Whispering in my ear--Can you miss someone you never met?

A little background:

I have a thing for stories, as you might know. And as much as I like to read, I love to hear a story, too. My mom would read to me incessantly when I was little, and long after I knew how to read to myself, she continued to read aloud to me. She read, late at night and her head nodding with fatigue, through many series--Little House, the Bobbsey Twins, Nancy Drew. It must have been exhausting for her, after long long days at work.

But how I loved it! We shared the story together, discovering it, though in a way it also seemed almost to spring naturally from her as she spoke the words. I especially loved how her voice wrapped around the characters, made the pictures move in new ways, different from the way the pictures formed when I read to myself. Listening to those stories was pure pleasure.

I still love to hear a story. It's probably why I am an NPR addict, and I am usually a rapt listener to anyone willing telling me a narrative of their life, or even what happened to them that day. I love to hear it.

So it's not surprising that I have affection for audiobooks. I may have resisted the ipod for years past its introduction, but at the prospect of hearing podcasts of This American Life, and the Moth, and StoryCorps, well--I caved this winter, and now I'm often found wearing my earbuds, a story whispering into my ears.

The past few months I've been mining itunes for good audiobooks, and listening to a mixture of oldies and some new, more pulpy stuff. Heart of Darkness was amazing, real and thick and haunting in a way that, shamefully I admit, it wasn't before I heard it read to me. After Conrad, I wanted to go for something lighter, with the thought that it would be good to listen to while doing chores or exercising. My choice was James Patterson's Beach Road, which definitely falls into the pulpy junk pile, was disappointing and grungy.

So, in an attempt to find a middle ground, I stumbled across a mystery by Kate Wilhelm, a writer I'd never heard of before. Of course, I’ve since come to find out that she is prolific, talented, and lauded by many. I’m thrilled to know I will be able to explore her books for a long time to come.

For now, I am into Wilhelm’s books featuring character Barbara Holloway. Just as I did when I was a little girl, I still enjoy a series of stories. Mysteries are especially great in a series. While they can be cute and fun, a series can also leave lots of room for development of character and place. More importantly, they leave room for ambiguity and growth, and maybe that's why I like them so well. That, and the fact that my mom and I can exchange them between ourselves and have our own little book club.

Anyway, Kate Wilhelm's series about Barbara Holloway are like pearls on a string, each one smooth and well-constructed from the inside out, glowing. I started accidentally in the middle of the series, with The Unbidden Truth. Read by Anna Fields, it was engaging, lively, haunting. I was hooked.

I say hooked, and I mean it. As I listened, I was almost addicted to hearing what would happen next. In particular, I was drawn to this narrator, Anna Fields. Like my mother, her voice made the story move, wrapping itself into the plot and the characters so that it really did feel as though the story was being spun exactly as I was listening.

I was so taken with Anna Fields’s warm and mysterious voice and the way she gave life to Wilhelm's characters, that beyond finding other books in the series (which I did), I wanted to see what else she had given voice to.

A Google later, I learned that Anna Fields was the stagename for Kate Fleming. Like Kate Wilhelm, Kate Fleming was prolific, narrating over 200 books. And clearly, she was talented. She was asked to narrate the 9/11 Commission, and awarded honors from her peers. I also learned, with heartache, that she died in 2006, tragically trapped in her Seattle studio during a flash flood.

All of this background leads me to confess this:
In some strange way, for the past week or so, I've been feeling a certain loneliness knowing she is gone. I was puzzled over this melancholy, but I finally put a label to it: it's that I miss Kate Fleming. I know, I know--I didn’t know her at all, she is a disembodied voice in my head, and yet, I miss her. The intimacy of audio can foster that kind of connection, I suppose. I think of the way she could get inside a character, and get inside my head, and I know that the world has lost someone special.
Is it possible to miss someone you didn't know? Perhaps.
I suspect I have this lonely, loss-filled feeling about her for another reason. Because while her voice is firmly in my head, I have the sickening outside knowledge that at the same time she was making those detailed recordings, her fate was rushing toward her in a way she couldn’t know. She is stuck there in time, unknowing, but vibrant and powerful with stories each time I listen.

