April 2011: Book Buying

6 books this month, but I really could have done worse. For example, I wanted to buy another copy of True Grit just because I liked the "bullet hole" cover better. Also, Vera, that biography of Nabokov's wife is singing a sweet siren song. In addition, I would have bought a copy of A Visit From The Goon Squad if I could have found it. There is no end. I feel like I'm turning into a modern-day Thomas Phillipps. This month found me at two different bookstores and romping about online.

1. The Caged Virgin: An Emancipation Proclamation for Women and Islam - Ayaan Hirsi Ali. We're going to read this for the May 20 meeting of my Cracked Spinz book group. Should be interesting.

2. The Story of an African Farm - Olive Schreiner. Thanks to Eva's excellent review, I was primed to pick up a copy of this novel only a few days later. The price was right, too! Only 3.00 USD.

3. My Antonia - Willa Cather. Willa Cather's name has been floating around me lately. I really should read her Pulitzer winner One of Ours, but she reportedly said that My Antonia was her best. The price was also a nifty 3 bucks.

4. The Elegance of the Hedgehog - Muriel Barbery. We're reading this one for the May 22 meeting of Bookleaves. Gotta love that title. Also, since this is a French novel, I'll make progress towards reading more internationally.

5. Angle of Repose - Wallace Stegner. I've already read it, but I loaned it out to Pablo and never got it back. That's OK. I still have his copy of Cloud Atlas. Now the 1970s are mostly filled in on my Pulitzer shelf.

6. National Velvet - Enid Bagnold. I tried to read this 1935 horse story before when I was a kid, but got bogged down for some reason or another. Elizabeth Taylor's death triggered in me an impulse to give it another try. Definitely a case of Just Say Neigh.

Library Loot: Val Lends A Hand

The title of this post should read "Val lends a CARD" because I have somehow misplaced my faculty card, which is what I use to check out books. Seeing my downcast look, Val took pity and lent me her card, with the admonition that I had to return it by midnight because my beautiful dress would turn to...oops, wrong story. Here's what has been checked out on Val's card:

Terrible Honesty: Mongrel Manhattan in the 1920s - Ann Douglas. A study of intellectual life and the arts during the 1920s. So many people figure that Paris during this decade was the place to be at that time, but Douglas asserts that there was plenty going on at home.

Scott O'Dell - Hal Marcovitz (Who Wrote That? series). A juvenile biography of the author of Island of the Blue Dolphins. Fun fact: O'Dell was born Odell Scott, but when he was working as a reporter and a typist scrambled his byline and rendered it as Scott O'Dell, he liked it so much that it became his pen name and eventually he legally changed it. OK, I'm on a roll now: Fun fact #2: O'Dell was on the set of the movie Son of the Sheik back in the 1920s. The script required a close-up of Rudolph Valentino holding a string of pearls. Valentino was hot, but he "had hands like a butcher", according to O'Dell. Apparently, O'Dell had the goods, so he became Valentino's hand double for that one scene. Fun and informative reading. I'd love to read the others in this series.

Now, to find my own card...

2011 Pulitzers: New Kid On The Shelf

Warmest congratulations to Jennifer Egan for winning the 2011 Pulitzer fiction prize for her novel, A Visit From The Goon Squad. I'm really looking forward to finding this book, reading it and adding it to my Pulitzer pile. I'm so torn. Should I order it online or cruise the bookstores until I find it here in Korea? These are the kinds of geeky decisions that make life enjoyable.

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In the last hours before the announcement, I had reluctantly abandoned my first choice, Freedom by Jonathan Franzen because I had become firmly convinced that The Surrendered by Chang-Rae Lee would win. This is as close as I've ever gotten to being right about the Pulitzer -- Lee's book was also nominated. Now that it's out in paperback, my plan is to talk it up as a choice for either Bookleaves or Cracked Spinz.

The Tenderness of Wolves - Stef Penney

8 books down! I'm really starting to make some progress on this challenge. As Hank Snow would say, although in a different context, "I'm movin' on."

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My most recent read is The Tenderness of Wolves by Stef Penney. In this case, the author is not Canadian, but the setting is. In 1867 Canada, in the small settlement of Caulfield/Dove River, a French-Canadian trapper is found murdered. By coincidence, 17-year-old Francis Ross, his nearest neighbor, hasn't been seen in several days. The local magistrate is compelled to call in some men from the North American Company, who act as policemen on the frontier, and they begin tracking Francis. Soon after, his mother, with the help of another trapper, follows the Company men in hopes of clearing her son's name. Did I mention that this is Canada? Did I mention that winter is coming on?

