tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-53505672542786111252024-03-05T10:36:41.472-08:00Books With LaurieScroll less. Read more books. Laurie Alleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14460272282273523408noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5350567254278611125.post-87006532053280489612022-08-19T17:14:00.003-07:002022-08-19T17:14:09.718-07:00Great Books on Pandemics: Non-Fiction Edition <div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/cc7GE2LhG3k?rel=0" width="560"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><div><b>The <i>Books With Laurie </i></b><br /><b>Pandemic Reading List</b></div><div><b>Non-Fiction Edition!</b></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: #eedece; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px;">By Laurie Allee</span></div></div><div><span style="background-color: #eedece; font-family: inherit; font-size: xx-small;">For those of you reading this via email, <a href="https://www.bookswithlaurie.com/2020/10/great-books-on-pandemics-non-fiction.html#more" target="_blank">click here</a> to see my accompanying video.</span><br /><span style="background-color: #eedece; font-family: inherit; font-size: xx-small;"><i>T</i></span><i style="background-color: #eedece; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">his post contains affiliate links. <a href="https://bookswithlaurie.blogspot.com/p/affiliate-marketing-disclosure.html" style="color: #294d66;" target="_blank">Click here for more info!</a></span></i><br /><i style="background-color: #eedece; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"><br /></i></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Let's Be Real...</b></span></div><div><br /></div><div>I <a href="https://www.bookswithlaurie.com/2020/10/great-books-on-pandemics-non-fiction.html" target="_blank">originally posted this only nine months into the global Covid-19 pandemic.</a> Now, after over two and a half years, we have a "back to normal" that is anything but normal: continued infections, reinfections, post-Covid heart, brain and organ, endocrine and immune system damage, the debilitating mystery of Long Covid, the possibility of a lingering viral reservoir of Sars-CoV-2, vaccines that help avoid death but don't stop infection, drugs that are either impossible to obtain or contraindicated by drug interactions, a government intent on austerity, a citizenry divided, and a media intent on cheerleading folks back to shopping, dining out and going back to the office.</div><div><br /></div><div>"History doesn't repeat itself" Mark Twain reportedly once said, "but it often rhymes." Although the Covid-19 pandemic is uniquely awful, we don't have to look too far back to see that it resembles other disease outbreaks from our not-too-distant history. In the early months of the pandemic, I <strike>tortured myself </strike> read some interesting books about past epidemics, how people dealt with them, and what we (supposedly) learned from them. I can't say that these books make me feel <i>better</i> about our current global crisis, but they point toward hope for <i>eventual</i> resolution, and offer insight into the profound resilience of the human spirit.</div><div><br /></div><div>My suggestions bear repeating. </div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">With that, I give you my Great Pandemic Reads, Non-Fiction Edition:</span></b></div><div><br /><a name='more'></a></div><div></div><span><!--more--></span><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Ghost-Map-Londons-Terrifying-Epidemic/dp/1594482691/ref=as_li_ss_il?dchild=1&keywords=the+ghost+map&qid=1604092605&sr=8-1&linkCode=li3&tag=laurieallee-20&linkId=6bfbc7b7478f3ae2ddd9afe532534f40&language=en_US" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="400" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=1594482691&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=laurieallee-20&language=en_US" width="267" /></a><i><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=laurieallee-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=1594482691" style="border: none; margin: 0px;" width="1" /><a href="https://amzn.to/34GvR1e" target="_blank">The Ghost Map</a>,</i> by Steven Johnson, was a New York Times Notable Book, and an <i>Entertainment Weekly</i> Best Book of the Year. This is a massive work of multidisciplinary scholarship covering a devastating cholera outbreak in London. <span style="font-size: medium;"><b>What makes it special is Johnson's old-fashioned, keep-you-on-the-edge-of-your-seat storytelling. </b></span></div><div><br /></div><div>In 1854, London was transforming into the world's first truly modern city. As the population rapidly expanded, the city struggled (and ultimately failed) to keep up with critical city infrastructure. Without clean water, sewers and garbage removal, London became a breeding ground for a terrifying disease that blindsighted the experts. They didn't know why it occurred or exactly how it was transmitted. They had no idea how to cure it.</div><div><br /></div><div>Dr. John Snow and Reverend Henry Whitehead took it upon themselves to solve the medical riddle. Johnson's sublime narrative details their quest, and makes <i><a href="https://amzn.to/34GvR1e" target="_blank">The Ghost Map</a></i> read like a great detective story. </div><div><br /></div><div>This book made me think about a lot of things: the nature of scientific inquiry, the inevitable catastrophe caused by civilization's metastatic growth, the capriciousness of disease, the devastation of poverty, the tenacity of human problem-solving. </div><div><br /></div><div> It's one of the best books of historical writing I've come across, and a beguiling cautionary tale for our own time.<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=laurieallee-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=0425217752" style="border: none; margin: 0px;" width="1" /></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.amazon.com/American-Plague-Untold-Epidemic-History-dp-0425217752/dp/0425217752/ref=as_li_ss_il?_encoding=UTF8&me=&qid=1604095018&linkCode=li3&tag=laurieallee-20&linkId=5cfde1eaffe896bd99f7f07152232fd0&language=en_US" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="400" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0425217752&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=laurieallee-20&language=en_US" width="266" /></a><div><br /></div>I'm not going to sugar-coat it ... <i><a href="https://amzn.to/3eeqA41" target="_blank">The American Plague</a>, </i>by Molly Caldwell Crosby,<i> </i>is a grisly, devastating read. Crosby meticulously documents the yellow fever epidemic starting with an outbreak in 1878, and moving on to include a series of controversial human studies that were launched in 1900. Rich with details and a lush cast of characters, this book blends history and science into literature. Crosby's writing is as beautiful as it is haunting. (<i>The New York Times</i> book review described her as <span style="font-size: medium;"><b>"Faulkner writing <i>Dawn of the Dead.</i>"</b></span>)</div><div><br /></div><div>Like <i>The Ghost Map</i>, <i><a href="https://amzn.to/3eeqA41" target="_blank">The American Plague</a></i> will feel uncannily familiar. The shock of a virus bringing civilization to its knees, the quarantines, the economic breakdown, the in-fighting, the horrors of disease, the acts of desperation, the feats of heroism ... we can see our own world in this book.</div><div><br /></div><div>I felt oddly hopeful by the end of it. It took 20 years to understand yellow fever, and came at a huge cost to the doctors, nurses and scientists who literally gave their lives battling the disease. Their work ultimately triumphed. It led to the vaccine still in use today.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Pale-Rider-Spanish-Changed-World-ebook/dp/B01N22ZOHC/ref=as_li_ss_il?crid=1YCDKJSGBGWMV&dchild=1&keywords=pale+rider+by+laura+spinney&qid=1604097466&sprefix=pale+rider+by+laura,stripbooks,220&sr=8-1&linkCode=li3&tag=laurieallee-20&linkId=5367422830bef6c59ebbaea84cb68402&language=en_US" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="400" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B01N22ZOHC&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=laurieallee-20&language=en_US" width="267" /></a><i><a href="https://amzn.to/37XwHso" target="_blank">Pale Rider</a></i> by Laura Spinney offers insight into how the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918-1920 affected, disrupted and altered many aspects of life on earth. Family structures, global politics, religion, arts and societal norms were all changed by the virus. Spinney's book makes a powerful case for how the pandemic was at least partly responsible for India's independence, South Africa's apartheid and Switzerland's move to the brink of civil war. </div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Spinney reminds us that this disease cast a long, global shadow. </b></span> While Europe and North America reported the lowest death rates, other parts of the world were gutted. In India, for example, the rate was ten times the rate in the United States, with 18 million dead. That was 6% of India's population. South Africa lost half a million children alone.</div><div><br /></div><div>While there are striking similarities between the Spanish flu pandemic and our own Covid-19 pandemic, the book reminded me of how grateful I am to live 100 years later, with the benefit of modern hygiene practices and a universal understanding of germ theory. (Now, if we could just get everyone to wear a mask...<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=laurieallee-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=B01N22ZOHC" style="border: none; margin: 0px;" width="1" />)</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Clearing-Plains-Politics-Starvation-Indigenous/dp/0889776229/ref=as_li_ss_il?dchild=1&keywords=clearing+the+plains&qid=1604099186&sr=8-1&linkCode=li3&tag=laurieallee-20&linkId=5588a05ed23267d8601d393480050005&language=en_US" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="400" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0889776229&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=laurieallee-20&language=en_US" width="267" /></a><i><a href="https://amzn.to/3eewbaw" target="_blank">Clearing the Plains</a></i> by James Daschuk is a horrifying look at how the combination of Canadian state-supported starvation and infectious disease created a catastrophe of almost unbelievable proportions. This is a colossal work of historical muckraking, smashing the sacred cows of colonial myth.</div><div><br /></div><div>It is not an easy book to read. The narrative is at times so chilling, so heartbreakingly awful, it left me feeling shocked and sick. <span style="font-size: medium;"><b>The book details how the indigenous people of Canada were driven into reserves by the Indian Act of 1876, and how the brutality of that act combined with infectious disease and government-supported starvation to devastate a people. </b></span> </div><div><br /></div><div>"Those Reserve Indians are in a deplorable state of destitution," Lawrence Clarke wrote in 1880 of the inadequate government rations, "Should sickness break out among them in their present weakly state, the fatality would be dreadful." </div><div><br /></div><div>Sure enough, tuberculosis and other diseases decimated the starving reserve population. Daschuk calls it "a state-sponsored attack on indigenous communities, whose affects haunt us as a nation still."</div><div><br /></div><div>Like Howard Zinn's <a href="<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Peoples-History-United-States/dp/0062397346/ref=as_li_ss_il?dchild=1&keywords=a+people's+history&qid=1604100447&sr=8-1&linkCode=li3&tag=laurieallee-20&linkId=2e595fae66f9079b5c01445588183fc6&language=en_US" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0062397346&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=laurieallee-20&language=en_US" ></a><img src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=laurieallee-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=0062397346" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" />" target="_blank"><i>A People's History</i></a>, this book should be required reading for everyone interested in the real indigenous history of the Americas. </div><div><br /></div><div>Scratch that. It should be required reading for EVERYONE.<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=laurieallee-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=0889776229" style="border: none; margin: 0px;" width="1" /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.amazon.com/American-Pandemic-Worlds-Influenza-Epidemic-dp-0199811342/dp/0199811342/ref=as_li_ss_il?_encoding=UTF8&me=&qid=1604100600&linkCode=li3&tag=laurieallee-20&linkId=698c1fdb385488e257931d6d5a9b94ec&language=en_US" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="400" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0199811342&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=laurieallee-20&language=en_US" width="253" /></a>I wanted this list to include <i><a href="https://amzn.to/2TBoaTT" target="_blank">American Pandemic</a></i> by Nancy K. Bristow because this book provides such a rich social and cultural history of the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic. Bristow covers the role of race, gender and class in this epic look at how the disease affected different people in different ways. Bristow also looks at the role of physical fitness, public education and the American public health strategy during various influenza epidemics. (Hint: it was actually more cohesive than the our own strategy during Covid-19.) </div><div><br /></div><div>This is an immensely human book. Bristow utilized a wealth of primary sources -- diaries, oral histories, newspaper clippings, letters -- to reveal the many faces of the pandemic victims. <span style="font-size: medium;"><b>You will recognize these people. The narrative breathes life into those who often are treated as mere statistics. </b></span> </div><div><br /></div><div>In the United States, even though we've lost over 230,000 people to Covid-19 at the time of this writing, we are not really honoring the dead. Our country will bow its collective head every September 11th to rightfully remember the ones killed on that day. But, oddly, an average of 1000 Americans -- real, flesh-and-blood friends and neighbors -- die every single day from Covid-19, and instead of properly grieving and remembering as a nation, we are inundated with public talk of "the importance of opening up" and "herd immunity." I don't think most people have let in the actual horror of how many individuals have been lost -- moms and dads and kids and grandparents, healthy and infirm, at risk and not at risk. I don't think we want to think about how many more we will lose.</div><div><br /></div><div>Bristow's book is as much a memorial as a history. She breathes life into stories of death. We need someone to do that for Covid-19. </div><div><br /></div><div>While Spinney's <i>Pale Rider </i>shows how the Spanish flu literally changed everything it touched around the globe. Bristow's counterpoint in <i>American Pandemic</i> reveals that in the USA, influenza did not bring about any long-term societal change. Instead, it reinforced the status quo.<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=laurieallee-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=0199811342" style="border: none; margin: 0px;" width="1" /> Sounds familiar. </div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>These books gave me perspective for the current crisis. </b></span> We have so much to be thankful for, even in the face of Covid-19's unrelenting grip. We are much better off, over all, than the people of previous pandemics. That said, we are making many of the same mistakes seen in epidemics of the past -- from governmental neglect to a public who just doesn't want to wear masks. We have lost so many, with more to come. We don't yet know the full health effects of those who have recovered, even from mild illness. So with that in mind...</div><div><br /><b><span style="font-size: large;">Stay safe, and keep reading. </span></b><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.bookswithlaurie.com/2020/08/the-books-with-laurie-pandemic-reading.html" target="_blank">Click here for my Great Pandemic Reads: Fiction Edition</a></span></b></div><div><b> </b><br /> </div><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=laurieallee-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=0307947300" style="border: none; margin: 0px;" width="1" /><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=laurieallee-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=0307389731" style="border: none; margin: 0px;" width="1" /><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=laurieallee-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=0679720219" style="border: none; margin: 0px;" width="1" /></div>