We are all like Kate Fleming, in a way. We are firmly in our own reality, with the voice in our own heads shaping and moving the story of our daily life forward. And it feels so permanent, like something recorded and tangible, something to be accessed again and again. But it’s not. For each of us rides on an unstoppable river--or that river flows toward us, I don't know. But I do know that the permanence of things is an illusion. Like anyone else, I shove that knowledge down each day to some hidden place so I can "get on with life." I only recognize the pull of the river again, if only for a moment, when I encounter beautiful and fleeting, something perfect and special. Something like a perfect whisper in my ears as I'm lulled into another storyland.

Book List with Uncle E. Part 2

In my last post, I talked about fiction and poetry--some great picks for gifts for yourself or someone else.
Because I am so long winded, I needed to continue into today, so I could mention some of my recent favorites from other genres.

While I am picky with which books I label as "great," with genre I don't play favorites. I really do read everything, from fiction to philosophy to history, to sci-fi, and sometimes even (yikes!) cozy mysteries and pop "chick-lit". (You won't find any of those on my best list, I must say).
Anyway, I would be neglecting a huge section of my bookshelf if I didn't talk about biographies, non-fiction, and mysteries. So here goes.

Biographies/Autobiography:
When it comes to history, I am making up for lost time, so many of the biographies I read lately are helping me fill in the blanks. I also appreciate the nuances of what goes into writing a biography, and especially an autobiography. For biographies, I'm recommending:


Brave Companions, David McCullough
I'm a huge fan of McCullough, and this was the first book of his that I read. It was actually a gift from Uncle E.
Brave Companions is a series of short biographies of lots of famous Americans from all types of disciplines, from art to politics. If you had to read one biography, I’d pick this one. It’s accessible and, like all of his books, very well written and researched. And once you read this, like me, you'll be eager to get the other biographies McCullough has written. Don't even get me started on how much I loved Truman.

Andrew Jackson: His Life and Times, by H.W. Brands. I'm reading this now, and it's great. Brands can really write, and his research is very good. Jackson's rise to power has so much to tell us today...

Autobiography of a Face, Lucy Greeley
Autobiography and memoir are tricky subjects to write--wily memory, the need to impress and embellish--these are the frenemies of the writer attempting to write about himself or herself. Now, with the controversy surrounding the pitfalls of overly ambitious memoir writer (I'm talking about you, Mr. Frey), the era of the memoir is waning, I think.
Published in 1994, Lucy Greely's autobiography is an example of what a memoir can be. Her story is wrenching and her writing was shining and beautiful. I learned a lot from reading it, not just about her, but about what a well-told self-portrait can look like.
Again, this is a book my husband stumbled on and felt I needed to read. Amazing. You should check it out it if you haven't already.


Non- Fiction

Proust and the Squid, by Maryanne Wolf.
I seem to discover many of my favorite books from interviews on NPR. This one is no exception. On Tom Ashbrook's show On Point, Dr. Wolf spoke about her book so eloquently that I rushed to get it the next day. Wolf's thesis is that the human ability to read not only changed the way we pass information between generations, but also that it actually changed the way the human brain evolved. It is fascinating and well-written. Definitely on my top 10 for this year.

Outliers, by Malcom Gladwell
Since Outliers is at the top of the bestselling lists in a few categories, you probably have already heard about this one I'm including it anyway.
Gladwell is one of my heroes. He's a great researcher. He's also writes like a real person. Smart, glib, humble, and a bit of a wisecracker, he's like a kind and chatty docent leading you about the museum of living ideas. His previous books, Tipping Point and Blink are all the things the reviewers said they were: engaging, provocative, influential. If you haven't read them, do. Don't resist. These are popular, yes, but they are also great. There is a reason that "tipping point" widely entered the vernacular shortly after this book was published.
Outliers fits neatly with the other two, and not just because of the matching cover design. Pick this one up and be part of the next social conversation Gladwell influences.



Mystery:
I'm confessing. I do love mysteries, from the cozy ones with recipes, to character-driven series from people like Sue Grafton and the Kellermans, to the stark portraits favored lately by some Scandinavian writers. I have some ideas about why I like mysteries so well--but it's much too involved for this post. Another time...

Back to the list. If you have a taste at all for mystery, here are a few that I think are worth it.

