Before reading Invisible Man, I thought the book’s title referred to the invisibility of black men in white society, but it turns out I was mistaken. Ellison didn’t call his masterpiece “Invisible Men“. The titular Man refers to a man – an individual, a person, a human being with a
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wmtc: what i’m reading: invisible man meets the zombies of zone one
I’m in the middle of reading Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man, now removed from the Famous Books I Haven’t Read Yet list. The novel is an exploration of African-American identity in the days of the Jim Crow South and the shifting terrain of the supposedly enlightened North. Written in the late
Continue readingwmtc: what i’m reading: "zone one" by colson whitehead
I’m currently reading Zone One, by Colson Whitehead, a book I might never have picked up if it hadn’t been written by one of my favourite authors. Fortunately for me, it was, because I’d hate to have missed this. Zone One is a zombie book – a literary zombie novel.
Continue readingwmtc: what i’m reading / marxism 2012 program notes: "too many people?" population, immigration, and the environment
I’ve just finished reading Too Many People? Population, Immigration, and the Environmental Crisis by Ian Angus and Simon Butler. Co-author Angus spoke at the 2012 Marxism conference; I wasn’t able to attend his talk, but Allan did, and afterwards bought the book for me. The clarity of the authors’ arguments,
Continue readingwmtc: and so to bed: thank you, phil gyford and thank you samuel pepys
One of the oldest and most well-respected bloggers has brought his online journal to a close. Since January of 2003 – 18 months before I began wmtc – I have been reading The Diary of Samuel Pepys online. Tonight at about 9:00 UK time, the Diary will end. Samuel Pepys
Continue readingwmtc: b*tches in bookshops: don’t let me forget this page
Books, bookstores, and New York City! Plus hip hop girls. This video has it all. Thanks to Stephanie.
Continue readingwmtc: jean craighead george, 1919 – 2012
Jean Craighead George, author of some classics of children’s literature, died a few days ago. In one of those eerie coincidences that seem to happen so often, I was just talking about George. At the library, I noticed that one of my favourite childhood books, My Side of the Mountain,
Continue readingwmtc: maurice sendak, 1928-2012
Maurice Sendak. He will be missed, and he will always be with us.
Continue readingwmtc: what i’m reading: what is the what by dave eggers
I’m in the middle of reading a pair of books that approach a similar subject in different ways. What Is the What is Dave Eggers’ fictional memoir of the Sudanese refugee who he sponsored and befriended. The full title is What Is the What: The Autobiography of Valentino Achak Deng,
Continue readingwmtc: linkathon part 2: charlotte’s web at 60
Two great books – both children’s classics, and both simply great books for any reader – had milestone birthdays this year. A Wrinkle In Time, which I’ve blogged about before, is now 50 years old. And Charlotte’s Web, one of my top-five favourite books of all time, turns 60. This
Continue readingwmtc: happy birthday to charles dickens from eric blair
For reasons unnknown, Blogger will not allow me to follow my friend’s NN’s blog for more than a few hours. It insists on dropping Stacked-NYC from my reading list. Because of this, I missed Charles Dickens’ 200th birthday! NN’s post reminded me of the excellent essay by George Orwell (call
Continue readingwmtc: baseball history meets the information
The best part of James Gleick’s The Information was, for me, his history of communication and information technologies. Here’s a terrific article that applies that lens to baseball: “The History of How We Follow Baseball”, by Philip Bump, writing in The Atlantic. In 1912, the Red Sox played the New
Continue readingwmtc: final thoughts on james gleick’s "the information"
Two weeks ago, I wrote some impressions of The Information, by James Gleick. (If you read that earlier post, do also read the comments.) I was hoping that the book would not devolve (or advance, depending on your perspective) into scientific concepts that are beyond my understanding. I was confident
Continue readingwmtc: what i’m reading: the information, by james gleick
I’ve started reading a book that I cannot put down: James Gleick’s The Information. The book’s full title is The Information: A History, A Theory, A Flood, and it is indeed a book of many intentions: a history of communication and information technology, a history of information theory, a historical
Continue readingwmtc: libraries abound
Please enjoy these library-related thoughts and links. I love these Little Free Libraries, which I discovered thanks to M@. These birdhouse-like structures sheltering books are like the domesticated version of Book Crossing, which wants books released “into the wild”. Here are some libraries changing lives on a scale Andrew Carnegie
Continue readingwmtc: who wrote shakespeare? eric idle knows.
A while back, wmtc had a discussion about the supposed controversy of the authorship of Shakespeare’s plays, after I read the book Contested Will: Who Wrote Shakespeare, by James Shapiro. Now a movie is out, telling a fictional, imaginative story of how Edward De Vere, Earl of Oxford, wrote the
Continue readingwmtc: nyc reflections part 4: know the past, find the future, nypl centennial free book
Roy Blount contemplates the original Winnie-the-PoohI have one last snippet to share from our recent, brief trip to New York City. My friend NN, who writes this blog, surprised me with a wonderful gift. To celebrate its centennial, the New York Public …
Continue readingwmtc: nyc reflections part 3: a new blog about books by a new yorker
Every time I’m in New York, I see my dear friend NN. NN and I go back a long way, one of the most enduring friendships of my life. One of the many things we share is our mutual love of books – and bookstores, libraries, words, writers, and everything e…
Continue readingwmtc: life, by keith richards, canadian content alert
This post – like its subject – is old but still relevant.Over the summer I read Life, Keith Richards’ memoirs. When I blogged about it here, I was loving it, but the book didn’t turn out to be as fascinating and excellent as that post implies. The best…
Continue readingwmtc: what i’m reading, squeaking under the wire fall edition
I managed to squeeze in one more book, a few last precious moments of reading, before the must-reads of the fall term descend on me. It was a goodie.I read mostly nonfiction these days, and seem to find very few novels that rise to my standards – which…
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