Laurie Alleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14460272282273523408noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5350567254278611125.post-1630420037893364202021-06-10T18:50:00.000-07:002021-06-10T18:50:35.445-07:00Life-changing Books #1<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GN9VULGiXfk?rel=0" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div><b>Need inspiration?</b></div><div><b>There's a book for that.</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">By Laurie Allee</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">For those of you reading this via email, <a href="https://www.bookswithlaurie.com/2021/03/the-dysfunctional-family-reading-list.html" target="_blank">click here </a>to see the accompanying video</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">This post contains affiliate links. <a href="https://www.bookswithlaurie.com/p/affiliate-marketing-disclosure.html" target="_blank">Click here </a>for more info!</span></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div><span style="background-color: #eedece; font-family: inherit; font-size: xx-small;"></span><span face="arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif" style="background-color: #eedece; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></span></div><div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">No, I'm not going to trot out the usual list of spiritual texts or self-help classics. </span></b></div><div><br /></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.bookswithlaurie.com/p/library.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="1115" data-original-width="1920" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM00Eh4Jint0Er7d33abyv_Xs6FT3JbeaJGot6LFZsJOL31Q7JXzTRXmN4LCoq9MIBu9HBAtvI_ZdKoaO0niDMOg2M-BnZp5hsJkkOfNf-Mb8AxoQZ_bNEOMU2pYKHoxHLrmiZBN53QbaX/w400-h233/books-2241635_1920.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://www.bookswithlaurie.com/p/library.html" target="_blank">Find Your Answers </a></span></td></tr></tbody></table><b>Today's post is first in a series of my favorite inspirational, life-changing books.</b> </div><div><br /></div><div>Sure, I appreciate <i><a href="https://amzn.to/3z9i40r" target="_blank">How to Win Friends and Influence People</a>. </i>I own several translations of the <i><a href="https://amzn.to/2RuMsRS" target="_blank">Tao te Ching</a></i> and I keep a copy of <i><a href="https://amzn.to/2RxNxZl" target="_blank">Think and Grow Rich</a> </i>within reach of my desk. But the books that have <i>actually changed my life</i> can't be found in the <a href="https://www.bookswithlaurie.com/p/self-help.html" target="_blank">self help</a> or <a href="https://www.bookswithlaurie.com/p/gnosticneoplatonichermetic.html?zx=f9b2f2b163f0ef47" target="_blank">spiritual sections</a> of Barnes & Noble. Certain books have been gateways to transformation for me ... but they never claim to be such things. </div><div><br /></div><div>I have a general wariness of people who peddle self-actualization. I love many <a href="https://www.bookswithlaurie.com/p/mind-metaphysics.html" target="_blank">new age/new thought concepts</a>, and have my fair share of beloved <a href="https://www.bookswithlaurie.com/p/new-age.html" target="_blank">metaphysical</a> and <a href="https://www.bookswithlaurie.com/p/self-help.html" target="_blank">self-help</a> books, but show me an "influencer" and I'll probably run the opposite direction.</div><span></span><span><a name='more'></a></span><div><br /></div><div>I attended a lecture given by <a href="https://www.drwaynedyer.com/" target="_blank">Wayne Dyer</a> a few years before he passed away. My sister and I had tickets to a convention hosted by <a href="https://www.hayhouse.com/" target="_blank">Hay House Publishers</a>, and Dyer was one of the headliners at the weekend event. We nudged our way to our seats in the crowded auditorium. The audience vibe was alternately reverent and ecstatic -- somewhere in between the mood of a Unitarian Universalist worship service and a BTS concert. These people <i>loved</i> Wayne Dyer. Many clutched dog-eared copies of his various bestsellers; more than a few wore versions of his trademark "Love." t-shirt. </div><div> </div><div>When he was announced, the audience responded with thunderous applause and jubilant cheers. He walked center-stage, stepping (barefoot, of course) into the golden beam of a well-placed spotlight, and lifted his arms into a Christ-like pose. </div><div><br /></div><div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://amzn.to/3ckCD0b" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="480" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxtGtD1jX58krU7ARniT4pP5i2bFOI5kBCeP3yWoNZAT5uySt9IGppKSqg_YuiAaTwU32MC0T6z2TCABpkJ-PCM1FsR0svEpDiRZVmremS7Ytjk24J-17koKlj64k7sVoBDS_kCU3__l5g/w400-h300/a809a18adb193562a530f60ef5bec221.jpeg" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://amzn.to/3ckCD0b" target="_blank">Thousands of years worth of enlightenment!</a></span></td></tr></tbody></table>He was <i>not</i> being ironic.</div><div><br /></div><div>He talked a lot about love and purpose and "source." He told a story about having a past-life regression where he saw himself thousands of years ago in a cave "before the age of calendars" as a wise, highly respected man with a "long white beard" trying to teach his son "and everyone else" about divine love. Past-life Wayne's wife had been murdered, and his past-life son was upset, but instead of vengeance, the Wayne with the white beard wanted all people on earth to know -- presumably including the people watching present-day Wayne in a sold-out auditorium -- that they should be enlightened just like he was. He said that even back in that cave before time with a recently murdered wife, his purpose was to lead all people to understand the wisdom that he knew.</div><div><br /></div><div>My sister leaned in to me and whispered, "Jeez, what an egomaniac."</div><div><br /></div><div>At the end of his speech, his daughter came out and told all of us that her father was exactly like an ascended master. Then she sang a song to him -- a hymn, really -- about how he allowed people to "find their dharma." </div><div><br /></div><div>At that point I had to stifle a giggle. Maybe I'm missing something, but I'm just not into gurus. As for masters? They make me nervous. (Ascended or otherwise.) </div><div><br /></div><div>I know Dyer's books are treasured by many people. In fact, in the 1970s my mother credited his book <i><a href="https://amzn.to/3zcOpn3" target="_blank">Your Erroneous Zones</a> </i>with giving her the courage to try new things. I think that's great. But ... the last thing in the world I want is a mysticsplainer claiming pseudo-divinity and hawking tickets to access divine love.</div><div><br /></div><div>After the lecture, my sister and I went out to lunch at a nearby cafe. We started chatting about Dyer's presentation with our waitress Amy. She told us that she was open to reincarnation, but it was funny how most of the people who claimed to remember past lives always said they were famous or brilliant or influential.<i> </i>Wayne Dyer hit the past life trifecta: he was all three!</div><div><i><br /></i></div><div>"I serve cocktails, so I hear a lot," Amy said. "You have no idea how many drunk women swear they were Marilyn Monroe in a past life." </div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Unbroken-World-Survival-Resilience-Redemption/dp/1400064163?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1623113152&sr=1-4&linkCode=li3&tag=laurieallee-20&linkId=c5f31549ce0d53f3928e0691d37864b3&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_il" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="400" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=1400064163&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=laurieallee-20&language=en_US" width="262" /></a>After we paid our bill, Amy stopped us on the way out of the restaurant.</div><div><br /></div><div>"If you guys like books," she said, "I read one that really moved me." Then she told us about <i><a href="https://amzn.to/3gko7qe" target="_blank">Unbroken</a></i> by Laura Hillenbrand.</div><div><br /></div><div>Amy told us that the book was an in-depth biography of a man's remarkable life written in the style of a great historical novel. She said that it had helped her through a recent health crisis in the midst of a nasty divorce.</div><div><br /></div><div>"It taught me a lot about being resilient," Amy said. "And learning to forgive."</div><div><br /></div><div>I love it when I stumble upon insight without looking for it. I'm definitely a graduate of "the words of the prophets are written on the subway walls" school of thought, so I made a point to get a copy of <i>Unbroken. </i>I read it in a few days, stealing time away from other things to immerse myself in the story of Louis Zamperini. </div><div><br /></div><div>Amy was right. This man was remarkable, and the book is a guidebook for resilience and forgiveness. Louis Zamperini's story of survival and redemption will profoundly change your life if you let it. I came away from the book a better person than before I read it -- no need for any white-bearded master bestowing enlightenment. <i>Unbroken</i> is simply a story of an amazing fellow human being whose choices are inspiring and whose beliefs are worth considering. </div><div><br /></div><div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://amzn.to/3wi98UO" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="1081" data-original-width="1920" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7uVX6DjsWy2vvAqbSHSkaelvWGrUHEYha3a8Z61_OJ6SK3w5FFtNoc4ZtpDWch6UwxaTS7-aqkTOF01qKcLzeX1aOMB80OKzVuRsY_oHqgjJTEwWfFss8bc88garZrkaZzFB8WrrFKq_G/s320/Louis-Zamperini-USC-Crop-1920x1080-1.jpeg" width="320" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://amzn.to/3wi98UO" target="_blank">Louis Zamperini as a teenager</a></span></td></tr></tbody></table>Louis Zamperini undoubtedly never saw himself as a spiritual teacher or chosen one. As a youth, he was involved in the small-time criminal activities of a juvenile delinquent. He broke into houses, got into fights and snuck onto train boxcars. When he was still in high school, he decided to channel his teen anger into the sport of running. He made it to the 1936 Berlin Olympics, where his outstanding performance prompted Adolf Hitler to request a handshake. After the competition, Zamperini was slated to become the first ever to break the four-minute mile. His track career was sidelined, however, by World War 2. </div><div><br /></div><div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://amzn.to/3wi98UO" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghf75QD117dvYWn-YZOuBCkVMeqSxSZlNIPV059Ia6ZKOtnZYNbt-2buxiLtLmY2uJemQHP4-jgkefWVepeEcRv2vOyW8sYOug8pgm6w6OrbSmaOoTOP9zzuCkUft1WCzIRT-W7CNKrK3u/s320/louis+zamperini+old.jpeg" width="320" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://amzn.to/3wi98UO" target="_blank">Louis Zamperini shortly before he passed away in 2014</a></span></td></tr></tbody></table>Over the course of numerous missions, Zamperini served as a bombardier on a B-24 aptly named "Super Man." The plane was repeatedly hit. It was damaged. It ran out of gas. It narrowly avoided crashing and made multiple emergency landings ... but Zamperini survived. </div><div><br /></div><div>And that's just the first part of the story. I haven't even mentioned when he got lost at sea for 47 days and ended up in a Japanese Prisoner of War camp.</div><div><br /></div><div>This man endured horrors that are difficult to process as a bystander. I don't understand how anyone could come to terms with them as a survivor without remaining bitter, resentful, paranoid, anguished and angry. I don't want to spoil the rest of the book, because I want you to experience what I did as I read Zamperini's story. I'm no ascended master, but it felt a little bit like enlightenment. </div><div><br /></div><div>Laura Hillenbrand's prose vividly brings Zamperini's past to life. No stranger to adversity herself, Hillenbrand writes from a kindred space. She has battled chronic illness for decades, and knows what it is like to suffer and survive. It's no wonder she and Zamperini became close friends. </div><div><br /></div><div>The beauty of Hillenbrand's writing is another testament to resilience. The book is a reminder that great art is transformative, and often collaborative. She tells Zamperini's story in a humble but beautiful way: no literary pyrotechnics, no journalistic forensics. </div><div> </div></div></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=laurieallee-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=0385742517" style="border: none; margin: 0px;" width="1" /><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=laurieallee-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=1400064163" style="border: none; margin: 0px;" width="1" /><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wyhFPqRZE9c" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Find out more about Louis Zamperini and his biography <i>Unbroken</i> above.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I'm not surprised that the book was made into a film. I have not watched it -- despite <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1809398/" target="_blank">all of the Hollywood heavyweights involved</a> -- mainly because I find it hard to believe it could do justice to the man's actual life. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Unbroken</i> is one of my favorite life-changing books. See if you agree.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Stay tuned for more. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><i> * * *</i></div><div><br /></div><div><b>If you want to see more of my favorite biographies and memoirs, <a href="https://www.bookswithlaurie.com/p/biographymemoir.html" target="_blank">click here</a>. </b></div><div><br /></div><div><b>For mystical books I love, <a href="https://www.bookswithlaurie.com/p/gnosticneoplatonichermetic.html?zx=f9b2f2b163f0ef47" target="_blank">click here.</a></b></div><div><br /></div><div><div><a href="mailto:laurieallee@yahoo.com" target="_blank">Drop me a line</a> if you want to be included in my Book Club.<b> </b></div><div><br /></div><div>You can leave a message or comment <a href="https://www.bookswithlaurie.com/p/book-club.html" target="_blank">here</a>.</div></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>Laurie Alleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14460272282273523408noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5350567254278611125.post-41193118189401984012021-05-20T17:22:00.003-07:002021-05-20T17:28:10.750-07:00Three Women Poets You Should Know<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="480" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/dni.ncaa.IGNCA-477-UM" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="640"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;">Kathleen Raine reads her poetry and discusses her philosophy</div><div style="text-align: center;"> Interview with Dr. Kapila Vatsyayan </div><div style="text-align: center;">Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, Delhi, 1994</div><div style="text-align: center;">The complete interview is <a href="https://www.bookswithlaurie.com/p/complete-interview-with-kathleen-raine.html" target="_blank">here</a>.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://amzn.to/3fqvlZu" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="450" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCWSxtDS86fYWbvgjxux-OZL3KEjbFWiOHUjz3ticimRCCzdzsS-L-SBGC1jyKssYlHsN57j1Cykbj7-rlmPC8KKCtlEL73_uQ12viT50wlX442iXFf94UA1p6e2st6WrdV5lc_72ZPlQZ/w200-h200/Kathleen+Raine.jpeg" width="200" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><a href="https://amzn.to/3fqvlZu" target="_blank">Kathleen Raine in 1951<br />Photo by Rollie McKenna</a></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: xx-small;">For those of you reading this via email, <a href="http://www.bookswithlaurie.com" target="_blank">click here </a>to see the accompanying video.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: xx-small;">This post contains affiliate links. <a href="https://www.bookswithlaurie.com/p/affiliate-marketing-disclosure.html" target="_blank">Click here </a>for more info.</span></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">by Laurie Allee</div><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=laurieallee-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=1631490419" style="border: none; margin: 0px;" width="1" /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Have you ever heard of Kathleen Raine, Marina Tsvetaeva or Rebecca Elson? <br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;">That's okay, until recently neither had I...</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><span><a name='more'></a></span><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Cummings-Complete-Poems-1904-1962/dp/1631490419?dchild=1&keywords=ee+cummings&qid=1619217750&sr=8-2&linkCode=li3&tag=laurieallee-20&linkId=3b3e068939dc0c9e5568d2abcaf6efa5&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_il" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=1631490419&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=laurieallee-20&language=en_US" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Must-have if stranded on a desert island. </span></td></tr></tbody></table>Most bookworms have favorite poets, even if poetry isn't our main reading genre. My favorite is E. E. Cummings. My copy of his <i><a href="<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Cummings-Complete-Poems-1904-1962/dp/1631490419?dchild=1&keywords=ee+cummings&qid=1619217750&sr=8-2&linkCode=li3&tag=laurieallee-20&linkId=7912784f8fbc816ed668648fa91baf60&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_il" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=1631490419&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=laurieallee-20&language=en_US" ></a><img src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=laurieallee-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=1631490419" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" />" target="_blank">Complete Works</a></i> is as tattered and dog-eared as a tent revival minister's Bible. I love Cummings and also <a href="https://amzn.to/32W1QsR" target="_blank">Pablo Neruda</a> and <a href="https://amzn.to/3tQXLSy" target="_blank">Rainer Rilke</a>. There are many others <a href="https://www.bookswithlaurie.com/p/poetry.html" target="_blank">whose books fill my shelves</a>, but I'll admit...my poetry knowledge is not extensive. It rests somewhere between a former liberal arts major and a wannabe slam poet. The problem? As I got older, poetry receded. I spent long, rainy afternoons drinking coffee and reading Sylvia Plath when I was in my twenties, but at some point Sylvia went on the shelf and I went to work, or to the grocery store, or to pick up my daughter from guitar class. </div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Accoutrements-Jane-Austen-Action-Figure/dp/B00H5E345C?dchild=1&keywords=literary+action+figure&qid=1619218256&sr=8-1&linkCode=li3&tag=laurieallee-20&linkId=4c96af06d73352f44e1a58bb0443e8db&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_il" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B00H5E345C&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=laurieallee-20&language=en_US" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">I'm holding out for Anne Sexton.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Poetry isn't discussed in pop culture nearly as much as the work of fiction authors or film directors or musicians. Occasionally Hollywood makes a <a href="https://lithub.com/16-poet-biopics-ranked/" target="_blank">poet biopic</a>, but it's not like we have summer blockbuster poet movies with accompanying sales of poet action figures. (How I would love an E. E. Cummings action figure!) It's easy to miss out on poetry. It's even easier to miss out on the work of lesser-known poets. They are overshadowed by <a href="https://amzn.to/3ngaXxw" target="_blank">Frost</a> or <a href="https://amzn.to/3enl8wm" target="_blank">Browning</a> or <a href="https://amzn.to/32PcQrz" target="_blank">Keats</a> in English Literature anthologies, as well as in all those quote memes on Instagram.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">With that in mind, allow me to introduce you to three incredible poets you probably haven't heard about:</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Collected-Poems-Kathleen-Raine/dp/1582431353?dchild=1&keywords=kathleen+raine&qid=1619219814&sr=8-1&linkCode=li3&tag=laurieallee-20&linkId=89c6da49d44fa62ad245dff254e7fc67&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_il" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=1582431353&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=laurieallee-20&language=en_US" /></a><b><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/news/2003/jul/08/guardianobituaries.books" target="_blank">Kathleen Raine</a></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I don't know how Kathleen Raine escaped my attention for so long. While she is widely known and celebrated in the UK, I can't remember ever hearing of her in any of the literature classes I've taken in the United States. I first learned of her a few years ago from Gary Lachman's fantastic book, <a href="https://amzn.to/3gEVTs7" target="_blank"><i>Lost Knowledge of the Imagination.</i></a> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">She was not just a poet, but also a respected expert on William Blake. She is remembered for her epic, two-volume masterwork <i><a href="https://amzn.to/2QAiY4M">Blake and Tradition</a></i>, published in 1968. This scholarly collection offered a passionate, intellectual defense of William Blake's romantic philosophy, refuting TS Eliot's somewhat condescending analysis at the time. In an age where reason was paramount, where rational, science-based materialism eclipsed idealism and mysticism, Kathleen Raine was an intellectual anomaly and literary rebel. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>She revered the divine vision of the imagination, and the transformative spirituality of nature.</b> </span> She recognized the value of romanticism during an era fraught with existential angst and postmodern ennui. She was passionate in the face of popular cynicism. So, naturally, she had a difficult time getting the rational gatekeepers of poetry to accept her early verses as more than trivial. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/No-End-Snowdrops-Biography-Kathleen/dp/0856832685?dchild=1&keywords=kathleen+raine&qid=1621467359&sr=8-14&linkCode=li3&tag=laurieallee-20&linkId=6a520a1424f963abbc0351838796bd27&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_il" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0856832685&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=laurieallee-20&language=en_US" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=laurieallee-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=0856832685" style="border: none; margin: 0px;" width="1" /><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Her body of work -- spanning decades -- is vast and multifaceted. It reflects her love of eastern traditions, neo-Platonic philosophy, Jungian symbols, the hero's journey of Joseph Campbell and what Aldous Huxley called "<a href="https://amzn.to/3bEry9X"><i>The Perinnial Philosophy</i></a>" -- a consistent message present in all great spiritual traditions. When published, her early poetry exemplified her passionate dedication to spiritual values in a society that often seemed too cool to care. As she matured, her writing comfortably settled into the tradition of Shelley, Yeats, and Coleridge. She was a poet of the natural world, celebrating the soul's experience as part of that world.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Kathleen Raine's life story reads like a great BBC period drama. Born in 1908 in Ilford, Essex, she spent a wildhearted, innocent youth in the idyllic English countryside. (She entitled her memoir of the time <i><a href="https://amzn.to/3bElNJ5" target="_blank">Farewell Happy Fields</a></i>.) She was the pretty, precocious only child of doting parents who valued her exceptional gifts, and transcribed her childhood poems before she actually knew how to write. As she grew into a charming, ravishingly beautiful teenager, her Methodist minister father forbade early romances. Raine rebelled against her parents, claiming their interventions "cut something from her soul." This led her "to set out in a dream/to go away." </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Underlying-Essays-Temenos-Academy-Papers/dp/095519346X?dchild=1&keywords=kathleen+raine&qid=1621470616&sr=8-13&linkCode=li3&tag=laurieallee-20&linkId=7ea88457ed074fe1a48be4539620ad52&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_il" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=095519346X&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=laurieallee-20&language=en_US" /></a>She landed a college scholarship, fell into the prevailing mid-century nihilism, and then got married because she "didn't know what else to do." She abandoned her marriage, eloped with another man, had two children with him, but left him when she fell madly, desperately in love with a homosexual who couldn't love her the way she loved him. They spent torturous years together, until he eventually died of cancer. Raine grieved for many years, alternately writing ... and condemning herself for not writing enough. She agonized that she had ruined her children's lives, and thought of herself as "a destructive force." She was convinced that she was loveless. In one poem she wrote: </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Sin of omission: as women</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Withhold love, so I poetry.</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Autobiographies-Kathleen-Raine/dp/1597313327?dchild=1&keywords=kathleen+raine+memoir&qid=1621467074&sr=8-1&linkCode=li3&tag=laurieallee-20&linkId=6c8f1fe7dde8844ca85cdf2439e148f2&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_il" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=1597313327&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=laurieallee-20&language=en_US" /></a>When she traveled to India in her 70s, she said it felt like she had finally "come home." Her later years were filled with prolific work and camaraderie with intellectual kindred spirits who offered counterpoint to the cold, consumerist culture of the 1980s and '90s. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Kathleen Raine used her art as a light to illuminate. It led her to create <a href="https://www.temenosacademy.org/">The Temenos Academy of Integral Studies</a> in London as "a new school of wisdom." I think of her as a modern day English version <a href="https://amzn.to/3u5r4QC" target="_blank">Hypatia</a> -- guiding students to philosophical breakthroughs and presiding over discussions with the great minds of late 20th Century intelligentsia. At Temenos, Raine hosted lectures, seminars and discussions with leading scientists, artists and writers from all over the world. She died in 2003 at the age of 95.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">"There are but two alternatives," Raine <a href="https://www.temenosacademy.org/kathleen-raine/" target="_blank">once said</a>. "The first alternative is that of secular materialism -- appealing to the authority of a science whose only reality is the measurable -- 'nothing is sacred' -- and no bounds set to destructive exploitation. The second alternative -- embraced in every tradition of wisdom -- holds that man and nature alike are a manifestation of immeasurable spirit. If that is so, we are custodians of a world in which, in William Blake's words, 'everything that lives is holy' and our sacred trust."</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I have suffered from postmodern burnout in recent years, so I fell in love with Raine's ecstatic embrace of romanticism. In an overly materialistic world, I need her soulful poetic vision. In a culture that feels more and more aggressively yang, Raine is a welcome yin balance. There is divinity inherent not only in nature, but in ourselves. Her work exemplifies this truth without proselytizing. Her poems bloom like wildflowers.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I really like this one: </div><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=laurieallee-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=095519346X" style="border: none; margin: 0px;" width="1" /><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="preview poem_body open" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #141823;"><div class="tr_8498521" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Roboto, "Droid Sans", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16.5px;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: 16.5px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://amzn.to/3fqvlZu" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="594" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNmtFOsdMQOn0A5DUbtM0baw2D7UI0IWj08dp4xi6cyon-Ys1TP57Ur5bszYygXlFcqDr6eYIGFpCN5BpAonmQIdmysExF0iMnPuo9A0PylgPXQ8gAvbQBJ8bIX2bmysLM8gCzo3S4GYnf/w477-h640/Kathleen+Raine+older.jpeg" width="477" /></a></div><div class="orig_8498521" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></i></div><div class="orig_8498521" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></i></div><div class="orig_8498521" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Confessions</b></span></i></div><div class="orig_8498521" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></i></div><div class="orig_8498521" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Wanting to know all<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />I overlooked each particle<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Containing the whole<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Unknowable.<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Intent on one great love, perfect,<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Requited and forever,<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />I missed love's everywhere<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Small presence, thousand-guised.<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />And lifelong have been reading<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Book after book, searching<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />For wisdom, but bringing<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Only my own understanding.</span></i><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Forgive me, forgiver,<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Whether you be infinite omniscient<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Or some unnoticed other<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />My existence has hurt.<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Being what I am<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />What could I do but wrong?<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Yet love can bring<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />To heart healing<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />To chaos meaning.</i></span></div></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=laurieallee-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=1597313327" style="border: none; margin: 0px;" width="1" /><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Be sure to watch Kathleen Raine speak in the video at the top of this post, or watch the complete interview <a href="https://www.bookswithlaurie.com/p/complete-interview-with-kathleen-raine.html" target="_blank">here</a>. She is a balm for our troubled, chaotic world. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Selected-Twentieth-Century-Classics-Marina-Tsvetaeva/dp/0140187596?crid=NDF15IKBYGHJ&dchild=1&keywords=marina+tsvetaeva&qid=1619223668&s=books&sprefix=Marina+Tsv%2Cstripbooks%2C224&sr=1-5&linkCode=li3&tag=laurieallee-20&linkId=6a872514e863cfc5cd99caa554719957&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_il" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0140187596&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=laurieallee-20&language=en_US" /></a><b><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://sites.bu.edu/russian-poetry/biography-marina-tsvetaeva/" target="_blank">Marina Tsvetaeva</a></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Speaking of chaotic worlds, Marina Tsvetaeva was witness to enough havoc and turmoil to last several lifetimes. She is considered one of the greatest poets in Russian literature, and yet (I'm embarrassed to admit) I had never heard of her until last year. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">While Russian literature is known for epic, multifaceted tragedy, Tsvaetaeva's own history is one of the most fascinating, complex and heartbreaking stories I have ever read. (Heads up screenwriters: <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3005822/" target="_blank">nobody has made an English biopic about this woman</a>. Get typing!)</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Born into an academic and musical family, she was a prodigy. She published her first book of poems at eighteen -- a somewhat controversial collection of confessional poems including subjects previously considered taboo in Russian poetry. As the harrowing events of the early twentieth century bulldozed her youth, Tsvetaeva held fast to an apolitical insistence upon individual freedom, tolerance and a refusal to accept any form of ideological narrow-mindedness. During turbulent events of Russian history, she criticized hypocrisy from both Red and White, causing her to become somewhat of a pariah in political circles, including the <span style="font-family: inherit;">emigre</span> community in 1930s Paris. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Earthly-Signs-Diaries-1917-1922-Classics/dp/1681371626?dchild=1&keywords=moscow+diaries&qid=1621382795&sr=8-1&linkCode=li3&tag=laurieallee-20&linkId=5fe7cafc407f09f85c9efcb1f0d0ce2a&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_il" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=1681371626&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=laurieallee-20&language=en_US" /></a>Her husband fought against the Red Army in the 1918-1921 Civil War, but later became a Soviet spy. She endured exile, extreme poverty, famine, illness and unimaginable loss. When she put her daughter in a state orphanage to try to save her from going hungry, the little girl still died of starvation. Her other daughter was arrested for espionage and held in a Soviet prison for over 16 years. Tsvetaeva's husband was also arrested for espionage. He was executed. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">She had passionate, complex relationships with Boris Pasternak and Rainer Rilke. She dedicated her work to Anna Akhmatova. She explored the limits of gender, political identity and self-expression. She did not suffer fools gladly, and frequently called out all pretenders and imposters in political and artistic life. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">When I read her <a href="https://amzn.to/3oB22rk" target="_blank"><i>Selected Works</i></a> a few months ago, I was dazzled by her writing. <b><span style="font-size: medium;">She turned her personal, tumultuous experience of the Russian Revolution into lyrical poems of sorrow, hope and passion. </span> </b>I know I'm missing something by reading her work in English, but it's hard for me to believe it can be even more beautiful in its original language. She is known for using rhyme brilliantly, almost musically, which is likely why it took so long for her work to be translated. (Watch an interview with one of her translators <a href="https://www.bookswithlaurie.com/p/listening-to-and-translating-marina.html" target="_blank">here</a>.) </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Death-Poet-Last-Marina-Tsvetaeva/dp/1585675229?dchild=1&keywords=death+of+a+poet+marina&qid=1621468664&sr=8-1&linkCode=li3&tag=laurieallee-20&linkId=392f00eaca405590769fd8717bcc00e4&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_il" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=1585675229&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=laurieallee-20&language=en_US" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;">Marina Tsvetaeva joins Sylvia Plath, Anne Sexton, Beatrice Hastings, Sara Teasdale and Deborah Digges in the tragic club of women poets who committed suicide. According to the book <i><a href="https://amzn.to/3frV3gi" target="_blank">Death of a Poet: The Last Days of Marina Tsvetaeva</a></i>, the NKVD tried to force Marina Tsvetaeva to become an informant. Instead, she hanged herself in 1941 at the age of 49. In her note to her son she wrote, "Forgive me, but to go on would be worse. I love you passionately. Do understand that I could not live anymore. Tell Papa and Alya, if you ever see them, that I loved them to the last moment and explain to them that I found myself in a trap."</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Knowing the circumstances of her death make this poem all the more heartbreaking. Still, it's my favorite:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://amzn.to/3eYeYnT" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="355" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX-Lc9E_5ukrH4OMXNY_Cp3S9CZ9OtvfCKb1pVl33P1SZReVaej0PVLj8jz6Y4OiO1Y2_4oTiwRgNsR5xLRZws3q9RFgFKYnYIVIh3qCPOmLV0sfFkQNziE0XNfo63R-HIiMPqZQpR4I1V/w454-h640/marina+tsvetaeva+interior.jpeg" width="454" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Much like me, you make your way forward, </i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Walking with downturned eyes.</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Well, I too kept mine lowered.</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Passer-by, stop here, please.</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Read, when you've picked your nosegay</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Of henbane and poppy flowers,</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>That I was once called Marina,</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>And discover how old I was.</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Don't think that there's any grave here,</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Or that I'll come and throw you out...</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>I myself was much to given</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>To laughing when one ought not.</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>The blood hurtled to my complexion,</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>My curls wound in flourishes...</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>I was, passer-by, I existed!</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Passer-by, stop here, please.</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>And take, pluck a stem of wildness,</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>The fruit that comes with its fall --</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>It's true that graveyard strawberries</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Are the biggest and sweetest of all.</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>All I care is that you don't stand there,</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Dolefully hanging your head.</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Easily about me remember,</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Easily about me forget.</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>How rays of pure light suffuse you!</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>A golden dust wraps you round...</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>And don't let it confuse you,</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>My voice from under the ground.</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Read her poems first, then check out her diaries. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Responsibility-Awe-Rebecca-Elson/dp/1784106550?dchild=1&keywords=rebecca+elson&qid=1619223730&s=books&sr=1-1&linkCode=li3&tag=laurieallee-20&linkId=a25c768282a98bec92fc29e56a1d8f1f&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_il" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=1784106550&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=laurieallee-20&language=en_US" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><a href="https://www.brainpickings.org/2020/12/31/new-years-eve-rebecca-elson/" target="_blank">Rebecca Elson</a></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Rebecca Elson was a distinguished astronomer whose principle work focused on star formation and evolution. She spent her professional life looking far into the deepest reaches of space, studying not only stars but the mysterious dark matter surrounding them. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">She was also a phenomenal poet.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">"Facts are only as interesting as the possibilities they open up to the imagination," she wrote in <a href="https://amzn.to/3ysbq56" target="_blank"><i>A Responsibility to Awe,</i></a> her slim but magnificent book of poetry. Her poems are spare, glorious, funny, curious, and touched with the aching uncertainty of someone who knows her days are numbered.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Elson was 29 when she was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a devastating blood cancer usually not seen in young people. Through the brutality of chemotherapy, the brief remission and the last agonizing days, Elson greeted her world with grace and determination, with a soulful declaration that life -- all of it, even the end of it -- is magnificent, awe-inspiring, beautiful and overflowing with wonder. <b><span style="font-size: medium;">Her poetry is a testament to her deeply-felt gratitude for the human experience, no matter how short it turned out to be.</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://amzn.to/341vfCb" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="194" data-original-width="259" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH9GUQQ-ZX-KKHiIE68yATxfvpUWf9WxJbTDpzTcFS1I8PftuesX9rpYw0jDVRehoZ1pmgFpkVlyvdXCVJWan3Hy7xDNn3qELHScmypKcRN0Fx3xMmmlf6Aj3tYVdtbzb9glGbTt6gnmhW/w320-h240/rebecca+elson+candid+shot.