Sun Storm, by Asa Larsson
The main character in this book is weird. She's a loner, a smartie pants, someone reaching to her past for reasons she doesn't quite get herself. I like her. She feels a bit like me--though smarter, with a real paying job and some bigger problems.
I also like the landscape of Sun Storm. I have an affection for Sweden and I've admittedly romanticized the countryside there. There is a growing section of my bookshelf dedicated to books that transport me to that place, and Sun Storm fits there neatly.
Did I mention that this is a mystery? It's bloody, and strange, and so character-centered the nasty events almost seem out of place, but in a good way. Larsson spins a good tale, and I was sad to turn the last page. I was glad to see her character, Rebecka Martinsson turn up again in the followup book, The Blood Split, which is just as good.

In the Woods, by Tana French.
The first thing I noticed about this book was how catchy and beautiful the writing was. I say catchy because I was completely drawn in by the timing and expression of Ms. French. She can write. I caught myself saying that again and again as I read.
The main character in this book is vivid and likable and unpredictable. In fact, that sums up the whole story itself. I say that because the unpredictable nature of the story itself makes me add this disclaimer. While I LOVED the book as a whole, the ending was utterly unsatisfying. But really, the beginning of this book was so good, I was ready to put it on my "best book shelf," which is a very difficult place to get onto, I might add.
That said, In the Woods did not make it to the special shelf. It did make it to the "keeper fiction" section, though, and I won't be donating my copy to the library or trying to pawn it off at the next yardsale. I have given a copy to a friend who I think can appreciate the difficulty of loving a book that doesn't end tidily, and I recommend it to you now in hopes that you might understand such a special creature, too.



That the list. It's not nearly comprehensive of everything I've read this year, and it certainly doesn't include everything that I've read and loved. But it's a good combination of the two, and it's a good place to start when thinking about gifts this year...



Uncle E, are you reading this? I hope so. Does this help? Probably not. Tell you what. Next time you are home, let's make a plan to go to the bookstore together and have this chat in person. DH and I will buy the books, you can get the check at dinner. Deal?

Making a List with Uncle E.

*Uncle E fixes Esme's new backpack

Almost every year, Uncle E. and I have a conversation about what books should be on the shopping list for the readers we know. This year, Uncle E is away, and our conversations are all via email, so I'm writing this post as a substitute for our yearly list-making.

Because I have so many on the list of recommendations, I'm going to divide it into two posts. Today, I'm putting up fiction and poetry. Tomorrow, non-fiction, biography, and mystery.

First, let's think fiction:
I found some books I absolutely adored this year for my summer reading. Among the best: Mudbound, by Hillary Jordan. It's set in the Mississippi Delta, and deals with family disfunction. The story is so layered and rich--it's a book you'll want to read again.

In an earlier post this year, I also raved about City of Thieves, by David Benioff. I am still raving. This is a story that sticks in your mind and follows you around. That's the best kind.

While I'm rehashing things I've already recommended, let me add this to the list:
Ursula Under, by Ingrid Hill. This is a sweeping epic novel that starts in modern day Wisconsin and takes you all over the world and the past. I was sucked into it and was so sad to see it end. I still think of many of the minor characters, and I read this book 4 years ago. As I said, those "following" stories are the best.

I also loved Thirteen Moons, by Charles Frazier. It's a story of an orphaned boy raised by the Cherokee in the mid-1800s, and I was captivated by it. Live in Will's skin for a bit, and see the world anew.


The Apprentice to the Flower Poet Z, Debra Weinstein
Quietly dramatic, with a love triangle, artistic characters, and a great sense of humor. If you like poetry, you may really like this. This was a gift to me from my sweet husband, who always knows what book I will love.


Song of the Lark, Willa Cather
This is an oldie but a Goodie! Another semi-western theme, tied firmly into a love story and a dramatic tale of an singer’s rise to stardom. Very, very good.

Another classic that I can't read enough times: Angle of Repose, by Wallace Stegner
Do you know Wallace Stegner? It took me a long time to discover him, and when I did, I was hooked. He is a quintessential American writer. His focus is on the whole “westward ho” mentality, and he gets right into the hearts of his characters, who are flawed and strong and beautifully interesting. This is the first one I read of his, and it’s still stuck in my mind, nearly 10 years after I read it (meeting the test for my top picks, clearly). Any of his books are wonderful. I think this one is a good place to start.


Time and Again, Jack Finney, and from Time to Time (the followup novel)
I love, love, love these. Sweet and thoughtful, they are about a guy from modern times who gets back to the late 1800s. So fun and engaging to read.

