For nine of the ten 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:
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Here are the books from this year, and man, what a Christmas it was. To start with, my lovely (and brilliant) wife found seven books for me. Then, for the first time in three years, I was able to visit Grassroots Books in Reno. (By the way, a fantastic independent bookstore, with both new and used books - and the new prices kick Barnes and Noble’s tuchis all around the block too. If you find yourself in Reno, this is a definite must-visit place.) To top it off, I got great presents from my wife’s family, and used a B&N gift card on a harder to find book. All told, I have nineteen new (to me) books. I’m a bit excited.
1. American Sonnets
Anyone who either knows me in person, or has read this blog for any length of time knows that (1) I love poetry and (2) I am particularly fond of sonnets. One might add in this case that I also like the Library of America editions of pretty much anything - they fit so well in my hands, and are high quality (mostly) hardbacks. In this case, the book is part of their “American Poets Project” series, slim and compact collections. American Sonnets is 171 pages of sonnets by American writers, from John Quincy Adams (yes, that one) to Robert Mezey. I am thrilled to have this in my collection. Amanda found this used, which is my favorite way of finding books.
2. Young Men in Spats by P. G. Wodehouse
I mean, anytime you get a new Wodehouse book, it’s good, right? This book is a collection of short stories about various members of the Drones Club, from Pongo Twistleton (Uncle Fred’s nephew…), to Freddie Widgeon, to “Barmy” Fotheringay-Phipps. For those who care (and believe me, I do), this is a reproduction of the British version, not the American version which deleted two of the stories and replaced them with a pair of the golf stories (due to marketing decisions). Since I already have the complete golf stories (absolutely hilarious), I am glad to have the less available (here in the US of A) stories restored. Another used find by Amanda.
3. A Tear and a Smile by Kahlil Gibran
Yet another great used find by Amanda. I really enjoyed The Prophet a few years back, and definitely welcome another Gibran book to the collection. A Tear and a Smile wasn’t published until later, but it contains a lot of Gibran’s earlier writings. Should be fun. (Related: I found a copy of The Forerunner on the library sale shelf for fifty cents earlier this year. All of my Gibran is in the 1970s Knopf black hardback versions - although in different size formats, which is interesting.)
4. Cultural Cohesion by Clive James
Hey, I love Clive James. He is one of the authors I would read on any topic. Cultural Amnesia is one of my favorite books for a number of reasons. First, because he introduced me to a number of authors in a way that led me to seek them out, and second, because his writings made me think a lot deeper about my own beliefs and ideas. A look through this blog reveals how much he has influenced me over the years. He is also an example of someone who was - by historical and world standards - a center-right thinker. Which means by 21st Century American political standards, a flaming pinko communist who probably kills babies in his spare time. Thus have we come in America in my lifetime. Anyway, Cultural Cohesion is another essay collection, mostly about poetry and literature and art and culture - things he knew well and wrote about beautifully and brilliantly. Amanda found this one for me used (and, oddly, I think it has actually been read, which is more than I can say for a lot of “used” books.)
5. All the Spectral Fractures by Mary A. Hood
I don’t know how Amanda does it sometimes. This was a completely unexpected book, by an author I was not familiar with. Hood should not be confused with the Southern fiction writer Mary Hood, who is a different person altogether. Mary A. Hood is a microbiologist who also happens to write poetry about science and nature and stuff. It looks pretty fun, from a quick flip-through.
6. Nostromo by Joseph Conrad
Another find by Amanda. This is a Heritage Press hardback of a Conrad classic. With great illustrations too. I have a pretty good collection of Conrad already, but I didn’t have this one. Nostromo made the Modern Library’s top 100 20th Century novels at number 47 - one of four Conrad novels to make the list, more than any other author. It also was, apparently, made into a British miniseries in 1997. Conrad tends to pessimistic, but I love his writing, and this one looks good.
7. House of Wits by Paul Fisher
This is another book that I had no idea existed before Amanda found it. This is a biography of the James family. No, not Jesse James, but Henry James (one of my favorite novelists), William James (pioneering psychologist and philosopher), and his three siblings. The James’ were a brilliant family, with a story that promises to be pretty fascinating in its own right.
Since Perelman is dead, I will mention that he wrote stuff for the Marx Brothers. He hated to be known for that, in part because he and Groucho (who he strongly resembles) feuded, probably because they both had huge egos. But Perelman was also hilarious as hell, one of the great satirists of the 20th Century. My wife’s sister and brother-in-law got this for me. (Actually, her brother-in-law does the shopping usually.) He is one of the nicest guys ever, and has excellent taste in books. (And also hiked Half Dome in dollar store flip flops - dude is a hippie hiking machine, and I mean that in the best possible way.) This book is a LoA edition, with sketches and satires, letters, and biographical writings. I am thrilled to add this to my library.
9. A Sand County Almanac & Other Writings on Ecology and Conservation by Aldo Leopold
Over the last few years, I have started collecting the Library of America editions of the founders of the conservation movement. Most recently, I acquired, and read from the works of the recently late E. O. Wilson. One of the most puzzling and appalling developments of the Trump Era is the final conversion of the Republican Party from one that contained Theodore Roosevelt (pretty much created the NPS and protected many of our most beloved ecological treasures) and Nixon (founded the EPA) to a party that now stands for unregulated ecological destruction in the name of profit. Back when I was a kid, “conservative” and “conservation” were not antonyms like they are now. Anyway, Leopold was on my wish list, and my in-laws (conservative, but also conservationist) got it for me.