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>She began publishing poetry while at Princeton, regularly appeared in literary magazines and even managed to teach writing classes during her time at Harvard while she was a working scientist. She was almost tempted to leave astrophysics, sometimes speaking about how she found the sexism of scientific circles absent in the poetry community. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">She spoke three languages, played mandolin, had a lighthearted sense of humor and a good-natured competitiveness that even extended to her role as a <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/obituary-rebecca-elson-1103131.html" target="_blank">"top-scoring striker on her Saturday football team.<i>"</i></a> <br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">When Elson died at 39, she left behind 56 celebrated scholastic papers and one gorgeous book of poetry. She was mourned by numerous friends and colleagues, many of whom she had met and interacted with briefly, but whose friendships she had maintained over long distance. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">When I discovered her book during the bleakest part of the pandemic, I could feel her warmth and generosity flow forth from the pages, like a message of encouragement from the great beyond. It's as if somehow she lit up a twinkly spark of an idea in all that universal dark matter: We are part of this. We are actually part of all this wonder. Isn't it awesome?</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.bookswithlaurie.com/p/antidotes-to-fear-of-death-by-rebecca.html" target="_blank">This is the last poem Becky Elson wrote, and it's my favorite</a>:</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://amzn.to/341vfCb" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="955" data-original-width="768" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhdh-CeSAFbtfNjYFxGKcDxzFELD7z7t9V7BMWFW4EVK8A8tGMUBZKpMVgpMm-XegskV7eKmpzkdEgdzO6u1XEJlxL7BrncMoLFvDqYLc9le-CgRbOBO5OCkXfjDHUUpleGoPvrUDvIbSt/w515-h640/RebeccaElson1987.jpeg" width="515" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><b>Antidotes to Fear of Death</b></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Sometimes as an antidote</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>To fear of death,</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>I eat the stars.</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Those nights, lying on my back,</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>I suck them from the quenching dark</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Til they are all, inside me, </i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Pepper hot and sharp.</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Sometimes, instead, I stir myself</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Into a universe still young,</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Still warm as blood:</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>No outer space, just space,</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>The light of all the not yet stars</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Drifting like a bright mist,</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>And all of us, and everything</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Already there</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>But unconstrained by form.</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>And sometime it's enough</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>To lie down here on earth</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Beside our long ancestral bones:</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>To walk across the cobble fields</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Of our discarded skulls</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Each like a treasure, like a chrysalis,</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Thinking: whatever left these husks</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Flew off on bright wings. </i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;">After spending time reading these poets who were new to me --feeling, the way I always do, that poets speak to me from the liminal spaces we all subconsciously share -- I am certain that poetry is one of the things we need during our own calamitous time. We need poetry to see past our similarities and smoothe over our differences. We need it to celebrate the tenacious beauty of life on earth. <b>We need it to balance all of our culture's thudding, soulless materialism and remind us of our own divine nature, and our own spectacular place in the cosmos. </b>We need it to call out political hypocrisy like Marina Tsvetaeva. We need it to remind us of nature's spiritual splendor<b>, </b>like Kathleen Raine. We need it to wake us up before it's too late, like Rebecca Elson. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I've already taken Sylvia and E.E. back off the shelves. If nothing else, I'm making room for new poets. Stay tuned and I'll share. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><i> * * *</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>If you want to see my library of favorite poetry books, <a href="https://www.bookswithlaurie.com/p/poetry.html" target="_blank">click here</a>. </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>For poetry inspiration, <a href="https://www.bookswithlaurie.com/p/poetry-video.html" target="_blank">click here.</a></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div><a href="mailto:laurieallee@yahoo.com" target="_blank">Drop me a line</a> if you want to be included in my Book Club.<b> </b></div><div><br /></div><div>You can leave a message or comment <a href="https://www.bookswithlaurie.com/p/book-club.html" target="_blank">here</a>.</div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=laurieallee-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=B00H5E345C" style="border: none; margin: 0px;" width="1" /><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=laurieallee-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=1582431353" style="border: none; margin: 0px;" width="1" /><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=laurieallee-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=0140187596" style="border: none; margin: 0px;" width="1" /><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=laurieallee-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=1784106550" style="border: none; margin: 0px;" width="1" /><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=laurieallee-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=1681371626" style="border: none; margin: 0px;" width="1" /><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=laurieallee-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=1597313327" style="border: none; margin: 0px;" width="1" />Laurie Alleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14460272282273523408noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5350567254278611125.post-89124791138662531372021-04-27T15:52:00.010-07:002021-04-30T16:53:26.847-07:00Hemingway: Must-See Documentary for Bookworms<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/swAQ5HfLLIk" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;">Watch a trailer for <i>Hemingway</i> above</div><div style="text-align: center;">Find the entire series (plus extras!) <a href="https://www.pbs.org/video/hemingway-episode-1-writer/" target="_blank">here</a>.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;">By Laurie Allee</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">For those of you reading this via email, <a href="http://www.bookswithlaurie.com" target="_blank">click here </a>to see the accompanying video</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">This post contains affiliate links. <a href="https://www.bookswithlaurie.com/p/affiliate-marketing-disclosure.html" target="_blank">Click here </a>for more info!</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">The three-part PBS series by Ken Bur</span></b><b><span style="font-size: medium;">ns and Lynn Novick is truly bingeworthy...</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.bookswithlaurie.com/p/read-hemingway-for-free-via-open-library.html" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="1498" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitwGPHKvQPzVfVccoJqmyLrbryJk9XvaQx_NDn6J-VoMyj3jzYu9W76lGNIpfD_4jTVFx5-OwniIL7i8C93NWp3c0BtMWpYIFw9TyG7Y_P1Dp3l74GdNnfJt6mnCw-6pS_TjtlK4snWiKZ/s320/1200px-ErnestHemingway.jpeg" /></a></div>I'll be honest: I never really understood why Ernest Hemingway was so famous. I had read <i><a href="https://amzn.to/3exl3WT" target="_blank">The Old Man and the Sea</a> </i>in high school and probably wouldn't have finished it if I hadn't been assigned a term paper worth a quarter of my grade. At 16, I wasn't terribly interested in an aging fisherman or (spoiler alert!) the giant marlin he finally managed to catch.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">In college, I read <i><a href="https://amzn.to/3tWR4hA" target="_blank">A Moveable Feast,</a></i> and while it made me really want to find a time machine to go back to expatriate Paris, I still didn't regard Hemingway as much more than an outdated, macho guy who was into drinking, fishing, hunting, and bullfights. In the 1980s when <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/prospects/article/abs/protecting-the-hemingway-myth-casting-out-forbidden-desires-from-the-garden-of-eden/7193136CEBCC5A2A58B3236A4160F3BD" target="_blank">Scribners unearthed</a> the author's incomplete copy of <i><a href="https://amzn.to/3tUzPxn" target="_blank">Garden of Eden</a></i>, the resulting novel felt stilted, sad, editorially manipulated and definitely <i>unfinished</i>. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Sun-Also-Rises-Hemingway-Library/dp/1501121960?dchild=1&keywords=The+Sun+Also+Rises&qid=1619485327&sr=8-1&linkCode=li3&tag=laurieallee-20&linkId=0400324d8236d21c00722d8e3997068a&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_il" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=1501121960&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=laurieallee-20&language=en_US" /></a>So I had not given Hemingway much thought in the last few decades. One of my goals during the pandemic, however, was to utilize some of my newfound time at home to tackle a few of the great works of fiction I'd never gotten around to reading. One of those books was <i><a href="https://amzn.to/3gHo4XE" target="_blank">The Sun Also Rises.</a></i> I had barely read Hemingway, and I certainly hadn't read the books considered to be his best. So, I downloaded a kindle copy from the library, prepared to roll my eyes at the much-imitated staccato sentences, and expecting to suffer through pages of booze, bravado and bullfights in the name of my own literacy. What I didn't expect, however, was to love the book. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">And I really, really love the book. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Although the story is set in the 1920s, it feels immediately familiar. The dialogue is fresh. The people of the early 20th Century's Lost Generation seem eerily recognizable. I've known beautiful, spoiled, flamboyant-yet-insecure women like Brett. I've hung out drinking with tough, restless guys like Jake -- salty on the outside, casually cruel, enmeshed in debauchery, silently suffering with dark secrets and fiercely protecting soft romantic sides they would never, ever admit they had. Maybe it's because I read the novel during the bleakest surge of Covid-19 -- also during a concurrent time of painful social crisis, despair, conflict, unrest and governmental breakdown -- but it really spoke to me. The book's themes of aimlessness, loss, empty escapism and moral crisis gave structure and voice to my own chaotic mood.</div><span><a name='more'></a></span><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Farewell-Arms-Hemingway-Library/dp/1476764522?dchild=1&keywords=A+Farewell+to+Arms&qid=1619485497&sr=8-1&linkCode=li3&tag=laurieallee-20&linkId=8348f869e86433a39733a7e6e6851a62&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_il" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=1476764522&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=laurieallee-20&language=en_US" /></a>When I finished the novel, I immediately started reading <i><a href="https://amzn.to/3nnvfW5" target="_blank">A Farewell to Arms</a>. </i>If <i>The Sun Also Rises</i> was my Hemingway appetizer, <i>A Farewell to Arms</i> was a 7-course meal. I couldn't put the book down, finishing it in a few days. Set in Italy during World War 1, the story of a wounded American ambulance driver and the nurse he falls in love with is at first glance an archetypal tragedy. But it's more than that. How did I not know it is ultimately an anti-war novel? How could Catherine seem so complex, modern and relatable when I'd always heard her described as a stereotype? Why didn't somebody prepare me for that gut-punch of an ending? </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The novel is multifaceted in its tragedies -- from the sweeping, senselessness of war to the aching, unavoidable desolation of personal loss. I would have never believed Ernest Hemingway could move me to actual tears, but I was crying at the end of <i>A Farewell to Arms.</i> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">As for the Hemingway prose so many literary types have often disparaged? It's the kind of spare, unembellished writing taught for decades in MFA programs. It has the kind of conversational tone that essayists and film narrators and bloggers and ad writers try to imitate. It is direct and (seemingly) effortless. It's also very American in its pace and imagery -- like swing music, or action painting or New York City street photography. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I kept reading parts of <i>A Farewell to Arms</i> aloud because it was so beautifully written. Rhythmic like jazz. Minimal like haiku. Gorgeous<i>.</i> I wanted to hear the words so much that I finished the novel by listening to John Slattery's incredible performance in the audio version. (Read or listen to a sample <a href="https://www.bookswithlaurie.com/p/sample-of-farewell-to-arms.html" target="_blank">here</a>.) </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">So, a few weeks ago when I saw the promotion for the new Ken Burns and Lynn Novick docuseries <i>Hemingway</i> on PBS, I couldn't wait to dive in. Trust me, bookworms ... you want to binge this one. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Whom-Bell-Tolls-Ernest-Hemingway/dp/0684803356?crid=1ROKGDRCYW0MM&dchild=1&keywords=for+whom+the+bells+toll&qid=1619562290&sprefix=for+whom+the%2Caps%2C235&sr=8-2&linkCode=li3&tag=laurieallee-20&linkId=84ea5fcb58e21e411dc74e56fc9bee76&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_il" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0684803356&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=laurieallee-20&language=en_US" /></a>If you've never read Ernest Hemingway, the series will make you want to read all of his work. (I'm about to tackle <i><a href="https://amzn.to/337bJ77" target="_blank">For Whom the Bell Tolls</a>.</i>) If you've read Hemingway, you'll love finding out the backstories behind his writing. His stories were bigger than life, and yet his own life was somehow bigger than his stories. In fact, what surprises me the most about Hemingway is that while his persona has become a cliché, he was actually weirder and even <i>more</i> mythological in real life. He also protected one of those soft, romantic inner cores I mentioned earlier.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The series also demystifies his suicide by offering a devastating portrait of late 1950s/early 1960s mental health care. I was left wondering if Ernest Hemingway wasn't as much a victim of mid-century treatments for mental illness and addiction as he was a victim of severe depression. I was also struck by the way Hemingway was imprisoned in a cage of fixed, unwavering gender roles. <i>The Garden of Eden</i> dabbles in gender fluidity. Its theme of androgyny is a strange bookend to his life of cartoonish masculinity. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Watch the series trailer above, and check out the entire series <a href="https://www.pbs.org/video/hemingway-episode-2-avatar/" target="_blank">here</a>. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">If you want to get started reading Hemingway, <a href="https://www.bookswithlaurie.com/p/sample-of-farewell-to-arms.html" target="_blank">here is a sample of <i>A Farewell to Arms</i></a>. You can check out most of his books for free from Open Library <a href="https://www.bookswithlaurie.com/p/read-hemingway-for-free-via-open-library.html" target="_blank">here</a>. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="background-color: #ffd966; font-size: large;">And just because I love spoiling you, check out <a href="https://www.bookswithlaurie.com/p/lux-radio-theatre-production-of-to-have.html" target="_blank">this amazing Lux Radio Theatre production of </a><i><a href="https://www.bookswithlaurie.com/p/lux-radio-theatre-production-of-to-have.html" target="_blank">To Have and Have Not</a> </i>with Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. See? Finishing a long read pays off!</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b style="background-color: #f6b26b;">(Pssst. I'm not finished spoiling my Hemingway fans. <a href="https://www.bookswithlaurie.com/p/the-killers-1946.html" target="_blank">Check this out...</a>)</b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>You can watch more literary videos, too! Every month I embed a bookish film to watch for free. <a href="https://www.bookswithlaurie.com/p/now-playing.html" target="_blank">Click here to see this month's pick.</a> </b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>If you've made it this far, you obviously love books as much as I do. <a href="https://www.bookswithlaurie.com/2020/08/the-booksellers.html" target="_blank">So do these people.</a><br /></b></span><div><br /><a href="mailto:laurieallee@yahoo.com" target="_blank">Drop me a line</a> if you want to be included in my Book Club.<b> </b></div><div><br /></div><div>You can leave a message or comment <a href="https://www.bookswithlaurie.com/p/book-club.html" target="_blank">here</a>.</div></div></div><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=laurieallee-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=1501121960" style="border: none; margin: 0px;" width="1" /><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=laurieallee-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=1476764522" style="border: none; margin: 0px;" width="1" /><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=laurieallee-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=0684803356" style="border: none; margin: 0px;" width="1" />Laurie Alleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14460272282273523408noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5350567254278611125.post-26042554146443882872021-04-03T14:05:00.005-07:002021-04-19T17:31:48.634-07:00A Bookworm's Dream: Open Library<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="480" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/openlibrary_explorer" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="640"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://openlibrary.org/" target="_blank">Open Library</a> is even better than ever...