipment in the basement. Miles has two sisters, younger twins he affectionately calls the Boops. As a matter of fact, there’s a lot of affection in this book even though marriages are dissolving and people are moving to new neighborhoods to live on divided goods once shared by the intact families.

The two self-proclaimed detective friends Miles and Hector start to notice new phone calls and grow suspicious enough to engage the services of a private detective who lives far enough away for them to jump on their bikes and cycle over. Of course, there’s the matter of money and how to pay when they are just in middle school. How they do this is part of the fun and pathos of the gentle story which, like the art professor from UTEP says, will make you laugh and cry in this well crafted book seen through the eyes of a boy coming of age in California.

Written by Pat

Nicola’s Top 3 Southern Gothic Books

By Former Lemurians

On October 31, 2014

In Fiction, Newsworthy, Southern Fiction

Corrupt churches burning witches, a town where everyone knows everyone and everyone keeps secrets, heavy boots walking through your house at night, these are the things of Southern Gothic. With Halloween approaching, what could be more scary than reading some terrifying stories about places close to your own home? Lock your screen door and close the rickety shudders, I’m going to count down my favorite books in one of the best genres.

The Resurrectionist by Matthew Guinn

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In the nineteenth century, it was illegal to dissect human corpses for medical education. So former slave Nemo was hired to “acquire” some specimens for South Carolina Medical College. Nemo, quiet, mysterious, and way too skilled with a carving knife, obeyed his white masters. But what are those talismans he carried? And what happened before he came to America on a slave ship?

Meanwhile, in the present, piles of human bones are discovered buried at the college. Dr. Jacob Thacker begins digging through the school’s past and finds a much darker history than he bargained for.

A Good Man Is Hard to Find (and other stories) by Flannery O’Connor

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Imagine you are driving down a dusty dirt road in the middle of nowhere, trying to find an old house with a secret passage, when the car strikes something. You are flung from the vehicle, and standing above you is the infamous escaped convict The Misfit. This story and more like it are what make up the bone-chilling collection that is A Good Man Is Hard to Find. Flannery O’Connor is a classic Southern writer, and her short stories were a prominent layer in the foundation of Southern Gothic today.

Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice

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Southern Gothic is not complete without New Orleans, and this list would not be complete without my favorite vampire book. Anne Rice is one of the most respected Gothic writers today. Her tale of the poor vampire Louis weaves wonderfully through New Orleans. Her story is of French finery, cathedrals, and cold blood. While it is a Gothic story, it has hints of Romanticism, but no romance. Anne Rice makes you think, her characters are flawed and struggle with the morality around their existence, but are still extremely likeable.

P.S., Anne Rice just wrote a new a new Vampire Chronicles book!!!! It’s called Prince Lestat, and we have signed first editions. Um, can we say HOORAY?

Written by Nicola

Read. Or Readin. (an Album)

By Former Lemurians

On October 16, 2014

In Fiction, Newsworthy

It’s October. With only three months left in the year, it’s about the time to start gathering the books that I’m going to close the year out with. I like to choose my books with a certain rhythm in mind. For example, when a group of musicians decide to put together a great album, they have to keep in mind the progression of the songs. The songs have to fit together individually, as well as within the structure of the album. When choosing what to read, I try to do the same thing. This is my soundtrack based on the year as told through books.

(meta disclaimer. this blog will use describe books and music interchangeably.)

January

Track 1. Intro (Moby Dick): Kicking things off at the start of the album is the Intro. Many people choose to read classics at this time to get them in the right mindset for a year of reading. As far as releases go, publishers aren’t going to release the big name books at this time of year. With the start of the year being so dry (let’s face it, that backlist is not going to ever be read) this is the perfect time to read Infinite Jest, Moby Dick, Brave New World, or Dracula. I chose to take things easy and read the one book everyone lies about having read; Moby Dick. I did not finish it. Much like the intro on most albums, I got about a quarter of the way through, realized that better stuff was hiding behind this prerequisite, and pressed next.

Captain Ahab (from "Moby Dick" by Herman Melville), 1930 Linecut on paper

February

Track 2. A Marker to Measure Drift: The first song on the album is often the best. Alexander Maksik’s novel fits this role quite nicely. The book is packed with mystery and intrigue. It builds suspense in a way that many authors try, but end up flailing. Like a duck. Or a flail. Anyway, A Marker is a winter read, despite it taking place mostly on a beach. Go figure.

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March

Track 3. The Martian: The first radio hit single! The second song needs to have that reliable hook/gimmick to get people excited about the album (year in reading). This is the pivot point and for many, their entire memory of the album will be anchored with this song. Andy Weir’s brilliant first effort in The Martian is the 1901 of books. FOLDING, FOLDING, FOLDING readers onto mars with Mark Watney. This book is that anytime book that builds itself a little nostalgia house before you’ve finished. It accomplishes deja entendu while feeling fresh all the same. The perfect song(book) to turn your headphones all the way up (down) and get lost in the music (words).

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April

Track 4. Communion Town by Sam Thompson: Well, they can’t all be winners. Communion Town is that song you just keep waiting to be great. Remember the 2008 VMAs when Kanye West came on stage and the DU DOO DU DOOM started. I was wild with anticipation but just like in the song, this book forgot to climax. It just kept going and DU DOO DU DOOMing. It’s the book you should skip the first time you listen to it.

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May

Track 5. Interlude (My Brief History): After the garlic breath equivalent of books is in your mind, it’s nice to have something heartwarming and light. It is at this point, that most albums begin to fade. You’ve already heard the song everyone has been talking about and now you can’t get it out of your head. The last one was a complete hype vacuum. The best thing to do at this point is slow things down and lead the reader into the next phase of the album. The swing is up next and you need a sure-fire melody to restore your faith in the page. This past year, I chose Stephen Hawkins to play that part. My Brief History is the perfect interlude. The book is a short autobiography of the brilliant scientist’s life. It’s the first nonfiction book of the year and provides the introductory change of pace for the next song.

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June

Track 6. The Answer to the Riddle is Me by David Maclean: Every great album has the halftime ballad and The Answer to the Riddle is Me gave me a great feeling after reading it. I still have that happy, “wow the human race is amazing” feeling months after shelving it. Now hear me out: the book is about taking malaria medication, developing amnesia and “waking up” on a train in India. I understand how terrifying that may sound, but the book is really about the kindness of strangeness and the lengths our love-ones would go through to get us back home.

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Well, your drive to work is only so far. You have to get out of the car at some point. If you’re anything like me, you probably sit in your car with the book in your hands squeezing those last few paragraphs our before you have to walk inside. Let’s be responsible here people. Take those keys out of the ignition and turn the album off. There’s always the drive home.

Written by Andre

Category: Fiction (Page 24 of 54)

If I Ever Get to Read Again… (No. 2)

The Slow Regard of The Kingkiller Chronicle

I can’t believe it happened to an ordinary, regular boy like me: a YA adventure

Creamy Brains

Jubilee – A Labor of Love

“The Long Valley in the Golden Age of the Short Story”

“Welty penned Natchez short story collection during WWII”

Casebook by Mona Simpson

Nicola’s Top 3 Southern Gothic Books

Read. Or Readin. (an Album)

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