And just because I'm smitten with the idea of time travel:

The Timetraveler’s Wife, Audrey Niffenegger
Among my very favorite books. A great book to get lost in. I can’t believe this is her first novel, but it is. Wow!

As for poetry:
New and Selected Poems, Mary Oliver
My favorite poet. Her poem “Wild Geese” is a mantra for me

Carnival Evening, Linda Pastan
Her poems shock and thrill me, and I love sharing them with people when I find someone else who loves poetry.

Garrison Keillor’s edited collections of poetry
If I had the money and time, I would send everyone I know a copy of one of these: Good Poems or Good Poems for Hard Times. It's not that I'm a diehard GK fan like my dad. I like Keillor okay (I’m an National Public Radio junkie), but I love the choices he makes as an editor of poetry. He chose so many that I would have. I love that there are so many contemporary poets that aren’t in many anthologies, and some of them are just amazing.

Speaking of amazing poets, I got myself a Christmas gift, which arrived in the mail yesterday! It's Irene Latham's collection of poetry called What Came Before. You might recognize her name from the poem I posted here. Generous as well as talented, she wrote this poem after being inspired by my work on Ada's Giselle dress. Irene was named Alabama's Poet of the Year in 2006, and What Came Before was chosen as the 2007 Book of the Year by the Alabama State Poetry Society. This collection of poems has a voice as clear as water, and just as powerful.


Was that enough? Well--I forgot a few that I've heard would be good, but haven't yet read...Uncle E, these are also ones to look for:
The Hour I First Believed, Wally Lamb
An Exact Replica of a Figment of My Imagination, Elizabeth McKracken
So Brave, Young, and Handsome, Leif Enger (author of the fantastic Peace Like a River)
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, by Mary Ann Shaffer (I've resisted the popular wave long enough. I'm going to give this one a read)


Whew! And there are more for tomorrow in non-fiction, biography, and mystery! (These Uncle E. conversations take a long time, you know.)

On the night table: reading

Here's a peek at some books I've been enjoying lately. As you can see from this small stack, I'm a skipper-arounder-reader (fancy new term coined by me), and I tend to jump from book to book.


Amidst most of my stacks of books, there is almost always a collection of poetry. For me, poetry is supposed to be read quietly, and taken one at a time, and so collections of poetry lend themselves perfectly to the reader who jumps from book to book. You can see that my latest companion is Linda Pastan's Carnival Evening. Her poems are of the everyday and the spectacular, with a voice as clear as water. When I read from this book, I take a few poems at a time, savoring. She is becoming one of my very favorite poets...

1491, by Charles C. Mann, is a study of the Americas before Columbus, and it's excellent. If you are at all interested in history, this is a book that will fill in the huge gap in the timeline of American history. It highlights the technological and cultural advances of Native American societies, and it will leave you with a better appreciation and understanding of a period of history neglected in traditional studies. I found this book after we heard a fantastic interview with the author, Charles Mann, on NPR.


The Daring Book for Girls is another type of book that lends itself to jumping around from book to book. The Daring Book for Girls is a compendium of how-tos for girls, and it's delightfully retro and progressive at the same time. It's charming, from the illustrations to the choice of topics themselves. I am enjoying looking at it before sleep, and I've noticed some of my dreams are taking me back to being a tomboyish girl who still liked to have doll teaparties...Oh, and yes, I did notice that the book is actually written for girls. I'm enjoying it as much as I know Ada will. It's to be one of her Christmas gifts...don't tell!

I love a mystery story, and I enjoy the hard-boiled ones as much as the cozy ones. The Genius is the latest by novelist Jesse Kellerman. I recently finished his debut novel, Sunstroke, and this one is just as good. In both novels, the characters are well-fleshed out and the narrative engaging enough to hold you captive to the story until way past your normal bedtime. I'm looking forward to another one of his--Trouble.


So that's the stack on the night table. You should see the "in the wings" shelf of things I plan to read before year's end! More on those some other post.

My Summer Reading List

It's that time again--the air is thick and sweet with the beach roses, salt, and oysters, and I've got a heap of books ready. I said it last year, and I'll say it again: there is nothing like the feeling of getting lost in a book, and quiet summer afternoons and evenings are some of the best times to do it. How I love naptime/resting time for the girls!