</div><div style="text-align: center;">Now you can <a href="https://www.bookswithlaurie.com/p/the-open-library-explorer.html" target="_blank">browse it like you're in a bookstore.</a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div>By Laurie Allee</div><div><span style="font-size: xx-small;">For those of you reading this via email, <a href="http://www.bookswithlaurie.com" target="_blank">click here </a>to see the accompanying video</span></div><div><span style="font-size: xx-small;">This post contains affiliate links. <a href="https://www.bookswithlaurie.com/p/affiliate-marketing-disclosure.html" target="_blank">Click here </a>for more info!</span></div><div><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">So the mission of Open Library isn't ambitious or anything...</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">It's simply <b>"<a href="https://openlibrary.org/about/vision" target="_blank">to make all the published works of humankind available to everyone in the world.</a>" </b> This dedication to open and accessible knowledge warms my utopian heart in ways I can't begin to express. I want everyone to have access to books. Lots of books. Weird books and silly books and banned books and books never mentioned in a Buzzfeed list or a YouTube video. When I see bookshelves, I feel like I'm in front of an oracle, and it's just waiting to point me to a revelation or a warning or a great, big cosmic secret.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Books have done more for me than just entertain and inform; they have helped make me who I am. And they aren't finished with me yet. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Kindle-Now-with-Built-in-Front-Light/dp/B07978J597?dchild=1&keywords=kindle+e-reader&qid=1617471976&sr=8-4&linkCode=li3&tag=laurieallee-20&linkId=123d9953f3c5781efd1210ba72151f2b&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_il" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B07978J597&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=laurieallee-20&language=en_US" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">The basic kindle is great for e-books</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>I think of bookstores and libraries as holy places, offering insight and revelation to any seeker who shows up to look around. </b> So, too, are the apps and websites that deliver books to me. Even though I've written for the internet since 1994, I'm still awed by its scope and potential. Prime book delivery in a day!? Digital libraries on Overdrive!? It's dizzying. I still look at my kindle like it's a holographic librarian. It supplies my near insatiable jones with as many library e-books as I can check out, literally plucking them out of thin air and making them appear before me on my e-ink screen. This librarian is always on call, no matter what time of day, as long as I remember to charge the kindle battery. Every book delivered provides something useful or inspiring or thought-provoking or even life changing. (It's a little bit like <a href="https://amzn.to/2Og5D07" target="_blank">this librarian</a>, come to think of it.) </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Preordering from Amazon means shiny hardbacks from my favorite authors delivered on the day of publication. Sometimes signed! <a href="https://amzn.to/3dyZ4OL" target="_blank">Audible</a> delivers famous actors reading classic works for under $15, and <a href="https://www.hoopladigital.com/" target="_blank">Hoopla</a> gives them to me for free. I have a teetering stack of books by my bed. <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/2263980-laurie-allee" target="_blank">I'm always halfway through at least a dozen reads</a> and I usually have an audiobook playing as I do chores or take a bath or make dinner or drive so that no matter what mindless task I'm doing or errand I'm running,<i> I'm reading</i>.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">So what, you might ask, could I possibly get out of Open Library? </span></b></div><span><a name='more'></a></span><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><span></span><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=laurieallee-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=B07978J597" style="border: none; margin: 0px;" width="1" /><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Definitive-Collection-Americas-Master/dp/0385009615?dchild=1&keywords=the+complete+o+henry+short+stories&qid=1617405986&sr=8-2&linkCode=li3&tag=laurieallee-20&linkId=698f12002fe81eb7e2ebd067cac66595&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_il" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0385009615&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=laurieallee-20&language=en_US" /></a>Let's just start with this: the books available to check out (FREE!) at Open Library are not digitized e-books. <b>They are scans of <i>actual, physical books.</i> </b>When you use your device to browse a book on Open Library, you are looking at high res scans of actual paper pages. You'll occasionally see notes in margins. You'll often see old library markings. The only thing missing is that wonderfully dusty old book smell.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Since Covid-19 placed my family into an extended house arrest, one of the things I have missed most is wandering through libraries and used bookstores, looking at old books. That's where I find books I've never heard of, and others that may be out of print, with yellowing pages and taped covers and a few coffee stains serving as artifacts of all the other readers who found and read the book before I did. There are treasures hidden in those stacks. <div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Marilyn-by-Norman-Mailer-1973-05-03/dp/B01FGIJN8K?dchild=1&keywords=Norman+Mailer+Marilyn&qid=1617406738&sr=8-3&linkCode=li3&tag=laurieallee-20&linkId=27bc452d927d6bc4e3ad6ce386e78686&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_il" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B01FGIJN8K&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=laurieallee-20&language=en_US" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I've checked out marvelous old out-of-print herbals and art books and poetry chapbooks from my library. I've picked up books at yard sales and elementary school fundraisers and thrift stores. When I was in college, I found a first edition of the 1937 publication of <i><a href="https://amzn.to/3sQuvLc" target="_blank">The Complete O'Henry Short Stories</a> </i>at <a href="https://www.hpb.com/005?y_source=1_MTExNTM0Ni03MTUtbG9jYXRpb24ud2Vic2l0ZQ%3D%3D" target="_blank">Half Price Books</a> in Austin. It had the inscription: "To Dottie. May this book always remind you of our summer together. Love always, Max." I've always wondered how on earth Dottie's book ended up among used textbooks, remaindered romance novels and an inordinate number of Stephen King paperbacks. Max had no way of knowing that even if Dottie forgot their summer, I won't. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I once found a sealed first edition of <a href="https://amzn.to/3dyb3vY" target="_blank">Norman Mailer's book about Marilyn Monroe</a> at one of the many used bookstores that used to thrive in West LA. My mother once found a beautiful 1928 hardback book about visiting Paris. She picked it up at a rummage sale for $1.00. It has pen and ink drawings and advice on how to get the best deal from the bouquanistes along the Seine. If I ever <a href="https://www.bookswithlaurie.com/p/time-travel-for-few-seconds-to-1926.html" target="_blank">time-travel there</a>, I'll know what to do.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I've missed the treasure-hunting aspect of browsing stacks -- especially old stacks -- of all kinds of books. I just never know what I'll find there. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Fire-Tablet-7/dp/B07FKR6KXF?ac_md=3-0-VW5kZXIgJDUw-ac_d_pm&cv_ct_cx=Fire+7&dchild=1&keywords=Fire+7&pd_rd_i=B07FKR6KXF&pd_rd_r=d6b4aef6-5271-4a2e-aaa8-c5e7e31e0295&pd_rd_w=9Dvq0&pd_rd_wg=yz1ZQ&pf_rd_p=1996aa5c-bfb7-40b7-b677-a9bfb33f2c53&pf_rd_r=2FXZQT0CA1H4JBZ42VEV&psc=1&qid=1617472324&sr=1-1-22d05c05-1231-4126-b7c4-3e7a9c0027d0&linkCode=li3&tag=laurieallee-20&linkId=3df5ffd609e791ab1080d0165f16f1ee&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_il" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B07FKR6KXF&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=laurieallee-20&language=en_US" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">A ridiculously affordable tablet perfect for Open Library</span></td></tr></tbody></table>When I discovered Open Library, it gave me the same kind of thrill. No, it can't send a digital file to your kindle, but you can digitally thumb through and read books you will probably never get your hands on in real life. Want to look at a 1925 edition of <i>The Great Gatsby?</i> Have at it. Want it to be read to you? Just push the little headphone button at the bottom of the book's page on Open Library, and whatever AI you have on your device will assume the role of Nick Carraway and start telling you about the advice his father gave him in his "younger and more formidable years."</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">While many AI voices are truly awful, the Amazon kindle voice-to-text "Brian UK" is actually great. He sounds kind of like Carson from <i>Downton Abbey</i>, if he were a fairly convincing replicant. I use my <a href="https://amzn.to/3rO9SxV" target="_blank">Fire tablet</a> to not only browse Open Library in full color on a 7 inch screen -- which has the aspect ratio and feel of a classic trade paperback, and is sturdy as an old leather journal with the <a href="https://amzn.to/2QVjXMu" target="_blank">cover</a> I use -- but also to let Brian read books that aren't available on audiobook. Praise be to the Gods of Old Books!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://openlibrary.org/books/OL18348957M/For_whom_the_bell_tolls" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieL_9gIwzT8vNM6F9fGuzcKu2YmJkDJPJ26KLcGFiXJizH50zrKwFiakSqWykJMHJRVozY4mXrwNwHUCRre8X_EcuqxqAQVRT4OzaC2H2dSqOAAFy8vwgzJ6envII4QH2LkKRsWzUW4Jxu/s320/61FAEA31-72DD-4608-8175-4B33EA0AD8DF.jpeg" width="320" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><a href="https://openlibrary.org/books/OL18348957M/For_whom_the_bell_tolls" target="_blank">Almost as good as the physical book</a></span></td></tr></tbody></table>I've been able to find out of print books on Open Library that aren't available to purchase. I've also been able to read popular books that are on long library wait lists. I was able to check out <i><a href="https://openlibrary.org/books/OL18348957M/For_whom_the_bell_tolls" target="_blank">For Whom The Bell Tolls</a></i> in advance of the new Ken Burns documentary. (All copies were checked out at my various digital libraries, and the <a href="https://amzn.to/3uiK9PH" target="_blank">Hemingway boxed set </a>I want to buy is backordered on Amazon.)</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I've checked out dozens of those expensive coffee table photography books that don't have traditional kindle editions. I've checked out dozens of plays, art books, and even the edition of <i><a href="https://openlibrary.org/works/OL7921142W/The_Prophet?edition=prophet100gibr" target="_blank">The Prophet</a></i> that my mother used to keep on her bedside table. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.bookswithlaurie.com/p/the-open-library-explorer.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1268" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6Z8TCSBEtYuxzz_v60v49FSK1BwwMSnUVsR-8CkF-KZXEf3_MXYQN0EtZILDzR8hrUNhF3RB_EFv44-uyAuhaK-g2hj_8yeCRmI9v_zVciGEFCX9CisMFfqzeK52hL3KMfQnlaxQbEDzJ/w198-h200/073CF5F7-FA39-47B0-BC30-F5CC03E58AC8.png" width="198" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><a href="https://www.bookswithlaurie.com/p/the-open-library-explorer.html" target="_blank">Written words have power. Books for all! </a></span></td></tr></tbody></table>Right now is about the time for someone to chime in that a project wanting to make every single printed book available to the public for free is just a big, pie-in-the-sky idea from leftist hippies trying to bring down capitalism and wreck the livelihoods of writers. My reply is this:<b> Open Library is a <span style="font-size: medium;"><i>library</i></span>.</b> You can't download these books to keep, you have to wait your turn if they are checked out and they automatically return on their due date. Just like, you know, every other library in the free (market) world. As both a writer by profession and a leftist hippie with big ideas, I support Open Library's mission, as well as all missions to digitally archive books that will otherwise molder and rot in landfills. Just think if current technology had been available 2000 years ago. <a href="https://www.bookswithlaurie.com/p/library-of-alexandria-video.html" target="_blank">The Library of Alexandria</a> would still be accessible online. As for writers' livelihoods, we can have another, bigger discussion about the current state of publishing and how few writers can actually make a living writing books. (Hint: the problem isn't lending libraries.) As for bringing down capitalism? No comment.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">So, Open Library was already fabulous enough, but as of December, 2020 it got even better. Their new "<a href="https://openlibrary.org/explore" target="_blank">Library Explorer</a>" intuitive interface feels like an actual library or used bookstore... with virtual bookshelves to browse, different sections to explore and a pretty great user experience for a beta site. They're still working out the bugs of the new system, but I highly recommend taking a deep dive. <a href="https://openlibrary.org/" target="_blank">If you want to search the Open Library for a specific book, click here</a>. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">You can directly access <a href="https://openlibrary.org/explore" target="_blank">Open Library Explorer here</a>, or if you want to come right back to my shelves, find it through the <a href="https://www.bookswithlaurie.com/p/the-open-library-explorer.html" target="_blank"><i>Books With Laurie</i> Open Library Explorer shelf here.</a> Read more about the Explorer project <a href="https://blog.openlibrary.org" target="_blank">here</a>. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Here are just a few of the books just waiting for you: </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=laurieallee-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=B01FGIJN8K" style="border: none; margin: 0px;" width="1" /><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=laurieallee-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=0385009615" style="border: none; margin: 0px;" width="1" /><iframe frameborder="0" height="400" src="https://openlibrary.org/books/OL26491056M/-/widget" width="165"></iframe> <iframe frameborder="0" height="400" src="https://openlibrary.org/books/OL7876980M/-/widget" width="165"></iframe> <iframe frameborder="0" height="400" src="https://openlibrary.org/books/OL18348957M/-/widget" width="165"></iframe><iframe frameborder="0" height="400" src="https://openlibrary.org/books/OL22095122M/-/widget" width="165"></iframe> <iframe frameborder="0" height="400" src="https://openlibrary.org/books/OL6642096M/-/widget" width="165"></iframe> <iframe frameborder="0" height="400" src="https://openlibrary.org/books/OL20455529M/-/widget" width="165"></iframe> <iframe frameborder="0" height="400" src="https://openlibrary.org/books/OL11232293M/-/widget" width="165"></iframe> <iframe frameborder="0" height="400" src="https://openlibrary.org/books/OL24203929M/-/widget" width="165"></iframe> <iframe frameborder="0" height="400" src="https://openlibrary.org/books/OL1088419M/-/widget" width="165"></iframe> <br /><iframe frameborder="0" height="400" src="https://openlibrary.org/books/OL7415539M/-/widget" width="165"></iframe> <iframe frameborder="0" height="400" src="https://openlibrary.org/books/OL4744695M/-/widget" width="165"></iframe> <iframe frameborder="0" height="400" src="https://openlibrary.org/books/OL4896974M/-/widget" width="165"></iframe> <iframe frameborder="0" height="400" src="https://openlibrary.org/books/OL5797396M/-/widget" width="165"></iframe> <iframe frameborder="0" height="400" src="https://openlibrary.org/books/OL10325205M/-/widget" width="165"></iframe> <iframe frameborder="0" height="400" src="https://openlibrary.org/books/OL5188445M/-/widget" width="165"></iframe> <iframe frameborder="0" height="400" src="https://openlibrary.org/books/OL19315654M/-/widget" width="165"></iframe> <iframe frameborder="0" height="400" src="https://openlibrary.org/books/OL23247073M/-/widget" width="165"></iframe> <iframe frameborder="0" height="400" src="https://openlibrary.org/books/OL24951114M/-/widget" width="165"></iframe> <div><br /></div><div><div><b>If are more comfortable with your nose in an old book than in figuring out a new online technology, I feel you. Make a cup of tea and watch the official Open Library Explorer explainer video at the top of this post! </b></div><div><br /></div><div>And speaking of video...</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Every month I embed a bookish film to watch for free. <a href="https://www.bookswithlaurie.com/p/now-playing.html" target="_blank">Click here to see this month's pick.</a> You're welcome, bookworms!</b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>If you've made it this far, you obviously love books as much as I do. <a href="https://www.bookswithlaurie.com/2020/08/the-booksellers.html" target="_blank">So do these people.</a><br /></b></span><div><br /><a href="mailto:laurieallee@yahoo.com" target="_blank">Drop me a line</a> if you want to be included in my Book Club.<b> </b></div><div><br /></div><div>You can leave a message or comment <a href="https://www.bookswithlaurie.com/p/book-club.html" target="_blank">here</a>.</div></div></div>Laurie Alleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14460272282273523408noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5350567254278611125.post-17195518450198840072021-03-15T16:44:00.006-07:002021-04-30T14:45:35.054-07:00The Dysfunctional Family Reading List <div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-ujqw1UBFCY?rel=0" width="560"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div><b>You think your family is maddening? Just wait...</b></div><div><b>The <i>Books With Laurie</i></b></div><div><b>Pandemic Lockdown Fatigue </b></div><div><b>Dysfunctional Family Reading List</b></div><div><b>(Modern Drama Edition)</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">By Laurie Allee</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">For those of you reading this via email, <a href="https://www.bookswithlaurie.com/2021/03/the-dysfunctional-family-reading-list.html" target="_blank">click here </a>to see the accompanying video</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">This post contains affiliate links. <a href="https://www.bookswithlaurie.com/p/affiliate-marketing-disclosure.html" target="_blank">Click here </a>for more info!</span></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div><span style="background-color: #eedece; font-family: inherit; font-size: xx-small;"></span><span face="arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif" style="background-color: #eedece; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>It could be so much worse</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Like many others, my little family has been self-isolating for exactly one year to ride out Covid-19. Yes, with the exception of dog walks, car drives and a few trips to the drive-through pharmacy, my husband, teenage daughter and I have hunkered down at home for 12 months. (So far.) </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmipsWdP3EVXIZSmPWnVLGXHeLghJS4woL6DHCJrRC5wFRZxOQoBRVcUZAusOvviPajLZsi138NWi2rtzxAAkVobYbtSPgZxL-2kIt-NEyh_2VVtYHQBqIAFPNlbf8FBIrbyQSI-AKQgrv/s2048/D140FAB7-B43E-44A9-9A20-0353180C2F03_1_201_a.jpeg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmipsWdP3EVXIZSmPWnVLGXHeLghJS4woL6DHCJrRC5wFRZxOQoBRVcUZAusOvviPajLZsi138NWi2rtzxAAkVobYbtSPgZxL-2kIt-NEyh_2VVtYHQBqIAFPNlbf8FBIrbyQSI-AKQgrv/w400-h300/D140FAB7-B43E-44A9-9A20-0353180C2F03_1_201_a.