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The Tenderness of Wolves is related through several points of view, but it's smoothly done and not in the least jarring. I felt close to several of the characters, and when new ones were introduced, I felt invested in them almost immediately. In style and spirit, this book reminded me of Lonesome Dove. It's very good in the way Lonesome Dove is very good (long, arduous journey, unforgettable characters --even the minor ones) although it is only a third of that novel's size. (Hmm...do you suppose "Dove River" is a nod to McMurtry?)

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Good on the Costa people for giving The Tenderness of Wolves their Best Book Award back in 2006. Now that I've finally read this (it sat on my TBR shelf for more than three years), it's my job to hector everyone into going out and finding it and reading it. Soon. Tomorrow would be OK. Meanwhile, I must hunt up more of Stef Penney's work.

That There Library Loot

I haven't yet figured out my perfect library day, but it beckons to me if there's been too long of a hiatus. I should be taking advantage of these days because the hill is not too icy to climb nor is it stifling hot in the stacks. Oh, Korea. You really got whacked with that four-season business, didn't you?

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Here's what I checked out this time: Martin Eden - Jack London. Within moments of cracking open both Frank Norris' McTeague and Theodore Dreiser's An American Tragedy, I had that shivery, excited feeling that I would like them very much. I was right. I had that same feeling when I saw Martin Eden on the shelf. For some reason, this feeling only seems to come to me with Naturalist writers. Really.

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The Old-Time Cowhand - Ramon F. Adams. I'm no longer sure about this one. When I saw that it covered practically every aspect of cowboys' lives, and it was written by a premier authority on Americana and the Old West I was quite interested, but when I glanced through it, this is a sample of the kind of writing I saw on every page. From the Foreword, where Adams defends his style:

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Book writin', I reckon, should be brushed and curried till it's plumb shiny and elegant. In writin' this'n, I could maybe slick up my grammar some, but because it's 'bout the old-time cowhand I want it write it in his own language jes' like he talked at the old chuck wagon. It seems more friendly and it shore gives more flavor. [...] If someone attempted to put the cowboy's speech into correct English, he'd only succeeed in destroyin' its strength and flavor. The cowboy had no use for the feller who used words that nobody could savvy without an encyclopedia and two dictionaries.

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I'm very picky about reading dialect. It's OK with me if it's Mark Twain, for example. This, however, looks very awkward and self-conscious. As for "destroying its strength and flavor" if it's put into "correct English", try telling that to Larry McMurtry! I'm really torn. I want the information from this book, but I don't want to traipse through 350 pages of dropped letters and folksy narrative laid on with a trowel. Maybe I'm too dern techy, but I'm thinkin' Mr. Adams shot hisself plumb through the foot on that one.

Readathon: Hour 24

1. Which hour was most daunting for you? Hour 6. I hit a wall and could not continue. The Sandman won that round. Bastard.

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2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year? They Shoot Horses, Don't They? is gritty and noirish, but there's something irresistable about reading about a contest of endurance when you are also in one. If the style or genre is not to the reader's taste, it's a rather short read -- approximately 120 pages.

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3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? Can't think of anything.

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4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon? The challenges were very creative.

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5. How many books did you read? Three-and-a-half.

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6. What were the names of the books you read? Happy Birthday or Whatever - Annie Choi, They Shoot Horses, Don't They? - Horace McCoy, Cake Wrecks - Jen Yates and 43 % of The Grifters - Jim Thompson

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7. Which book did you enjoy most? They Shoot Horses, Don't They?

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8. Which did you enjoy least? Cake Wrecks seems funnier online.

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9. If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders? Just do the best you can. I hope we have more next year.

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10. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? Very likely.

What role would you be likely to take next time? Reader and Cheerleader

Readathon: Hour 23

Still reading The Grifters. I must watch that movie again. I'm trying to remember the three leads without looking it up. I know one was Annette Bening. Would Anjelica Huston and John Cusack be correct regarding the others? Trivia Brain is feeling a little lumpy and peevish right now.

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Pages read this hour: 25

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Snacks eaten: Zero

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Showers taken: One. Who knew that mere reading could make you feel untidy?

