The Roaring 20s

A New Smell on the G Train

I was scrolling through this morning's edition of Shelf Awareness and found this article, about a "walk-by" library in Massachusetts where commuters can pick up books for the ride.  One of those would've come in handy last week, and I'll tell you why.  

I was gearing up for a ride on the oft-maligned G train and suddenly found myself without reading material.  As someone who stocks their purse (and hurts their back) with at least two ARCs at a time, this was surprising.  There was nothing to do, I decided, but pick up an emergency read on the street.  Luckily, someone was having a stoop sale on Atlantic Avenue and they happened to have fantastic taste.  With a heady mixture of euphoria and relief, I paid $1 for a copy of David Sedaris' Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim and descended into the bowels of the station.  

Perhaps "bowels" is a poor choice of words, because within a few moments of self-congratulatory page-turning, I realized there was--what can only be described as--a pungent stench emanating from the paperback, like kitty litter at its worst.  Worse, there were passengers on either side of me, normal-looking ones.  Surely they could smell the book.  Surely they might think it was I who smelled, and not the yellowed tome in my hand.  Vanity would dictate that I find a way to dispose of the book before a misunderstanding could take place.  And yet, and yet...      

The essay I was reading, in which the Sedaris siblings ask their sweet, youngest sister to lie down in the street (sort of an intentional Meet Me in St. Louis scenario), was brilliantly funny.  What to do, continue reading? The further I held the book away from my own nose, the closer it got to everyone else's.  I peered around again more carefully, and weighed my options.  Next to me, there was a 30something woman in a tracksuit.  Directly across, a somewhat-attractive, bespectacled hipster.  The truth was, I didn't want either of these nice denizens of Kings County to think I smelled.  But just as I prepared myself to deposit the book on the floor, I realized it would be 4 more stops, and then another 5 on the L, until I reached my destination.  

I decided I should take a chance.  Just this once, I would make myself an unacceptable acquaintance to my neighbors.  I continued reading and, when it was time, exited the train with a humble nod to hipster and lady.  As for my copy of Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, I'm happy to report that it has found a home in the incense drawer of my good friend, Joe, where it will remain until one of us is very brave, and takes it out.                

"Tuesday we started Foucault"

As if this wasn't amazing enough, she was totally holding Little Birds: Erotica by Anais Nin.  

Reasons for and Advantages of Cooking

Philadelphia, here we come!

I am currently, verily, knee-deep in preparations for our next conference.  Aside from frantic work emails, this means frantic restaurant reservations, frantic yelping, etc.  We have, in fact, devised a food itinerary to complement our schedule.  This time it includes--but is not limited to--haute Cuban, ridiculous doughnuts, family-style Israeli, spirit-heavy cocktails, and--of course--some kind of cheesesteak.  If you've got food on the brain as much as I do, take a peek at the guest-blogging I did for the newly-launched 20somethingreads.  See what happens when you put too much of yourself into a chocolate mousse, study the effects of homemade caramel on a burgeoning relationship (hint: not as good as you'd think), and take comfort in knowing you'll never have to make rock-hard naan, because I've already done it for you. Mangia, eat up, and have a fantastic week! 

The sweetest thing you'll see today

Your daily dose of sun comes via today's issue of Shelf Awareness.  I dare your heart not to melt over this video.  

 

Reading Aloud: A Confession

Why hello there! Did you know that today is World Read Aloud Day? At this point, you probably expect me to issue you a long list of "read aloud recommendations." A list something like "Yeats, Shakespeare, Edith Wharton, Ian McEwan, Edna St. Vincent Millay"...chock-full of writers whose work benefits from the assistance of the human voice.  And while all of those authors--and many others--would make wonderful "read alouds," there's one kind of writing that I absolutely love hearing spoken.  

Picture this: 

It's summer.  You're on the virgin beaches of Fire Island, drying your salty limbs in the white hot sun and trying not to get too much sand on your blanket.  Your lover/best-friend/super-fun little sister is on the towel next to yours.  "Would you like me to read to you?" they ask.  God, that would be lovely, you think.  Your lover/best friend/super-fun little sister knows you too well.    