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Birthday cakes in several locations</span></td></tr></tbody></table>We've had all of our supplies and groceries delivered. I've gotten so good at ordering things I could now run a bed and breakfast. (My husband refers to me as "The <a href="http://tangledtrees.blogspot.com/2010/03/occupation-victualler.html" target="_blank">Victualler</a>.") </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">As we've remained at home, we've celebrated Zoom birthdays, Zoom holidays, Zoom school conferences, Zoom work meetings, Zoom seminars, Zoom meetups, Zoom movie nights, Zoom coffee breaks and a few Zoom meetings to tell us how to make the most of Zoom meetings. In what has to be our most surreal and heartbreaking moment of the pandemic, we attended a Zoom funeral. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Living in Los Angeles has been a kind of Covid-19 Groundhog Day: surge after surge after awful, deadly surge. With health risks, we're fortunate we can hide out this way. A year seems like an impossible amount of time -- and it's not over yet -- but we're lucky. We've known people who didn't make it through to see this odd anniversary. I'm profoundly grateful for the ability to hide out in a house that I love with the people that I love the most. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">And yet...<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=laurieallee-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=1598531042" style="border: none; margin: 0px;" width="1" /></div><span><a name='more'></a></span><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.bookswithlaurie.com/p/this-page-includes-affiliate-links.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="489" data-original-width="592" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTonjpLpMqHRbn5STbHcRjasNHBVHlEp9fCXkEqV1n1VS-rM-A-SH9_aEQc-IiAEqtdIPgDVp-lcrm4iQpXmGZUzDGZVFivZhDaYcyx1YoftljUjL9eUSdCjQrZF3LhoqmZolDO0kT_kPt/s320/Tennessee+Williams+writing.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://www.bookswithlaurie.com/p/this-page-includes-affiliate-links.html" target="_blank">Williams spilling family secrets, no doubt </a></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Sharing the same confined space with <i>anyone</i> for long periods without seeing other people or spending time apart is...challenging. <span>Journalists have written </span><a href="https://www.google.com/search?safe=active&sxsrf=ALeKk03K9v47AVzJRXn7eklhMaf1iOi7aA%3A1614638137986&ei=OWw9YJTdO4e7tAb4373gDg&q=impact+of+covid+on+families&oq=impact+of+covid+on+families&gs_lcp=Cgdnd3Mtd2l6EAMyAggAMgYIABAWEB4yBggAEBYQHjIGCAAQFhAeMgYIABAWEB4yBggAEBYQHjIGCAAQFhAeMgYIABAWEB4yBggAEBYQHjIGCAAQFhAeOgcIABBHELADOgQIIxAnOgUILhCRAjoICAAQsQMQgwE6CwguELEDEMcBEKMCOg4ILhCxAxCDARDHARCjAjoICC4QsQMQgwE6BQgAEJECOgQIABBDOgoIABCxAxCDARBDOgQILhBDOgUIABCxAzoICC4QkQIQkwI6BwgAELEDEEM6BwgAEIcCEBRQlA9YiDRg6jVoA3ABeACAAdUBiAG0J5IBBjAuMjYuMpgBAKABAaoBB2d3cy13aXrIAQLAAQE&sclient=gws-wiz&ved=0ahUKEwjU3Z7lk5DvAhWHHc0KHfhvD-wQ4dUDCA0&uact=5" target="_blank">at length</a><span> about the </span><a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-53327738" target="_blank">impact of coronavirus on families</a><span>. We've all felt the pressure of this extended house arrest. </span>We've lived, worked and schooled together, waited for good news together and weathered bad news together, shown our best and absolute worst selves together...and it is has taken a toll. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Last month I made a joke that things were starting to feel a little Tennessee Williams around the house, and it prompted me to go back and reread the plays of Tennessee Williams.</span> </b>Williams reminded me of all the other great playwrights of the mid 20th century. They were <i>all</i> writing about family dynamics ranging from stressed-out to downright horrific.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Collected-Plays-Tennessee-Williams-Library/dp/1598531042?dchild=1&keywords=the+complete+tennessee+williams&qid=1614755035&sr=8-1&linkCode=li3&tag=laurieallee-20&linkId=0732b63349c92e58d97a562861e255b7&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_il" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=1598531042&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=laurieallee-20&language=en_US" /></a>One of my favorite classes in college was called <i>Psychological Aspects of Modern American Drama</i>. A bunch of English Lit nerds drinking tons of coffee, reading and watching the plays of Williams, Albee, O'Neill and Miller, then analyzing through the lenses of Freud, Jung and Horney <i>was just about as close to heaven as this bookworm/drama kid could possibly get! </i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">So, last month I used those same playwrights of <a href="https://sites.google.com/site/shadowsofmeandyou/essays---higher-education/what-is-american-modern-drama" target="_blank">Modern American Drama</a> as a kind of self-help psychology. I reread the plays I hadn't read in decades, along with a couple I'd never read. I watched film adaptations and YouTube recordings of stage productions. I listened to radio performances and even a full cast audiobook. And you know what?</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">It was the best therapy! There is nothing like brilliantly written vignettes of abysmal family dysfunction to make you appreciate your own screwed-up clan. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Here are the best of the best:</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://amzn.to/38JzOE6" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="688" data-original-width="550" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb-_u5wvljIZ4ED9UJRqzF2u2eoJth6XkoZDSYZzV1o4RG9a-iV6Pkio24eSPLgNlVsoTIKDJy1qrkLgoBdlLEA1P0vQdHe9lgf5Jnsf2mhgDX1FO7e3FGgwIndmw6dKZeZqwDXD2DpBHK/w320-h400/burlives2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Cat-Hot-Roof-Tennessee-Williams/dp/0811216012?dchild=1&keywords=catona+hot+tin+roof&qid=1614755253&sr=8-2&linkCode=li3&tag=laurieallee-20&linkId=fbb54ff18c81abd710307576c5fd0205&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_il" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0811216012&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=laurieallee-20&language=en_US" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: left;">Everyone remembers this one, and once you've seen the 1958 film adaptation you will forever see the almost impossibly beautiful Elizabeth Taylor as Maggie the Cat and dreamy Paul Newman as the tortured, ever-withholding Brick. <i><a href="https://amzn.to/3e7oVPQ" target="_blank">Cat on a Hot Tin Roof</a></i> is set in the sweltering Mississippi Delta at the uncomfortable 65th birthday party of Big Daddy Pollitt -- a crotchety Southern magnate recently hospitalized, possibly sicker than he thinks, and surrounded by a family he barely tolerates. This isn't so much a play as a storm on stage -- with torrents of delusion, lust, repression, homophobia, rage, deceit and alcoholic frenzy sloshing all over the antebellum fixtures and overpriced European bric-a-brac. It's histrionic, and outrageous but it also contains a gentle, heartbreaking message about family love and what <i>really</i> makes a good father, or son or spouse. (Hint: it's not money or notoriety.) </div></div><div style="text-align: left;">I highly suggest watching <a href="https://amzn.to/30l1b2R" target="_blank">the film</a> if you haven't seen it, but not before you've actually read the play. I don't want to give away any spoilers, but the movie's severe Hays Code edits leave out a <i>lot</i> of the juiciest parts. (Just FYI: Paul Newman played Brick as if all the cut material was still there. Knowing it makes his performance even better.) Also, there has never been another Big Daddy as perfect as Burl Ives, and you should see him. He played the part in the original Broadway production, too. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Read a sample of <i>Cat on a Hot Tin Roof</i> <a href="https://www.bookswithlaurie.com/p/cat-on-hot-tin-roof-free-sample.html" target="_blank">here</a>. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.bookswithlaurie.com/p/now-playing.html" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="165" data-original-width="219" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUWMiL5zugVa5o9ZUt1vDavUDtGeRW9KE6vKzSGwr_0pqObIg4tFHDKBdYFYwDyKCsnoqWA3e7bFBDhtyjurDN8uQpW6LiW1KXljC5nx5QiS-2AePRQDCJMc6oVMO7wyug7-RETZjdbAVt/w320-h242/hepburn+long+days+journey.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Long-Days-Journey-into-Night/dp/0300001762?crid=B3OU3ORTPYJ1&dchild=1&keywords=long+days+journey+into+night+eugene+oneill&qid=1614757381&sprefix=long+days+journey%2Caps%2C242&sr=8-5&linkCode=li3&tag=laurieallee-20&linkId=cdf2b81624bf37f08943abad51af8acb&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_il" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0300001762&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=laurieallee-20&language=en_US" /></a><i><a href="https://amzn.to/30l1b2R" target="_blank">Long Day's Journey Into Night</a></i> might be the most difficult play I've ever read. It has morphine addiction, alcoholism, consumption ... and all introduced before the characters even have lunch. The play takes place over the course of a single day within the suffocating confines of the Tyrone family living room. We bristle remembering the dramas that have taken place in our own living rooms. Knowing that this play is largely based on O'Neill's own family makes it a devastating piece of reality theatre. The play (and resulting Pulitzer) were presented posthumously, and it feels like a deathbed confession.</div><div style="text-align: left;">Seeing a bad production of this would be torturous. Even a good one is difficult, withholding the things we (and the characters) yearn for: transcendence and grace. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I've included the complete film starring Katharine Hepburn as Mary Tyrone. It's an astonishing performance, with a screenplay that is an exact word-for-word version of the play. Watch it free <a href="https://www.bookswithlaurie.com/p/march-2021-film-for-bookworms.html" target="_blank">here</a>. Then, go do something life affirming like petting your dog or making an ice cream sundae. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://amzn.to/3bNpDjE" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="1334" data-original-width="2048" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgezfw4O_juRgxEEoQRQwGfXuJYbvq3Z5qsobitqSzvWO5o0oZN42zg_XpoGfETEJGuQnLrab_4mmvQalWeXGVFmRytayWyGbJ08hHjRu-CNLlNvsGF3yupOJ4f1OdG48lggcrLngR_wquq/w400-h260/A-Raisin-in-the-Sun.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Raisin-Sun-Lorraine-Hansberry/dp/0679755330?dchild=1&keywords=raisin+in+the+sun&qid=1614759563&s=books&sr=1-1&linkCode=li3&tag=laurieallee-20&linkId=0ff8afd9482f3a7f5f250c52b79bce18&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_il" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0679755330&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=laurieallee-20&language=en_US" /></a>You rarely hear Lorraine Hansberry's name mentioned with Williams and O'Neill, but she easily belongs in their club. <i><a href="raisin in the sun" target="_blank">A Raisin in the Sun</a> </i>was the first play on Broadway written by a black woman. <i> </i>Considering the fact that it debuted in 1959 -- the same year Arkansas designated "white's only" seating areas -- makes it an even more monumental achievement. The title is taken from a Langston Hughes poem "Harlem" which is known as "A Dream Deferred." The play is all about deferred dreams. We follow the Youngers, an African American family desperately trying to stay afloat and stay together. When a moderate inheritance offers a way out of their south Chicago tenement, they are met with racist gatekeeping, betrayal and a difficult, possibly dangerous choice. </div><div style="text-align: left;">The original 1961 <a href="https://amzn.to/3baQExh" target="_blank">film</a> is wonderful (Ruby Dee! Sidney Poitier! Louis Gossett Jr. in his film debut!) and there is an <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzfgwxENvLk" target="_blank">American Playhouse production from 1989</a> with Danny Glover, but I highly recommend listening to <a href="https://www.bookswithlaurie.com/p/a-raisin-in-sun-bbc-radio-production.html" target="_blank">this</a> BBC Radio production from 2016. Closing your eyes and letting Hansberry's dialogue wash over you is almost like being in the Younger family living room. It's a wonderful audio production, with no edits or omissions.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://ok.ru/video/1416932690630" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="224" data-original-width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZMSEalPC1Y8WCo8f7YWdDBZAVIdPh5xFva_MRCQH9BpPko5x-wHhIXxA0TuDxOENURmTx7aKnJUAlDd0Lprhpfwzbd4UEImRuHRo8EZymRNQTx8IXXU_1UXqKCvG1himL_S_cPY6x14a8/s320/a+delicate+balance.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Delicate-Balance-Edward-Albee/dp/0573607923?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1614808416&sr=8-1&linkCode=li3&tag=laurieallee-20&linkId=78a417a6a78be92ca446d330fdc7d71c&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_il" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0573607923&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=laurieallee-20&language=en_US" /></a>Edward Albee's <i><a href="https://amzn.to/2Op4HGn" target="_blank">A Delicate Balance</a> </i>feels a like a kind of mismatched bookend to <i>Long Day's Journey Into Night. </i>Albee's odd, slightly surreal, psychologically complex play about rich suburbanites descending into existential angst, paranoia and possible dementia is not gut-wrenching as much as deeply, <i>deeply</i> unsettling. Let me put it this way: the audience is bracing for a sucker punch from the opening lines of the play.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://ok.ru/video/1416932690630" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="881" data-original-width="1600" height="176" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKoPVRw80afOpGYgZn31ffldraLJWvMfkIzbwmfA2uIVuV8LJ-9szZaqq6KikwBU8MyxM0ybrBRUbAHE8C8NbewweI34778CulyR8suNjjL3V5Uk4RIHfsQn_fZyAJptB8FytazBL-TYvu/w320-h176/delicate+balance+cast.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>A lot has been written about this piece, with all the usual intellectual arguing about <i>what</i> exactly it <i>means</i>. It seems like Albee delighted in the confusion, never really offering definitive explanation of the work, and defying all need for categorization. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I think the play has aged really well. In our era of echo chambers, isolation, and the hollowness of social media, Albee's tale of disconnected, empty people numbing themselves with martini after martini, calmly maintaining the facades of accomplishment, cloaking passive aggressiveness in the cashmere of well-bred, Connecticut etiquette ... well, let's just say it feels contemporary and oddly familiar. This is a family fastened together out of habit and shared history, with rattling skeletons about to burst out of any closet.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Reading Albee can be challenging, so don't feel bad if you want to cheat and just watch an adaptation. In the 1973 film, Katharine Hepburn gives yet another fantastic performance. She embodies Agnes: smiling on the outside, inwardly burning, who may or may not be going insane. You can watch the movie free <a href="https://ok.ru/video/1416932690630" target="_blank">here</a>. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Glass-Menagerie-Tennessee-Williams/dp/0811214044?dchild=1&keywords=the+glass+menagerie&qid=1614817250&sr=8-1&linkCode=li3&tag=laurieallee-20&linkId=efae349341cbce58699ab4044b31e032&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_il" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0811214044&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=laurieallee-20&language=en_US" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;">I am almost ashamed to admit that although I was a member of drama clubs throughout junior high and high school, although I got a small scholarship from my university drama department, <i>although I actually performed a scene from this play for a student film in college, </i>I had never actually read <i>The Glass Menagerie </i>in its entirety until last month<i>. </i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Now it's my favorite play by Tennessee Williams.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">There is so much to love about it. While so many stories by Tennessee Williams are so emotionally over-the-top they are almost psychedelic in their hysteria (ladies and gentlemen, I present <i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzACtH3_Kr8&t=202s" target="_blank">Boom</a></i>,) <i>The Glass Menagerie</i> is oddly subdued. Tom Wingfield, a wannabe writer and tortured working class warehouse employee, alternately narrates and participates in a story that seems to be emanating from the deepest part of his regret. We can never be sure if what we see is real, or figments of his imagination. It's almost a ghost play. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.bookswithlaurie.com/p/the-glass-menagerie-script.html" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="600" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVm-vXftDDryA7Ybu9b0NCbRyQujdNnne34uw-HvuLvo0teKBp_yBNDmV-rxr3oaqsQRLqC4Kwus2GiqZjaHglhdMY_6JyV8El8ScmXNZcFYu4T1oqD9d4-2J4_S8iAH75n0bCA95wpDRu/w400-h234/glass+menagerie+on+stage.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>His aging southern belle mother is alternately withering and exhibitionist. She has the sole purpose of arranging a suitable marriage for Tom's "odd" sister Laura, and until that happens Tom is on the hook to support the family. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Laura, is described as a "cripple" from a childhood bout with polio, but as we watch we see that the disease has only left her with a slight limp. No wheelchair. No crutches. She walks and even dances. She is awkward and shy (possibly from constantly being called a cripple) but she's also warm and empathetic and funny. Her shyness, however, is treated as abject tragedy. Her fixation on old records and a beloved collection of glass animals is seen as proof positive she's a failure and will never, <i>ever </i>have what her mother considers the ultimate prize for a young lady: a gentleman caller. When a gentleman caller finally does arrive in the final act, it's both heartbreaking and oddly uplifting.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.bookswithlaurie.com/p/the-glass-menagerie-script.html" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuM-DeeOM0SaeKbcW4gGuMubNk4vZQd418qxQqUFif7i8XD4P5Po2NcJjBlvk45mBLsMf8gFYwgdoFgJmuOi6Q-0JhxFEbl2Bg8PW4AH8zmZwwuBcEQOEW4CLPxLUKbgSOfNLeekhJxA53/s320/glass-menagerie-169.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: left;">Today, Laura would have a popular social anxiety YouTube channel and a great Instagram account with artful photos of her menagerie. What made Laura a tragic character when Williams wrote his play now makes her feel relatable. Laura is <i>not</i> damaged, she's just an introvert, possibly on the spectrum, and in desperate need of a decent counselor to help liberate her from her mother's control. Her limp is <i>not</i> a serious handicap, and even if it were it wouldn't exclude her from finding a partner. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">After I read the play I watched three adaptations of it (1950, 1973, 1987) I didn't really like any of them. None of them touched the complexity of the characters I read on the page, especially the character of Laura.. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">And that's why it's so great to actually read plays, not just watch them. (John Malkovich as Tom might have been peak young John Malkovich in the 1987 version directed by Paul Newman, but he was <i>not</i> how I envisioned Tom. Your mileage may vary.) </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Get a copy and read it. <a href="https://www.bookswithlaurie.com/p/the-glass-menagerie-script.html" target="_blank">You can check out any of these editions free from Open Library.</a> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.bookswithlaurie.com/p/death-of-salesman-by-arthur-miller.html" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="226" data-original-width="344" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOQ437nh9SIxNnPmm2n7CukuChxek6tEa0jgy3WeMm9cG8wA1BmE7q2mqy9ywazhiqcIUXKq1zDKYBfdD4hDFQ6sJCedOXIEscMW23AZX_6etTuZRfGj-WWMK7GrNw8OzDJPwDZ7Vk7eR4/s320/death+of+a+salesman+philip+Seymour+Hoffman.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Death-Salesman-Penguin-Arthur-Miller/dp/0140481346?dchild=1&keywords=death+of+a+salesman&qid=1614809741&sr=8-1&linkCode=li3&tag=laurieallee-20&linkId=a75fce2bc4a84b0ba4137d87bcdb15c9&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_il" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0140481346&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=laurieallee-20&language=en_US" /></a>When I first read <i><a href="https://amzn.to/3be1ouF" target="_blank">Death of a Salesman</a></i>, I was 19. I was old enough to recognize Arthur Miller had written an incredible play, but I didn't have the life experience to fully understand the tragedy that is Willy Loman. When I reread the play last month, I was <i>devastated</i> by it. Approaching this piece in mid life gives it a gravity I didn't fully sense when I was just starting out in the world. (Miller based the play off of a short story he wrote <i>at seventeen. </i>This is almost impossible for me to comprehend.) Willy's desperate descent into senility is heartbreaking, real, gut-wrenching. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.bookswithlaurie.com/p/death-of-salesman-by-arthur-miller.html" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhumwWsTzwvLOObq_-pbYzI8DFblTjmvhy53TtxRzSKYru_L_yMVCOdBAPYuuouowKSqTl9D1InNwOaUL2t2xRoEr-JBs7N5Cv77cWT-uV0fCahfZeFDgkx2wrgUbN6x2mTUn0W7HzYHikz/s320/death+of+a+salesman.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>That he never really got the life he'd hoped for feels like every nightmare you wake up from in a cold sweat. His grandiosity, failed dreams and vast hopelessness are wrapped up in the tarnished veneer of a once-shiny salesman. He's an incredibly recognizable tragic hero. (We hope we don't recognize a part of ourselves in him. We hope we don't watch a loved one slipping away like him.) Like so many real life tragedies, this play is an epic one that takes place within the modest walls of a family living room. </div><div style="text-align: left;">It's is so good I just want you to read it. Don't watch it yet, just read it. I've made it easy for you! You can read the entire script right <a href="https://www.bookswithlaurie.com/p/death-of-salesman-by-arthur-miller.html" target="_blank">here</a>. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">After that, take your pick among several incredible stage and film adaptations online. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Drama as Therapy</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I've always found reading to be the best kind of therapy, and my little experiment using plays as a way to cope with pandemic fatigue proved no different. It's hard not to feel extremely fortunate after spending time with the families in these plays. I am not downplaying the very real tragedy and grief we have all experienced to one degree or another in the last year, but immersing myself into <i>other </i>tragedies and <i>other</i> reasons for grief made me all-too-happy to return home. Seeing so many completely unhinged and awful relationships makes my own (wonderful, sane, beloved) family squabbles during lockdown seem kind of charming by comparison. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Humans experience suffering and loss. Humans struggle. Humans lose out and get left behind. Humans are stricken with almost unimaginable troubles, and those troubles stir up a mess of more trouble inside families. There are harsh words and hurt feelings. But there are other things... </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">There is love and forgiveness, healing and absolution. There is epiphany and redemption. If nothing else, there is a <i>really</i> dry martini and the sparkle of a pretty glass unicorn in the light.</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.bookswithlaurie.com/p/now-playing.html" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFpJ7XAUh6T2E2vJTfCXzC8dPP3sNIydmH4P9ftYGNJJCfluAwvuBE0awFSE8rE8t0IoP5FPnI-lXFTSgvxw0jpg4fqI0hCP0yW7QoKFkumUXUIa-G_p9-BX5RvMYrn20JZ3vCNkeLnTDc/s320/theater+seats.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Managing a pandemic with health risks has meant a hard quarantine for many of us. A year without friends, without gatherings, without connection outside Zoom and FaceTime has been difficult. Saying goodbye to the ones we've lost has been devastating. We're not at the end, yet. If this is a kind of cosmic play, we are hopefully entering the third act. I pray we aren't simply at intermission. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">It's tempting when our relationships get strained to descend into the lowest part of ourselves. We lash out. We point fingers. We engage in scenery-chewing melodrama, punctuated by slammed doors. But when we see these same behaviors in a book or play -- ramped up to an often absurd degree -- we can make the decision to play our own lives a different way. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">* * * </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Next up? Something light and frothy. I promise. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Stay tuned.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Be sure to watch the video summary at the top of this post! </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Every month I embed a bookish film (or play!) to watch for free. <a href="https://www.bookswithlaurie.com/p/now-playing.html" target="_blank">Click here to see this month's pick.</a> You're welcome, bookworms!</b></span><br /><div><br /><a href="mailto:laurieallee@yahoo.com" target="_blank">Drop me a line</a> if you want to be included in my Book Club.<b> </b></div></div></div></div><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=laurieallee-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=0811216012" style="border: none; margin: 0px;" width="1" /><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=laurieallee-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=0300001762" style="border: none; margin: 0px;" width="1" />Laurie Alleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14460272282273523408noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5350567254278611125.post-75672013906724297322020-11-18T14:41:00.004-08:002020-11-18T14:55:30.240-08:00The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu<p> </p><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/40ehHbdi95o" width="560"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div><div><b>The Hidden Treasures of Timbuktu</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;">By Laurie Allee</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">For those of you reading this via email, click <a href="https://www.bookswithlaurie.com/2020/11/the-hidden-treasures-of-timbuktu-by.html" target="_blank">here to see the accompanying video</a></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">This post contains affiliate links. Click <a href="https://www.bookswithlaurie.com/p/affiliate-marketing-disclosure.html" target="_blank">here</a> for more info!</span></div><div><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Bad-Ass-Librarians-Timbuktu-Precious-Manuscripts/dp/1476777403/ref=as_li_ss_il?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1605055423&sr=8-1&linkCode=li3&tag=laurieallee-20&linkId=294844d555199f9cbdc03659daa817bf&language=en_US" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="400" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=1476777403&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=laurieallee-20&language=en_US" width="261" /></a><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">It sure feels like the world is bereft of heroes right now. With that in mind, I have a wonderful book recommendation to offer hope: <i><a href="https://amzn.to/2KpdBSB" target="_blank">The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu</a></i>. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><i style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;">Author Joshua Hammer tells the true story of how, during a time of great unrest, a mild-mannered book archivist named Abdel Kadel Haidara smuggled 350,000 priceless texts out of Timbuktu, saving them from certain destruction by Al Qaeda. This heroic heist is one of the most exciting adventures I've ever read, and moving testimony to ordinary people and their ability to change (and save) the world. I don't want to give too much away because you need to dive into this rip-roaring adventure and experience it yourself. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">It is an exciting page-turner, worthy of a Hollywood treatment, but it's also a beautiful testament to our higher angels, and what happens to us when we heed them. Hammer's prose is thrilling -- part reportage, part history, part travelogue and all wonderful. Haidara's patience and bravery will restore your faith in people. Bookworms will adore this book, but everyone can enjoy the adventure. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Read a sample<a href="https://odcom-dd9567d42fa9987cb19bead44cd003a3.read.overdrive.com/?d=eyJvdXRsZXQiOiJyZWFkIiwidG9rZW4iOiJvZC5jb20tMTY1ODg4ODItY2VkZS00NTFjLWE2OGUtYTZiNThkZDBmYzA1IiwiYWNjZXNzIjoicyIsImV4cGlyZXMiOjE2MDYzNDM5NjksInRoZW1lIjoic2FtcGxlIiwic3luYyI6MCwib2ZmbGluZSI6MCwicHBhcmFtIjpudWxsLCJ0ZGF0YSI6eyJDUklEIjoiYTljNjE4ZDAtMjUzZi00MGY4LWE3Y2EtYmIxYWJhNjdhZDdlIn0sInZlcnNpb24iOiIxIiwidGltZSI6MTYwNTczOTE2OSwiYnVpZCI6ImRkOTU2N2Q0MmZhOTk4N2NiMTliZWFkNDRjZDAwM2EzIiwiX2MiOiIxNjA1NzM5MTY5NDI4In0%3D--bc90cf8f050e24c3f8e11fc443387b5ba0fc36fa" target="_blank"> here</a>.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Listen to a sample <a href="https://sample-8d929504fd98f2172e80511e830dc521.listen.overdrive.com/?d=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%3D%3D--14f7a4baf4e4fd22b41caa87c20b1231a982be40&p=_eyJzbHVnIjoiNWNiMDQ1IiwiZm9ybWF0IjoiNjI1In0%3D" target="_blank">here</a>.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">To watch a slew of videos about the lost libraries of Timbuktu, <a href="https://www.bookswithlaurie.com/p/the-lost-libraries-of-timbuktu.html" target="_blank">click here for my curation</a>.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Watch Joshua Hammer discuss his book <a href="https://www.bookswithlaurie.com/p/the-bad-ass-librarians-of-timbuktu.html" target="_blank">here</a>.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Every month I embed a bookish film to watch for free! See this month's selection <a href="https://www.bookswithlaurie.com/p/now-playing.html?zx=5007fb2c94488e8e" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=laurieallee-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=1476777403" style="border: none; margin: 0px;" width="1" /></div>Laurie Alleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14460272282273523408noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5350567254278611125.post-72438418436133906432020-10-30T17:44:00.003-07:002020-10-30T17:46:35.843-07:00Great Books on Pandemics: Non-Fiction Edition<div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/cc7GE2LhG3k?rel=0" width="560"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><div><b>The <i>Books With Laurie </i></b><br /><b>Pandemic Reading List</b></div><div><b>Non-Fiction Edition!</b></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: #eedece; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px;">By Laurie Allee</span></div></div><div><span style="background-color: #eedece; font-family: inherit; font-size: xx-small;">For those of you reading this via email, <a href="https://www.bookswithlaurie.com/2020/10/great-books-on-pandemics-non-fiction.html#more" target="_blank">click here</a> to see my accompanying video.</span><br /><span style="background-color: #eedece; font-family: inherit; font-size: xx-small;"><i>T</i></span><i style="background-color: #eedece; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">his post contains affiliate links. <a href="https://bookswithlaurie.blogspot.com/p/affiliate-marketing-disclosure.html" style="color: #294d66;" target="_blank">Click here for more info!</a></span></i><br /><i style="background-color: #eedece; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"><br /></i></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Let's Be Real...</b></span></div><div><br /></div><div>As we head into our 9th month of the global Covid-19 pandemic, it's hard not to feel overwhelmed and hopeless. Is this ever going to end? <b><span style="font-size: medium;">Will life <i>ever</i> go back to any recognizable kind of normal?</span></b> Will we ever be able to see our friends in person? Go to a theatre? Stop disinfecting packages? </div><div><br /></div><div>"History doesn't repeat itself" Mark Twain reportedly once said, "but it often rhymes." Although the Covid-19 pandemic feels uniquely awful, we don't have to look too far back to see that it resembles other disease outbreaks from our not-too-distant history. Over the last few months I've <strike>tortured myself </strike> read some interesting books about past epidemics, how people dealt with them, and what we (supposedly) learned from them. I can't say that these books make me feel <i>better</i> about our current global crisis, but they point toward hope, and offer insight into the profound resilience of the human spirit. </div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">With that, I give you my Great Pandemic Reads, Non-Fiction Edition:</span></b></div><div><br /><a name='more'></a></div><div></div><span><!--more--></span><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Ghost-Map-Londons-Terrifying-Epidemic/dp/1594482691/ref=as_li_ss_il?dchild=1&keywords=the+ghost+map&qid=1604092605&sr=8-1&linkCode=li3&tag=laurieallee-20&linkId=6bfbc7b7478f3ae2ddd9afe532534f40&language=en_US" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="400" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=1594482691&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=laurieallee-20&language=en_US" width="267" /></a><i><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=laurieallee-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=1594482691" style="border: none; margin: 0px;" width="1" /><a href="https://amzn.to/34GvR1e" target="_blank">The Ghost Map</a>,</i> by Steven Johnson, was a New York Times Notable Book, and an <i>Entertainment Weekly</i> Best Book of the Year. This is a massive work of multidisciplinary scholarship covering a devastating cholera outbreak in London. <span style="font-size: medium;"><b>What makes it special is Johnson's old-fashioned, keep-you-on-the-edge-of-your-seat storytelling. </b></span></div><div><br /></div><div>In 1854, London was transforming into the world's first truly modern city. As the population rapidly expanded, the city struggled (and ultimately failed) to keep up with critical city infrastructure. Without clean water, sewers and garbage removal, London became a breeding ground for a terrifying disease that blindsighted the experts. They didn't know why it occurred or exactly how it was transmitted. They had no idea how to cure it.</div><div><br /></div><div>Dr. John Snow and Reverend Henry Whitehead took it upon themselves to solve the medical riddle. Johnson's sublime narrative details their quest, and makes <i><a href="https://amzn.to/34GvR1e" target="_blank">The Ghost Map</a></i> read like a great detective story. </div><div><br /></div><div>This book made me think about a lot of things: the nature of scientific inquiry, the inevitable catastrophe caused by civilization's metastatic growth, the capriciousness of disease, the devastation of poverty, the tenacity of human problem-solving. </div><div><br /></div><div> It's one of the best books of historical writing I've come across, and a beguiling cautionary tale for our own time.<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=laurieallee-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=0425217752" style="border: none; margin: 0px;" width="1" /></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.amazon.com/American-Plague-Untold-Epidemic-History-dp-0425217752/dp/0425217752/ref=as_li_ss_il?_encoding=UTF8&me=&qid=1604095018&linkCode=li3&tag=laurieallee-20&linkId=5cfde1eaffe896bd99f7f07152232fd0&language=en_US" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="400" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0425217752&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=laurieallee-20&language=en_US" width="266" /></a><div><br /></div>I'm not going to sugar-coat it ... <i><a href="https://amzn.to/3eeqA41" target="_blank">The American Plague</a>, </i>by Molly Caldwell Crosby,<i> </i>is a grisly, devastating read. Crosby meticulously documents the yellow fever epidemic starting with an outbreak in 1878, and moving on to include a series of controversial human studies that were launched in 1900. Rich with details and a lush cast of characters, this book blends history and science into literature. Crosby's writing is as beautiful as it is haunting. (<i>The New York Times</i> book review described her as <span style="font-size: medium;"><b>"Faulkner writing <i>Dawn of the Dead.</i>"</b></span>)</div><div><br /></div><div>Like <i>The Ghost Map</i>, <i><a href="https://amzn.to/3eeqA41" target="_blank">The American Plague</a></i> will feel uncannily familiar. The shock of a virus bringing civilization to its knees, the quarantines, the economic breakdown, the in-fighting, the horrors of disease, the acts of desperation, the feats of heroism ... we can see our own world in this book.</div><div><br /></div><div>I felt oddly hopeful by the end of it. It took 20 years to understand yellow fever, and came at a huge cost to the doctors, nurses and scientists who literally gave their lives battling the disease. Their work ultimately triumphed. It led to the vaccine still in use today.