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I'm so ready for that last post in which I tally up my meager numbers, reflect on my experience and put Readathoning to rest for another 6 months.

Readathon: Hour 22

In the last hour: Finished Cake Wrecks. Started The Grifters by Jim Thompson.

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Pages read in the last hour: 49

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Total number of books read (so far) during the Readathon: 3

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Snacks: Zero

Readathon: Hour 21

Oh, Readathon. 21. You're old enough now to drink and gamble. Let's have some cake. Or not.

What I'm reading:

Pages read this hour: 157. It's not just pictures; Jen Yates has included some commentary. While her snark could never be mistaken for Dorothy Parker's, I still had several good laughs. (Naked plastic baby dolls with mohawk hairstyles riding carrots? I'm going to be wondering about that one for a long time.)

Zero snacks -- this book is sort of unappetizing.

Readathon: Hour 20

Just finished They Shoot Horses, Don't They? Gritty stuff. Except for the f-word being represented as a dash, I was amazed at how contemporary it feels. I think I'll check out the 1970s movie version, although Jane Fonda as Gloria feels wrong.

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Pages read this hour: 36

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Books finished during the Readathon: 2

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Blogs visited: 5

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Snacks: 2 hard-boiled eggs to go with my hard-boiled novel

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Next book? I was going to continue with noir, but I need to change it up a bit. I'm going with Cake Wrecks.

Readathon: Hour 19

What am I reading? They Shoot Horses, Don't They? a 1935 noir about a seedy dance marathon. I'm reminded so much of reality TV. People haven't changed much.

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Pages read: 67

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Snacks eaten: A Market O brownie (thanks to my friend Becka)

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Visitors: One old Korean guy who asked, "Are you a foreigner?" I smiled and closed the door again.

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Tired? I actually feel really good.

Readathon: Hour 18

I'm finished with my cheerleading duties, but I might go back again later. I like getting ideas about what to try next in the way of reading ...and eating.

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Blogs visited: 14

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Pages read: 0

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Questions asked: My perfectly wonderful co-worker, Megan, asked me if I know of any good world literature book lists for high school students. I'm stumped, but have referred her to Eva. She's a good person to start with, but any other ideas?

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Snacks: A mug of hot tea and milk with sugar

Readathon: Hour 17

Snacks: Val's garlic-and-vegetable pasta salad breathed new life into me.

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Blogs visited: 11

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Pages read: 8 pages. I read a little from They Shoot Horses, Don't They? while I was eating. Horace McCoy's nameless narrator also addresses the importance of multi-tasking during marathon events:

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The rules were you danced for an hour and fifty minutes, then you had a ten-minute rest in which you could sleep if you wanted to. But in those ten minutes you also had to shave or bathe or get your feet fixed or whatever was necessary. [...] Gloria and I had been tipped off by some old-timers that the way to beat a marathon dance was to perfect a system for those ten-minute rest periods: learning to eat your sandwich while you shaved, learning to eat when you went to the john, when you had your feet fixed, learning to read newspapers while you danced, learning to sleep on your partner's shoulder while you were dancing; but these were all tricks of the trade you had to practise. They were very difficult for Gloria and me at first.

Readathon: Hour 16

Two-thirds finished with this Readathon. I've got to make my last 8 hours something stellar. I stopped by 11 blogs during this hour. What a huge list! At first, I thought cheering on participants #225-347 stretched out over a few hours would be a cakewalk. If so, it's the longest cakewalk I've ever been on. More like a cake march. Oh. Cake. I think it's time for some sort of snack.

Readathon: Hour 15

During this hour, I visited 3 blogs and took a break. After dousing my eyes with Visine, I did some cleaning, some laundry and got some fresh air.

Readathon: Hour 14

Rah? Rah? How does that go again? I have visited 13 blogs since my last post. At the top of the hour, I had a wrenching headache then it went away and now my eyes feel like they want to slam shut. Walking away from the computer for a little while seems like a good idea.

Readathon: Hour 13

The cheerleading continues... I visited 11 blogs this hour. I also sneaked in some reading (10 pages) on my second book for this event, and what an inspired choice it is, if I do say so myself -- reading about a dance marathon during a readathon.

