Author J. Stanley Yake signs and discusses his book “Toshiko Takaezu: The Earth in Bloom” at 5 pm at The Bookmark, 594 New Loudon Rd., Latham NY. 785-7869
Author: Michael Janairo
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Events on Tuesday, Dec. 19
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Audio books review “Between Georgia”
“Between, Georgia,” by Joshilyn Jackson. Read by the author. Unabridged, 9 hours. Hachette Audio. $31.98.
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Audio books actress dies
Kate Fleming voiced more than 250 audio books, including an award-winning performance for Ruth Ozeki’s “All Over Creation” in 2004. She was killed during the recent flooding in Seattle. You can read her obit here.
And you can learn more about her company, Cedar House Audio, here. -
An interesting blog
For writers out there, here’s an interesting blog, My Story Lives. This is how it bills itself:
A community writing space. A place to see your stories and poems come ALIVE! We feature one writer each day. And we link readers to your blog or website! Send your writing to My_Story_Lives@yahoo.com
check it out at http://mystorylives.blogspot.com/
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Jeff Shaara reads from his most recent work, “The Rising Tide”
From Wednesday’s Times Union:
GUILDERLAND – More than 325 people – including a number of World War II veterans – packed the main reading room of the Guilderland Public Library last Friday to hear bestselling author Jeff Shaara read from his latest work, “The Rising Tide.” Shaara is most famous for historical novels set in the Civil (more…) -
What was your favorite book of 2006?
The Saratoga Springs author of Yellow Star and many other books, Jennifer Roy writes in with her top pick:“My favorite book of 2006 would have to be John, Paul, George and Ben by Lane Smith because my 4-year-old son and I laughed and laughed while learning about the “Fathers” of our Country. Witty, quotable, with fun illustrations.”Jennifer Roy is the author of Yellow Star (Marshall Cavendish, 2006). The Recorded Books AudioBooks is due for release in February 2007. The book was an Honor Book, 2006 Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards for Excellence in Children’s Literature, and was listed in the “Children’s Books, 2006: One Hundred Titles for Reading and Sharing” by The New York Public Library, and was listed as “Best Books 2006” by School Library Journal -
An interesting blog
Here’s an interesting blog dedicated to the art and practice of translation. It even includes an excerpt from a book review I wrote.
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What were your favorite books of 2006?
Frank Hodge of Hodge-Podge Books (at 272 Lark St. in Albany) writes in with his picks for the past year for a variety of ages:For young adults: Two magnificent reads to get young adults thinking:For the younger crowd:- REBEKKAH’S JOURNEY by Ann Burg (until recently a resident of Albany.)
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Me vs. the “canon”
Below is the list of the 30 books that were part of the Siena survey, as mentioned in this story here. I thought it would be interesting to see how many of the 30 books listed I had actually read, but I am confused by the list because it includes all the plays and poems by Shakespeare as one thing, the novels of Faulkner are also one thing and so, too, is the Declaration of Independence. What gives?
Scanning the list below, I can actually say I’ve read parts or even all of each item listed. But I don’t think it is reading this list of books that make me well-read; rather, it is coming to understand that the “canon” cannot be a list, it has to be a guiding principle or principles of determining the value of texts.
In that sense, to be well-read means to be open to understanding how texts can shape thought or describe experiences that need to be voiced. In other words, you could read all the texts listed and still not be well-read. The books listed can be thought of as foundational for Western thought and, perhaps, American thought, as well. But the U.S. is a pluralistic society, and the Siena survey’s list needs to be updated to reflect the importance of, say, Toni Morrison’s “Beloved” or the Epic of Gilgamesh or Carlos Bulosan’s “America is in the Heart” or Bodhidharma and his school of Zen Buddhism. Of course, lists are finite, and many more texts can be added. The point isn’t the books themselves, but how they reflect ways of thinking or ways of experiencing the world.
What follows is what I’ve read and the list of 30 books in the survey.