This entry merits two separate posts--one for the books I've already gotten into this summer, and one for those awaiting me.

First, the books I just finished:
A few weeks ago, I finally got around to reading Julia Child's My Life in France. It was well worth the wait--I was completely engrossed in her adventures in France, where she discovered cooking and her passion. Of course, she mentioned working with a young chef called Jacques Pepin, and I was off to find his autobiography, called, The Apprentice, My Life in the Kitchen. It did not disappoint. I made some lovely meals that week, among them a French-style sauteed chicken breast with garlic and herbs. Yum.

Anyway, I switched gears to more mystery the next week, with The Book of Air and Shadows, by Michael Gruber. I was, I admit, a bit doubtful at the outset. I was looking for something to get lost in, and I was a bit worried that I wouldn't "get into it." Ha. This book was a real thriller, not just because of the intrigue of seemingly tame bookbinders, but really because the characters were so vivid and sympathetic. It was one of those books I didn't really want to end; I found myself lingering over the last 30 pages just so I could keep the characters with me for a bit longer. It's definitely worth checking out for a weekend read.

Finally, a book to put on the shelf next to Wallace Stegner's beautiful stories of families and moving West. This book is called Peace Like a River, by Leif Enger. It's been on the best seller's list, but it took me some convincing to pick it up. Why?! I kicked myself for waiting so long to read this! The writing is beautiful, and the narrator is loveable and convincing. When I finished it yesterday, it left me in tears.

Up next: The big list of books yet to be read...

Latest great reads: The World Without Us, by Alan Weisman

You know you’ve got a great book when you have to stop every chapter or so to exclaim aloud “Wow! This is so good!” (Yes, I am that much of a geek--not only because I actually do this, but also because I admit to doing it.) The World Without Us is just one of these books. And whether you’re a geek or not, you will certainly find something new and interesting in Weisman’s research. Essentially, this is a look at what the Earth might be like if humans were to, well—leave. It asks the question, “How big a footprint do we as humans really leave on the Earth?” And I was surprised a bit by the answer he proposes.
While the title might imply some sci-fi take on doomsday, this is pure non-fiction. I saw it at Barnes and Noble filed in the nature section, but I would say it goes beyond a discussion of ecology-it’s also a look at history and geography, oceanography, and sociology. If you are even marginally interested in the “natural world,” you should take a look at this one. It’s well-written in the best way, which is to say it’s not only good research, but it’s also engaging. I had a hard time setting it down. Page turning non-fiction? Indeed.

It’s going on my shelf next to Michael Pollan’s Omnivore’s Dilemma, another absorbing and provoking read—and one that had me exclaiming aloud many times last summer.

What's on your shelf? I'm always eager to find new things to read!

Ambition

The summer birds have reminded me that early morning is a great time to be quietly alone. In these green hours, my best company (besides our beloved tabby cat on my lap) is a book. For years, I have been making a stack of summer reading for myself. Sometime after the weather starts I scavenge our shelves for books I may have neglected, and have a bonanza at the bookstore. Here are the books on the summer shelf this year:

Fiction:
Narcissus and Goldmund. Hermann Hesse
To Say Nothing of the Dog. Connie Willis
The Hummingbird's Daughter. Luis Alberto Urrea.
The Best Science Fiction, 2007. Rich Horton, Ed.



Poetry:
Committed to Memory: 100 Best Poems to Memorize. John Alexander, Ed.
Good Poems for Hard Times. Garrison Keillor, Ed.
(Note: Keillor’s talents extend beyond folksy storytelling. He is an excellent editor. The first collection, Good Poems, was one of the best collections I’ve ever found.)

Non-Fiction
His Excellency, George Washington. Joseph J. Ellis.
How to Practice: the Way to a Meaningful Life. Dalai Lama
Revolutionary Characters: What Made the Founders Different. Gordon S. Wood.
Devil in the Details: Scenes from an Obsessive Childhood. Jennifer Traig.
The Educated Child. William J. Bennet, Chester E. Finn, Jr., and John Cribb, Eds.

Not on this list are the many little mystery novels I call my "potato chip" books. Those silly little series with recipes, etc...they are so fun and quick to read! Rest assured I'll be reading a bunch of these, too.

And yes, Uncle Edward, Corelli’s Mandolin remains on the list, too. Why don’t I just give in and read it, already?