Snacks: The cereal, banana and milk that I was contemplating last hour, but halfway through the bowl, I realized that I'd forgotten to add the banana. Stop right there. Peel and slice. Actually, it worked out better; I ran out of cereal, milk and banana all at the same time.

Readathon: Hour 12

I'm a cheerleader for the next few hours. It's both harder and easier than just reading. During this hour, I visited 16 blogs. 5 were "not home". It's great seeing what other people have chosen for the Readathon, both bookwise and snackwise. I'm trying to leave thoughtful comments, but my brain is starting to hurt. I'll remedy that with a bowl of Special K with banana and milk.

Readathon: Hour 11

What I'm Reading: Just finished Happy Birthday Or Whatever by Annie Choi.

Pages read this hour: 89

Snacks: Coke, half of a banana

Now my cheerleading shift starts. Where's my megaphone?

Readathon: Hour 10

What I'm Reading: Happy Birthday Or Whatever - Annie Choi. I'm having fun with the later chapters, because American Annie is in Korea with her mother, sightseeing and visiting the relatives. Her version of culture shock is hilarious.

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Pages read this hour: 17

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Snacks: An icy-cold Coke with lots and lots of chipped ice.

Readathon: Hours 6-9 zzzzzzzz

In Hour 6, I managed to read 23 more pages of Happy Birthday Or Whatever then conked out. Clearly, I will not remember this as my best Readathon. On the bright side, I'm awake and refreshed well in time for my cheerleading shift, which will be from Hours 12-18.

Readathon: Hour 5

What I'm reading: Annie Choi's memoir, Happy Birthday Or Whatever.

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Pages read this hour: 43

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Snacks this hour: 1 glass of water

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Waves of sleepiness. Sigh.

Readathon: Hour 4

What I'm reading: Still working on the Annie Choi memoir. It's not as laugh-out-loud funny as I thought it would be. It's sort of gently funny. I like it, though.

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Pages read this hour: 63

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Snacks: The Korean version of Bugles.

Readathon: Hour 3

What I'm reading: Happy Birthday or Whatever: Track Suits, Kim Chee And Other Family Disasters - Annie Choi. (Memoir)

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Pages read this hour: 22

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Snacks: None. I'm still full of beer.

Readathon Hours 1 and 2: Off To An Improper (but fun) Start

I promise, I got everything ready well ahead of time.

Stack:

Snacks:

My friend Val generously set me up with some of her garlic-and-vegetable pasta salad and some cornbread:

With a couple of hours to spare before the readfest, I went out and had a couple of drinks with a couple of friends at our favorite watering hole here in Erewhon. The start time floated right by me on rivulets of beer foam. But I'm back now and ready to read and blog. Hope everyone's having a good time so far.

Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov

I read this for my Cracked Spinz book group. What a strange book. Because of the events in the novel, I am a little uncomfortable about admitting that I enjoyed it.

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First of all, there’s that numbingly clinical introduction. Then there’s Humbert Humbert, an unreliable narrator with a dark and twisted sense of humor that you can’t help enjoying, but then there’s his nasty, creepy predilection for “nymphets” and then there’s Russian-born author Nabokov playing around in French and English and making literary allusions (can't believe all those whiffs of Poe I was getting!), puns and anagrams with the same gleeful abandon of a kid at his mud pies and finally, there’s that rich, sumptuous, claustrophobic and decadently beautiful prose.

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My mixed feelings of unease and admiration in almost equal parts remind of my initial reaction to In Cold Blood — Capote’s precise, almost delicate narration and the horrific subject matter.Regarding Lolita, the air in the Bybeeary is already crackling, and book group is still several days away. We are going to have our greatest discussion ever; there’s no other possibility.

84, Charing Cross Road

Helene Hanff and I don't have the same taste in books, but I can totally see myself in her book-shopping shoes. I also see myself making friends with a bookstore staff in post-war London and shipping them tasty treats and other small luxuries at Christmastime.

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84, Charing Cross Road is the result of twenty years of Hanff's correspondence with Marks & Co. Booksellers. Reading this slim memoir from a vantage point of more than 60 years onward, the prices made me smile. Hanff has a taste for the old and rare, and she sends Marks & Co. a five dollar bill and gets a stack of books so ancient that Dickens and Thackeray probably used them for booster seats when they were children and somehow, she ends up with two bucks credited to her account.

