Christmas Books and Music 2020

For eight of the nine years since I started this blog, I have made a short post about the books (and sometimes music) I received as gifts for Christmas. (And in this case, also the used books I found in my post-Christmas shopping.) In addition to being fun, it also serves as a teaser for the reviews to be written in the upcoming year. As usual, I try to link the reviews to these posts as I write them.

 

Here are the past editions:

 

2011

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

 

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Here are the books from this year:

The Luck of the Bodkins by P. G. Wodehouse

Anytime you discover a Wodehouse book you hadn’t heard of is a good time. My wife found a used paperback of this lesser-known novel from the 1930s for me. A quick bit of research reveals that it has a sequel written some 37 years later, but can essentially be considered a stand-alone book. This version is the Penguin edition, so I am not certain whether it duplicates the British or American version - the names and plot are the same, but there are some differences, it appears. Whatever the case, I expect to enjoy this one.

The World of Uncle Fred by P. G. Wodehouse

 Speaking of Wodehouse….this is another book my wife found for me. This is a hardback book that collects all of the “Uncle Fred” books Wodehouse wrote. Uncle Fred is, of course, Frederick Altamont Cornwallis Twistleton, the fifth Earl of Ickenham. Who has all the good sense of mischievous young boy, the energy of a teen, and the good humor necessary to survive the ire of those affected by his schemes. If you want to read my posts on the Uncle Fred books, see Uncle Fred in the Springtime, Uncle Dynamite, and Cocktail Time. This book also includes the short story, “Uncle Fred Flits By,” the only one I haven’t read. Older used books are also fun because the occasionally contain some history. This one, published in 1983, has the following inscription:

 

Michael

From the Metzners in London. And especially from me in remembrance of our splendid trip in Europe 1982. 

As you know, Wodehouse is the greatest author of all time, excepting Homer.

Yours etc. etc.

 

It is hard to know for sure whether or not this book has been read, but I do hope Michael enjoyed this book 30 some odd years ago. 

 

3. TheReal Story of Ah-Q and Other Tales of China, The Complete Fiction of Lu Xun

 My wife’s sister and brother-in-law always seem to find unusual and fascinating presents for all of us. I suspect the ones for me are mostly from her brother-in-law, as he is the one who is most eager to tell me about the books he finds. Lu Xun is considered one of the founding figures of modern Chinese literature, writing mostly about the late imperial period of China. I am definitely looking forward to reading this one. 

 

4. Monkey Bridges and Bahn Mi Sandwiches by Oanh Ngo Usadi

Another one from my wife’s sister and brother-in-law. This is a nonfiction memoir of a woman who fled Vietnam as one of the boat refugees. I love good autobiographical writing, and this one appears to be humorous as well as poignant. 

 

5. The Dreamt Land by Mark Arax

Also great at finding books for me are my wife’s brother and sister-in-law. (She does come from a family of readers.) I have had this book on my library reading list ever since the author did an interview on NPR. California is at a crossroads of sorts, trying to become sustainable in the face of climate change (which affects us FAR more than flyover states at this point), increasing drought, and hostility from white America. This book looks at California’s past and future through the lens of the water issues crucial to our existence. 

 

6. Bear In The Backseat by Kim DeLozier & Carolyn Jourdan

This one is from my friends Peter and Patty, and is a set of essays written by a National Park Ranger about true stories involving wildlife...including tourists lacking common sense. Definitely my sort of book. 

 

7. Wagnerism: Art and Politics in the Shadow of Music by Alex Ross

Oooo! Alex Ross. One of my all-time favorite non-fiction books is Alex Ross’ work on 20th Century music, The Rest is Noise. (I read it before I started the blog, but you can read my review of Listen to This, which is also good.) I will literally read anything by Alex Ross. So, a 750 page work on Wagner and Politics? Be still my heart! My wife knows me all too well.

 

8. The Possessed by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

 

This book is also translated as “Demons” or “The Devils,” but this is the title on the hardback box Heritage Press edition that my wife found used. The translation is the venerable Constance Garnett one. I think this is the last of Dostoyevsky’s best known works that I didn’t have in hardback. It has been, however, far too long (over a decade) since I read one of his books, so I resolve to remedy that this year. 

 

9. Walden Two by B. F. Skinner

I’m not sure if my friends Peter and Patty intended this to be a Christmas present, or just a “what the heck” gift just because. But I’ll count it here. I decided I need to read all of Walden first, as I just read excerpts in high school. But this more modern look at Utopia - the idealism we need to make positive changes in society - should be interesting. 

 

10. Walden (and other works) by Henry David Thoreau

As usual, if I had the chance to do a little used book shopping around Christmas, I figured I would mention those books in this post. To go with Walden Two, I realized I needed a copy of Walden, to read first. (See above.) I found an inexpensive used hardback Library of America copy of it (along with A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers, The Maine Woods, and Cape Cod in the volume) and ordered it for my growing LoA collection. 

 

11. Big Sur (and other works) by Jack Kerouac

This one has a bit of a story. I am part of a book club that has been going for ten years - I have been part for the last three - and we decided that some of us will revisit the very first book selection, Big Sur, by Jack Kerouac. While I have a LoA hardback of the “road novels;” including The Dharma Bums, which is the one I have read, enjoyed, and even took a hike described in it; that volume does not include Big Sur. In looking for a copy, I found that buying it as a stand-alone hardback cost as much or more than getting a used LoA boxed copy, which also includes Visions of Cody, and Visions of Gerard. This should be interesting. 

 

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A bit of music too: 

 My wife’s brother continued his streak of finding interesting and really good music. In this case, Omoiyari by Kishi Bashi. The title means empathy, or the ability to feel along with others. The album is related to the “Songfilm” of the same name. The tracks were recorded (videotaped for the film) at locations connected with the internment of Japanese Americans during World War Two, one of the most shameful episodes in our history. (You can read about our visit to Manzanar here if you like.) Bashi is a violinst, and features strings (all of which are credited!) throughout the album, which is impossible to describe. It is atmospheric, a bit bluegrass on a couple tracks, more Enya on others, and just, different. I like it though. And did I mention violins?