You stretch out on your stomach and close your eyes.  "Yes," you answer.  "That Us Weekly article about Justin Theroux's dark past would do quite nicely."

Five minutes of sheer luxury follow, the gentle lapping of the waves accompanying everything you ever wanted to know about Theroux's affinity for black leather, his former live-in girlfriend, and the origins/meanings of various tattoos.  After the article, you will dreamily re-apply your sunblock, newly content in the knowledge that Theroux did not, as was once thought, cheat on said former girlfriend with Jennifer Aniston.  

"He's just not like that," you say, oddly contemplative.  "You know, he looks so edgy and outre, but monogamy is very important to him."

Perhaps your lover/best-friend/super-fun little sister sighs a little.  Perhaps they ask you to return the favor with an article on the cellulite epidemic in Hollywood.  Better yet, maybe they reach into their tote bag and retrieve the brownies you packed, and a thermos of pre-mixed margaritas.  Whatever the case, I'm willing to bet there are few things more relaxing than having a terrible tabloid read to you by someone you love.  

What's your favorite read-aloud? Go on, shame me with your highbrow selections.  I totally asked for it.        

The Song of Achilles, out now!

It's finally here, and we could not be more thrilled.  After what feels like years of anticipation (and was, in fact, at least a year of it in-house), Madeline Miller's The Song of Achilles hits shelves today! At this point, I'll do myself more trouble than good to wax ecstatic again, so let's take a look at the completely unbiased raves.  

“You don’t need to be familiar with Homer’s The Iliad (or Brad Pitt’s Troy, for that matter) to find Madeline Miller’s The Song of Achilles spellbinding....her explorations of ego, grief, and love’s many permutations are both familiar and new....[A] timeless love story.”— O MAGAZINE

“A psychologically astute Iliad prelude featuring the heady, star-crossed adolescence of future heroes Patroclus and Achilles.”— VOGUE

“Masterfully brings to life an imaginative yet informed vision of ancient Greece featuring divinely human gods and larger-than-life mortals. She breaks new ground retelling one of the world’s oldest stories about men in love and war [and] extraordinary women.”— PUBLISHERS WEEKLY (STARRED REVIEW), PICK OF THE WEEK

“A masterly vision of the drama, valor, and tragedy of the Trojan War. Readers who loved Mary Renault’s epic novels will be thrilled with Miller’s portrayal of ancient Greece. This reviewer can’t wait to see what she writes next.”— LIBRARY JOURNAL (STARRED REVIEW)

“A captivating retelling of The Iliad and events leading up to it through the point of view of Patroclus: it’s a hard book to put down, and any classicist will be enthralled by her characterisation of the goddess Thetis, which carries the true savagery and chill of antiquity.”— DONNA TARTT, THE TIMES

“A modern take on The Iliad, full of love and feats of glory and told in an open, lyric, loose-limbed fashion that should appeal to many readers.... Next up from Miller—the story of Circe...historical fiction fans, get in on the ground floor.”— LIBRARY JOURNAL

“Mary Renault lives again! A ravishingly vivid and convincing version of one of the most legendary of love stories.”— EMMA DONOGHUE

“At once a scholar’s homage to The Iliad and a startlingly original work of art by an incredibly talented new novelist. Madeline Miller has given us her own fresh take on the Trojan war and its heroes. The result is a book I could not put down.”— ANN PATCHETT

“Miller somehow (and breathtakingly so) mixes high-action commercial plotting with writing of such beautiful delicacy you sometimes have to stop and stare.”— THE INDEPENDENT

“Miller’s prose is more poetic than almost any translation of Homer… This is a deeply affecting version of the Achilles story: a fully three-dimension man - a son, a father, husband and lover - now exists where a superhero previously stood and fought.”— THE GUARDIAN

Check out my interview with Madeline here, and be sure to catch her while she's on tour!