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The most enjoyable parts of the book are her feisty letters to the company. No matter how obnoxious or strident she gets, she always gets a gentlemanly response from the patient manager, Frank Doel. I’m more than ready to treat myself to another viewing of the 1987 movie version starring Anne Bancroft as Hanff and Anthony Hopkins as Doel.

Lucky: Maris, Mantle and My Best Summer Ever - Wes Tooke

First things first: I hate that title. I hate it worse than I hate the fact that Will "The Thrill" Clark only played a tiny bit of a season with the St. Louis Cardinals then retired. Yeah, that title smells like it was slapped together by a committee. A committee who hadn’t read the book.

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This is a juvenile novel (told in third person, so why is that first person pronoun in the title?) about a 12-year-old boy named Louis May who is lousy at baseball, but knows (and knows and knows) baseball statistics. Because of a lucky catch at a Yankees game in the summer of 1961 and his statistical inclinations, he gets a chance to be a bat boy for the Yankees.

All is not so rosy for Louis at home, though. Mom ran off to be a beatnik in Greenwich Village (in one scene, she takes him to The Gaslight where one of the performers is a very young Robert Zimmerman). Louis is having trouble getting adjusted to life with his new (unsympathetic) stepmother and new (bratty) stepbrother.

Louis’ story and his obligatory coming-of-age feels a little workmanlike and Tooke's eagerness to have everything turn out hunky-dory feels a little forced, but it’s all worth it for the great scenes at Yankee Stadium with Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle teaching Louis (nicknamed “Lucky” by Maris) about life and baseball. Tooke's writing really catches fire as Louis follows the exciting and unforgettable race to Babe Ruth’s record. A quick read and a wonderful way to celebrate the start of the new season.

True Grit, Truly

I reread this 1968 Charles Portis novel again for Bookleaves Book Group. Veronica, Sandra, Bernadette, Jill and I ate at Tony Roma’s and discussed the book, then we went to see the new movie version (which was retitled The Brave for its release in South Korea) at Cine Cube. Then I found a copy of the movie a few days ago. I’m up to four viewings.

My friend Leigh is going back and forth, trying to decide who is the better Rooster Cogburn: John Wayne or Jeff Bridges? I’m going to have to go with Bridges. When I watch the 1969 True Grit, I’m seeing nothing but The Duke. That's John Wayne up there, except the other characters in the movie are calling him Rooster. In the 2010 version, there is no Jeff Bridges, just an old reprobate named Rooster Cogburn. Glen Campbell vs. Matt Damon as LaBoeuf is a no-brainer; I’m more and more charmed by Damon’s nicely nuanced performance with each progressive viewing. Kim Darby vs. Hailee Steinfeld: Even though I love Kim Darby's hair, for the sake of authenticity, I gotta go with Hailee. Poor kid, she got robbed at the Oscars this year.

The thing that really clinches the Coen Brothers' version for me is the music. I really like Elmer Bernstein's scores, but in True Grit, the music is too upbeat. Mattie's father was murdered and she's out for revenge and justice, so it doesn't feel right. The music in the new movie weaves snippets of the hymn "Leaning On The Everlasting Arms" throughout. Steadfast and sad, it seems more appropriate. It is also very fitting for near the end of the movie when Mattie must be quickly borne to safety by Rooster Cogburn.

Although I prefer the remake, something young and primal within me cries out for the original movie as well. Sometimes I require both movies on the same day. I’ve hardly spoken of the book, but Oh. My. God. Even better than either movie. If you haven’t read True Grit yet, stop wasting time on this blog and go find it.

Another Bullshit Night In Suck City - Nick Flynn

Probably because of its provocative title (which comes from Nick Flynn's father's view of living on the streets), I was expecting to be blown away by this memoir of a ne’er-do-well father meeting his estranged son in a homeless shelter in Boston, where the latter is working. It’s an incredible story without an ounce of the sentimentality I was dreading. I was left wondering what has become of Flynn’s father since ABNISC was published in 2004, but I wasn’t really drawn in the way I am with some memoirs — like The Glass Castle, for example. Flynn has a way of keeping readers at a distance, which really makes sense, considering his life, so perhaps I’m being too finicky. A movie is being made of ABNISC starring Robert De Niro and Paul Dano. I have plans to see how the Flynns’ story is translated to the screen.

Things You Shouldn't Say In The Children's Section Of The Bookstore

What the hell. Even the very youngest readers know that sometimes, nothing but a curse word will do:

Shit. shitshitshit.

