The wonderful Fortneys were over last weekend (where poor Amanda sprained both her ankles on our treacherous stairs) and at one point noticed, "I love how your sisters ask you what you're reading instead of how you are doing!". (And I love that she noticed that.)
I get made fun of a little for talking so much about books. I can see how it can get annoying. But I can't seem to help it! I did have a wonderful dinner with my librarian friend the other night and we talked about books and little else for two hours- the perfect dinner! And even though we were talking about books, we left knowing a lot about how the other was doing and what was going on in each other's lives- because the discussion of literature- and our reactions to it- always lead to more personal reflections- why did we love or hate a certain book, a certain character, a conclusion drawn, a question left unresolved? What did it teach us, remind us of, make us feel? How will it change the way we see and interact with difficult people in our lives? How did it give us hope to go on? These are far more personal areas of communication than we get into in casual conversation. If I know what you are reading, if I can talk about it with you, ask you questions- I learn what you value and a little bit about the way you think.
A good friend of my sister Kinsey (an acquaintance of ours) is Dustin Ragland, who is a stellar person and involved in all kinds of good here in Oklahoma. He recently wrote on his blog OKC Herbivore to review The Sacredness of Questioning Everything by David Dark, noting,
"One key phrase Dark offers is in the fourth chapter, where he asserts "what we're reading or listening to, or rather, what we are getting into lately is in some sense the most profound question we can ask each other" (82)."
I'm glad other people agree that this question can lead to powerful ways of knowing each other. So, what have you been reading lately?
getting ready to read world made by hand by james howard kunstler. i saw you are/were reading book thief. did your walk help?
Posted by: Amanda | July 11, 2009 at 10:43 PM
Going to finish Book Thief today- soooo good. Yes- the walk helped! ;)
I've read The World Made by Hand- it will be fun to talk about. The author's nonfiction book The Long Emergency terrified me- I was glad that his fiction was a little more hopeful than The Road. Speaking of that- so excited you got chickens!
Posted by: Kristen | July 12, 2009 at 09:59 AM
The Road not hopeful? It's the most hopeful book he's ever written.
Posted by: cheek | July 12, 2009 at 12:41 PM
Neruda- I totally agree with you on that point. I meant that Kunstler's post-apocalyptic world never has humanity- or the earth- sink quite as far down as they do in The Road. The soil is still healthy, and no one is roasting any babies over a fire. The protagonist isn't constantly contemplating suicide, and there are some healthy (though flawed) communities in place. It's hopefulness is that things won't ever get as bad as what McCarthy envisioned.
Having said that, The Road is in every way a superior novel to TWMBH. I think the authors themselves are trying to accomplish different goals in their writing, and McCarthy's goal is more ambitious- to render all humanity and her crimes and her fate through the story of one unnamed man and his son.
Posted by: Kristen M | July 12, 2009 at 03:10 PM
My dearest Kristen, I just finished a corny love story I got just for our lake vacation, loved the story, her twists and turns really had me enjoying it, and then all of a sudden, she ends it. Just like that. Kyle says they probably told her it was too long and she had to cut it short, but I don't like that reason any more than I like how it ended. I needed resolution, closure, a happy ending if you will, or even a bad one for that matter, just something to make the affair worth it. What was the point of this 600 page book if you can't even finish it properly! Arggggg!
Posted by: courtney | July 12, 2009 at 04:35 PM
Sometime we should talk about endings. I used to want closure too- at the end of movies and at the end of books. But somewhere along the way that changed. There are times that I enjoy being able to imagine what happens next with the characters. In life- there are no "they got married and lived happily ever afters". It's generally a lot more complex and complicated. But, it takes skillful writers and filmmakers to make a good ending with suggestion and nuance than closure- and it's so much more fun afterwards to have friends to conjecture with!
I'm also wondering what corny love story would be 600 pages long. (One of the Twilight books perhaps? Those look really long.) And Kyle could be right! She might not have known how to end it.
We'll have our own book lunch or dinner soon maybe.
Posted by: Kristen | July 12, 2009 at 07:57 PM
Both The Road and World Made By Hand had a neurotic effect on my life. I think I have a secret hatred for both of them ... I guess I feel like they each threw really thin blankets over me, and I can't see the rest of the world now without looking through those blankets. Makes things interesting, but I get kinda tired of it too.
Posted by: Justin Fortney | July 13, 2009 at 08:40 AM
By the way, I'm reading the Financial Procedures Manual for the Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust right now ... because today my job is horrible. Tomorrow will be better.
Posted by: Justin Fortney | July 13, 2009 at 08:44 AM
K, it's hard for me to decide which of those accounts seems more likely to me. Deep down, I have more faith in humanity than Cormac does because I tend to believe community is a real thing as opposed to the powerful illusion his fiction suggests. In that light, it's hard for me to believe there would be no communities left but the zombie cannibals. On the other hand, I have no doubt that some would sink every bit as low as his book suggests. I haven't read Kunstler's book, and I'm hesitant to do so being somewhat skeptical about his peak oil alarmism. So it's hard for me to make a critical judgement, but I do think the vast majority of people are compelled to form communities for whatever reason. In that sense, I think The Road offers a profound look at a human's condition even as it fails to present a convincing account of humanity. Whether or not Kunstler achieves the latter, I'll have to take your word for. I can't blame Cormac too much, however, since I tend to understand trees better than forests myself.
That blanket metaphor seems like something you should write a song about, Justin.
Posted by: cheek | July 13, 2009 at 12:20 PM
Neruda- yes, yes and yes. Speaking of communities and survival of nightmares, you saw Defiance, right? You and Annie probably saw it in the theater. But if you haven't- I really loved it. Your goddaughter just told me she was going to Fairyland and then ran into our library. Isn't she cool? That's always been my Fairyland, too.
Justin- you wrote "thin blankets" but I read it as "tin blankets"- and the phrase stuck in my head and made me see pictures- eyes peering out of thin sheets of metal through holes punched out like stars- the way I peer out for glimpses of hope when the Depression has me in her teeth. Seeing the world through t(h)in blankets...I can almost hear a melody...
Posted by: Kristen | July 13, 2009 at 03:47 PM
Kristen, my bad, it was only 404 pages. A Summer Affair by Elin Hilderbrand.
Posted by: courtney | July 14, 2009 at 11:19 AM
kristen, i like the tin blankets too. maybe justin could write a song about both. or you could write a poem about tin blankets and he could write a song about think blankets. and then maybe we could collaborate and you can, write a book of poems and justin can write a bunch of songs that are just one letter off. for example, one of you could write "pretty flowers" and the other person can write "petty flowers." we could be millionaires. yeah, i'm crazy.
Posted by: Amanda | July 14, 2009 at 05:02 PM
wow. i just realized i types "think blankets." another poem/song to be written. and i put a comma where it shouldn't go. don't judge me too harshly.
Posted by: Amanda | July 14, 2009 at 05:04 PM