10 & 11. The Lost Art of Reading Nature’s Signs and The Secret World of Weather by Tristan Gooley
Speaking of cool books from my in-laws… This pair by Gooley look like a lot of fun. I was not aware of these, but, like so many things from my in-laws, they look quite interesting. My one regret from this particular trip to see them is that we didn’t get to hike. But, they have introduced me to so many beautiful places over the years, and we do intend to camp together again this summer, so it should be fun.
12. Arthurian Romances by Chretien de Troyes
Ever since I read C. S. Lewis’ book, The Allegory of Love (before this blog, so I didn’t write about it), I have wanted to get a copy of this book. Grassroots had a paperback in good condition for a couple bucks, so I grabbed it. Merry Christmas to me. Although I can muddle my way through Middle English okay, I got this one in a modern translation, not the ones that the later English writers would have read. It is seriously ironic that the foundational writer of the Arthur legends was not English but…French. Surely a war should have been fought about that. (I mean, they fought for like 800 years, so…)
13. The Bonanza King by Gregory Crouch
This book was a totally random find at Grassroots. From time to time, they get overstocks that they are able to blow off for literally next to nothing. (In this case, two bucks for a hardback!) While I was not familiar with this book, I have visited Virginia City and the Comstock Lode, and thought the story of that whole business would be fun to read. Particularly at two bucks. (Related: B&N in Reno also was pushing this book - it’s literally local history - but they were charging six times as much…)
14. Collected Stories by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
The classic Gregory Rabassa translation in good condition for a couple of bucks? Sign me up! Another Grassroots find. My experience of Marquez is limited to Love in the Time of Cholera, but we are reading One Hundred Years of Solitude for our book club this month.
15. The Collected Stories of William Trevor
The story behind this one is interesting. For nearly nine years, Yiyun Li has been one of my favorite authors. I mean, her writing in English (not her first language) is breathtaking. While I recommend Gold Boy Emerald Girl as the best entry-point for her works, the most recent I read was her highly personal non-fiction work, Dear Friend, from My Life I Write to You in Your Life, in which she talks about some of her literary influences. One name that kept coming up as arguably the most important to her was William Trevor. Who? Yeah, I had no idea who she was talking about, but apparently he is considered one of the greatest modern short story writers. Okay then. I love Yiyun enough to take her word for it. I put his book on my library list, but wasn’t sure exactly how I was going to get through the nearly 1300 pages of his collected stories during the checkout period. So then, I go to Grassroots, and there, staring me in the face, is a copy of his collected stories. New, thirty bucks. Used paperback at Grassroots, two bucks. I can’t pay for gas to drive to the library a couple times for that. Merry Christmas to me.
16. Novels and Social Writings by Jack London
Thanks to Covid, Amanda and I didn’t have the chance to take a trip out of the country for our 20th anniversary like we would have preferred. Instead, she managed a few days off, and we headed for Sonoma County for a few nights. Not too bad for a “where can we go between Covid surges and her school schedule” sort of thing. We each picked some activities that we liked, and I chose to visit Jack London State Historic Park, formerly his residence. And also the residence of his widow, Charmian, who was quite the character in her own right; as well as an intended model farm and ranch. London is known mostly for The Call of the Wild these days, or perhaps a couple of other novels and short stories. But he actually wrote quite a lot of other works, many of which are more difficult to find. This LoA collection includes his essays plus five novels that I am not familiar with: The People of the Abyss, The Road, The Iron Heel, Martin Eden, and John Barleycorn. I have no idea how good these are, but for a few bucks at Grassroots, it was worth adding to the collection.
17. Plays 1937-1955 by Tennessee Williams
Tennessee Williams is one of the giants of 20th Century theater, and I have greatly enjoyed seeing his plays (or even just reading them.) The last couple years, I have been watching for inexpensive used LoA editions of various American playwrights, including Williams. (Also, Thornton Wilder, Arthur Miller, and Eugene O’Neill.) For the most part, I look for these at library sales and occasionally online. But this boxed edition at Grassroots was cheap by any standard, so I grabbed it. This is the first of two books that contain the complete plays. Most of the recognizable ones are in this volume, although his later plays are considered excellent as well.
18. Complete Novels by Carson McCullers
Another find at Grassroots. I have had The Heart is a Lonely Hunter on my list for a few years (it’s a long list, believe me), so it was great to find this volume for a ridiculously low price. McCullers was described by Richard Wright as the first white author to write truly three-dimensional black characters. That in itself is a reason to want to read her books.
19. Poems 1962-2012 by Louise Gluck
This was what I got with the B&N gift card. I had this on my list, and hadn’t manage to see a used copy that was any less than a new one, so I figured that this would be a good candidate to purchase new. I saw a copy on our Reno trip, and grabbed it. What I have read of Gluck I have liked, so this seemed to be a good addition to my growing poetry collection.
Addendum January 11, 2022:
Due to a meteorological conspiracy - a long series of storms that closed passes over the Sierra Nevada - we were unable to see my wife’s brother and his wife over Christmas. They shipped our presents to us, and they arrived today. They tend to rotate between books and music, but this year was books it appears. Anyway:
20. Complete Stories and Other Writings by Jean Stafford
Another LoA edition, this one with the shorter writings of the Pulitzer Prize winning author considered one of the masters of the short story form, which I love. I am pretty sure I have read a story or two, and definitely look forward to reading these.
21. Call Us What We Carry by Amanda Gorman
I was going to get this sooner or later, but I am thrilled to get it sooner. Gorman’s command performance at the Biden inauguration was enough to establish her as a rising young star in American poetry. This has been a great couple of years in poetry reading for me, so I hope to keep it up going forward. Gorman is also part of my growing collection of African American poets, who are looking like arguably the most vibrant voices of the last 50 years.
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