Remember that fancy foray through What The Book? gift card and all? 48 hours later, I'm smiting my forehead (making it rhyme with "horrid") and realizing that I left without the ONE book I went in there to get:

April 17 is my Bookleaves Book Club's 100th book/meeting, so to celebrate, we decided to each read a Newbery winner and discuss our choices. I was determined to finally read the Newbery winner of 1961, Island of the Blue Dolphins, by Scott O'Dell. It's also celebrating an anniversary: it's been part of the select Newbery circle for 50 years now.

My forgetfulness two days ago seems to be part of a trend with this book. I looked for it at Gwanghwamun's Kyobo bookstore in March, but I remembered the title as Julie of the Wolves. Kyobo didn't have a copy. Veronica posted a Newbery Winners list on our Facebook page a few days after that. Ooops. Armed with the correct title, I made plans to pick it up when I went to Seoul again...and there you go. I don't see how I could have forgotten. I'm practically living and breathing Children's Literature this semester.

I could read a different Newbery winner, but now, nothing else will do. These glitches have made me wary. If I ask someone to send it to me, it's bound to get lost. The only thing that will do is that I must go and fetch it myself. There's a long subway ride in my very near future.

I Had A Little Gift Card & I Stomped That Sucker Flat

Actually, the gift card was HUGE. Generous, by anyone's standards. A (totally undeserved) reward from the other members of last fall's Writing Center pilot program. We snickeringly referred to ourselves as the Fundamentals for Universal Communicable Knowledge and just barely managed to keep that out of our final report. We had vision and we had fun.

A gift card?! Wow. Just wow. Careening through What The Book? like a hog on ice was a thing of joy forever. Thanks, Team [Acronym]! Here's how I spent your hard-earned money:

1. Unbroken - Laura Hillenbrand. I loved Seabiscuit, and I know I'll feel the same about her latest offering.

2. Cake Wrecks - Jen Yates. I got this one for the Foodie Challenge. My choice is my old friend Vicki Cheatwood's fault; she got me addicted to the website.

3. Easy Livin' Microwave Cooking - Karen Kangas Dwyer. Another for the Foodie Challenge and a chance to prove that I can turn out meals that make people gasp (in the preferred way) without breaking down and buying an oven.

4. Happy Birthday Or Whatever: Track Suits, Kim Chee And Other Family Disasters - Annie Choi. I wonder if she pronounces her name Choy, like it's spelled or Chae, like my students do. Anyway, a humorous memoir about her Korean-American family.

5. The Grifters - Jim Thompson. Oooooh my favorite noir guy. I saw this movie several years ago and liked it.

6. A Hell of a Woman - Jim Thompson. Can't go wrong here. This was originally published in 1954, when Thompson was on fire.

7. The Boys of Summer - Roger Kahn. Kahn grew up "in shouting distance of Ebbets Field" during the 1930s and 40s, then for a couple of years in the 1950s, he covered the Brooklyn Dodgers as a young sportswriter. For my baseball shelf.

8. The Rookie - Jim Morris. AKA The Oldest Rookie. Jim Morris was in the minors for a while, then gave it up for coaching high school baseball. At age 35, he got another incredible chance to be in The Show. A true story and a movie by Disney starring Dennis Quaid. Also for my baseball shelf.

9. The Inner Circle - T.C. Boyle. This time, Boyle takes on sex studies pioneer Alfred Kinsey. After having such an enjoyable time with The Women, I can hardly wait.

10. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down - Anne Fadiman. I will always love Anne Fadiman (read that last phrase while hearing in your mind's ear a complete string section backing Whitney Houston's vocals) because of Ex Libris, her quirky memoir about being a book lover. In this nonfiction work, Fadiman looks at a terrible culture collision between a Hmong family who has a daughter with epilepsy and American doctors at a small hospital in California.

11. The Road Past Altamont - Gabrielle Roy. Yay! I discovered another Canadian author! Take me to Tim Horton's and set me up with a double-double.

12. From Here To Eternity - James Jones. Time for another World War II novel. This is my first outing with James Jones, although I've seen the movie version two or three times. I'm imagining that the book will be sort of like Norman Mailer's The Naked and the Dead. This beat-up mass market paperback edition with that divine aged-book smell clocks in at 955 pages.