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Pale-Rider-Spanish-Changed-World-ebook/dp/B01N22ZOHC/ref=as_li_ss_il?crid=1YCDKJSGBGWMV&dchild=1&keywords=pale+rider+by+laura+spinney&qid=1604097466&sprefix=pale+rider+by+laura,stripbooks,220&sr=8-1&linkCode=li3&tag=laurieallee-20&linkId=5367422830bef6c59ebbaea84cb68402&language=en_US" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="400" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B01N22ZOHC&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=laurieallee-20&language=en_US" width="267" /></a><i><a href="https://amzn.to/37XwHso" target="_blank">Pale Rider</a></i> by Laura Spinney offers insight into how the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918-1920 affected, disrupted and altered many aspects of life on earth. Family structures, global politics, religion, arts and societal norms were all changed by the virus. Spinney's book makes a powerful case for how the pandemic was at least partly responsible for India's independence, South Africa's apartheid and Switzerland's move to the brink of civil war. </div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Spinney reminds us that this disease cast a long, global shadow. </b></span> While Europe and North America reported the lowest death rates, other parts of the world were gutted. In India, for example, the rate was ten times the rate in the United States, with 18 million dead. That was 6% of India's population. South Africa lost half a million children alone.</div><div><br /></div><div>While there are striking similarities between the Spanish flu pandemic and our own Covid-19 pandemic, the book reminded me of how grateful I am to live 100 years later, with the benefit of modern hygiene practices and a universal understanding of germ theory. (Now, if we could just get everyone to wear a mask...<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=laurieallee-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=B01N22ZOHC" style="border: none; margin: 0px;" width="1" />)</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Clearing-Plains-Politics-Starvation-Indigenous/dp/0889776229/ref=as_li_ss_il?dchild=1&keywords=clearing+the+plains&qid=1604099186&sr=8-1&linkCode=li3&tag=laurieallee-20&linkId=5588a05ed23267d8601d393480050005&language=en_US" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="400" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0889776229&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=laurieallee-20&language=en_US" width="267" /></a><i><a href="https://amzn.to/3eewbaw" target="_blank">Clearing the Plains</a></i> by James Daschuk is a horrifying look at how the combination of Canadian state-supported starvation and infectious disease created a catastrophe of almost unbelievable proportions. This is a colossal work of historical muckraking, smashing the sacred cows of colonial myth.</div><div><br /></div><div>It is not an easy book to read. The narrative is at times so chilling, so heartbreakingly awful, it left me feeling shocked and sick. <span style="font-size: medium;"><b>The book details how the indigenous people of Canada were driven into reserves by the Indian Act of 1876, and how the brutality of that act combined with infectious disease and government-supported starvation to devastate a people. </b></span> </div><div><br /></div><div>"Those Reserve Indians are in a deplorable state of destitution," Lawrence Clarke wrote in 1880 of the inadequate government rations, "Should sickness break out among them in their present weakly state, the fatality would be dreadful." </div><div><br /></div><div>Sure enough, tuberculosis and other diseases decimated the starving reserve population. Daschuk calls it "a state-sponsored attack on indigenous communities, whose affects haunt us as a nation still."</div><div><br /></div><div>Like Howard Zinn's <a href="<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Peoples-History-United-States/dp/0062397346/ref=as_li_ss_il?dchild=1&keywords=a+people's+history&qid=1604100447&sr=8-1&linkCode=li3&tag=laurieallee-20&linkId=2e595fae66f9079b5c01445588183fc6&language=en_US" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0062397346&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=laurieallee-20&language=en_US" ></a><img src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=laurieallee-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=0062397346" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" />" target="_blank"><i>A People's History</i></a>, this book should be required reading for everyone interested in the real indigenous history of the Americas. </div><div><br /></div><div>Scratch that. It should be required reading for EVERYONE.<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=laurieallee-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=0889776229" style="border: none; margin: 0px;" width="1" /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.amazon.com/American-Pandemic-Worlds-Influenza-Epidemic-dp-0199811342/dp/0199811342/ref=as_li_ss_il?_encoding=UTF8&me=&qid=1604100600&linkCode=li3&tag=laurieallee-20&linkId=698c1fdb385488e257931d6d5a9b94ec&language=en_US" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="400" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0199811342&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=laurieallee-20&language=en_US" width="253" /></a>I wanted this list to include <i><a href="https://amzn.to/2TBoaTT" target="_blank">American Pandemic</a></i> by Nancy K. Bristow because this book provides such a rich social and cultural history of the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic. Bristow covers the role of race, gender and class in this epic look at how the disease affected different people in different ways. Bristow also looks at the role of physical fitness, public education and the American public health strategy during various influenza epidemics. (Hint: it was actually more cohesive than the our own strategy during Covid-19.) </div><div><br /></div><div>This is an immensely human book. Bristow utilized a wealth of primary sources -- diaries, oral histories, newspaper clippings, letters -- to reveal the many faces of the pandemic victims. <span style="font-size: medium;"><b>You will recognize these people. The narrative breathes life into those who often are treated as mere statistics. </b></span> </div><div><br /></div><div>In the United States, even though we've lost over 230,000 people to Covid-19 at the time of this writing, we are not really honoring the dead. Our country will bow its collective head every September 11th to rightfully remember the ones killed on that day. But, oddly, an average of 1000 Americans -- real, flesh-and-blood friends and neighbors -- die every single day from Covid-19, and instead of properly grieving and remembering as a nation, we are inundated with public talk of "the importance of opening up" and "herd immunity." I don't think most people have let in the actual horror of how many individuals have been lost -- moms and dads and kids and grandparents, healthy and infirm, at risk and not at risk. I don't think we want to think about how many more we will lose.</div><div><br /></div><div>Bristow's book is as much a memorial as a history. She breathes life into stories of death. We need someone to do that for Covid-19. </div><div><br /></div><div>While Spinney's <i>Pale Rider </i>shows how the Spanish flu literally changed everything it touched around the globe. Bristow's counterpoint in <i>American Pandemic</i> reveals that in the USA, influenza did not bring about any long-term societal change. Instead, it reinforced the status quo.<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=laurieallee-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=0199811342" style="border: none; margin: 0px;" width="1" /> Sounds familiar. </div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>These books gave me perspective for the current crisis. </b></span> We have so much to be thankful for, even in the face of Covid-19's unrelenting grip. We are much better off, over all, than the people of previous pandemics. That said, we are making many of the same mistakes seen in epidemics of the past -- from governmental neglect to a public who just doesn't want to wear masks. We have lost so many, with more to come. We don't yet know the full health effects of those who have recovered, even from mild illness. So with that in mind...</div><div><br /><b><span style="font-size: large;">Stay home as much as possible, stay safe, and keep reading. </span></b><br /><br />(Next up: something hopeful and fun!)</div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.bookswithlaurie.com/2020/08/the-books-with-laurie-pandemic-reading.html" target="_blank">Click here for my Great Pandemic Reads: Fiction Edition</a></span></b></div><div><br /><a href="mailto:laurieallee@yahoo.com" target="_blank">Drop me a line</a> if you want to be included in my upcoming Book Club.<b> </b><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> </div><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=laurieallee-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=0307947300" style="border: none; margin: 0px;" width="1" /><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=laurieallee-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=0307389731" style="border: none; margin: 0px;" width="1" /><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=laurieallee-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=0679720219" style="border: none; margin: 0px;" width="1" /><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=laurieallee-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=0804172447" style="border: none; margin: 0px;" width="1" /></div>
<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=laurieallee-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=1594482691" style="border: none; margin: 0px;" width="1" />
<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=laurieallee-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=1594482691" style="border: none; margin: 0px;" width="1" />Laurie Alleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14460272282273523408noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5350567254278611125.post-43773402732612877542020-08-21T16:23:00.002-07:002020-08-21T16:27:54.540-07:00The Booksellers<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>If you're reading this via email subscription, be sure to click <a href="http://www.bookswithlaurie.com/" target="_blank">here</a> to see the accompanying video trailer and recorded interview with the film's director.</i></span></div>
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by Laurie Allee</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.booksellersmovie.com/" target="_blank">Click above to watch the film.</a></td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Do you miss browsing used bookstore stacks?</span></b> </div>
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I found the next best thing! <i><a href="https://www.booksellersmovie.com/home/" target="_blank">The Booksellers</a>, </i>directed by D. W. Young, is a documentary film made especially for bookworms. </div>
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Antiquarian booksellers are a weird bunch. Part collector, part obsessive, part sleuth, part entrepreneur and totally, completely, ALL book nerd. <a href="https://www.booksellersmovie.com/" target="_blank"><i>The Booksellers</i> </a>is a fascinating peek inside a world populated with eccentrics, intellectuals, historians, sentimentalists and the keepers of a medium that is literally crumbling and turning to dust.</div>
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While I wish the film ventured beyond the East Coast-centered traditional -- nothing about the equally zealous comic book, hip-hop, manga, pulp and film script collectors, -- I adored getting an insider's glimpse at this dusty, dreamy book world. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.booksellersmovie.com/" target="_blank">Adam Weinberger gets lost in a library (Film still from The Booksellers)</a></td></tr>
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I also appreciated the diverse group of antiquarian book collectors featured in the film. If you think they're all old white guys with patches on their tweed jacket sleeves... think again. Sure, there are a <i>lot</i> of those guys, but you may be surprised at who else is avidly, passionately selling and collecting old books in the 21st Century...and who was a big part of its heyday in the mid 20th Century. </div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Watch D.W. Young and Peter Bolte discuss the film below:</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.booksellersmovie.com/" target="_blank">Watch <i>The Booksellers</i> in its entirety here</a>.</span></b></div>
Laurie Alleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14460272282273523408noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5350567254278611125.post-79298555339358647112020-08-03T19:09:00.004-07:002020-10-29T17:08:19.556-07:00Great Books on Pandemics: Fiction Edition<br />
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<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/w6dtDs8FghU?rel=0" width="560"></iframe></div>
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<b>The <i>Books With Laurie </i></b><br />
<b>Pandemic Reading List</b></div>
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<b>Fiction Edition!</b><br />
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<span style="background-color: #eedece; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px;">By Laurie Allee</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #eedece; font-family: inherit; font-size: xx-small;">For those of you reading this via email, <a href="https://www.bookswithlaurie.com/2020/08/the-books-with-laurie-pandemic-reading.html#more" target="_blank">click here to see my accompanying original video.</a></span><br />
<span style="background-color: #eedece; font-family: inherit; font-size: xx-small;"><i>T</i></span><i style="background-color: #eedece; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">his post contains affiliate links. <a href="https://bookswithlaurie.blogspot.com/p/affiliate-marketing-disclosure.html" style="color: #294d66;" target="_blank">Click here for more info!</a></span></i><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>COVID-19...</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Is it one book or a series?</b></span></div>
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I think it's safe to say it's not a short story.</div>
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<b>We boo</b><b>kworms have an advantage when it comes to sheltering in place, staying safe at home and easily handling lockdowns.</b> My friend (and fellow avid reader) Katey put it this way:<br />
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"To be honest, my life hasn't really changed that much under Covid-19."<br />
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I can relate. Even in the healthiest, most social of times I'm used to curling up in a corner of my house or garden, and disappearing into a great read. </div>
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I've been doing a lot of disappearing in the almost five months since California declared a state of emergency. <b>W</b><b>hile </b><b>I've always said that books change lives...they might actually save them during our current crisis. </b> If you don't have to go out, then don't go out. Instead, find your corner and start reading. No mask required.<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=laurieallee-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=0778309347" style="border: none; margin: 0px;" width="1" /><br />
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<b>So, let's put the novel in novel coronavirus. </b><br />
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I present you with a fiction-lover's list of <b><span style="font-size: large;">Great Takes on Pandemics:</span></b><br />
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<a href="https://ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0778309347&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=laurieallee-20&language=en_US" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0778309347&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=laurieallee-20&language=en_US" width="265" /></a>I can't shout my recommendation for <a href="https://amzn.to/39Qld94" target="_blank"><i>A Beginning at the End</i></a> loudly enough. I was already a fan of Mike Chen, after reading (and adoring) his first novel <i><a href="https://amzn.to/3i6Yb0S" target="_blank">Here and Now and Then</a>.</i><br />
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Mike is hard to classify by genre. <b>He takes well-worn subjects like time travel and post-apocalyptic dystopia, and paints them with a literary brush. </b>These stories are rich with details. They are imbued with warmth, wit and emotional accessibility<b>. </b><br />
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<b>And they've still got all the cool sci-fi/fantasy stuff. </b><br />
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I read <i><a href="https://amzn.to/33m5eOO" target="_blank">A Beginning at the End</a></i> shortly after its release, when COVID-19 was barely a blip on the international radar. At the time I said to my husband, "Wow, wouldn't it be weird if we actually had a global pandemic?"<br />
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Here we are.</div>
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I would love reading about the characters in <i><a href="https://amzn.to/33m5eOO" target="_blank">A Beginning at the End</a></i> even if they weren't trying to survive a frenzied state of governmental breakdown, social fragility and almost unimaginable trauma. These very ordinary, realistic, relatable people maneuver through their slice of dystopian life and reveal a beautiful story of love, family, meaning and purpose. <b>Instead of a cynical leer into our present darkness, we get a hopeful look toward a brighter future. </b><br />
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This novel will make you think about why you want to survive... and who you want to survive for. As Sam J. Miller said, "the best parts of ourselves won't be stopped by a little something like the apocalypse." </div>
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(Don't just read Mike's books, <a href="https://twitter.com/mikechenwriter" target="_blank">follow him on Twitter</a> for great day-in-the-life author stuff. He'll even write you back!)<br />
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Stand-Stephen-King/dp/0307947300/ref=as_li_ss_il?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1596490733&sr=8-2&linkCode=li3&tag=laurieallee-20&linkId=d5e22b5041475f6cbe7553f5eb84984f&language=en_US" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="400" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0307947300&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=laurieallee-20&language=en_US" width="257" /></a>So you want your <span style="font-size: large;"><b>dystopian hellscape served up with extra terror? </b></span><br />
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If you have never read Stephen King's masterpiece <i><a href="https://amzn.to/3ka8tyL" target="_blank">The Stand</a></i>, the COVID-19 pandemic offers an eerily familiar frame of reference.<br />
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<i><a href="https://amzn.to/3ka8tyL" target="_blank">The Stand</a></i> is about a deadly plague accidentally released from a biological weapons testing facility. After 99% of the world population is wiped out from the super-flu virus, survivors look for a leader to help them find a way forward. Who emerges from the smoldering ruins? Mother Abagail, a 108-year-old wise woman who preaches peace, solidarity and community...and Randall Flagg, the evil "Dark Man" who delights in chaos and violence.<br />
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You probably never thought you'd have real-world insight into an epic tale of society laid waste by plague, embroiled in a real struggle of good vs. evil but 2020 is a pretty weird year.<br />
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Even if you read <i><a href="https://amzn.to/3ka8tyL" target="_blank">The Stand</a></i> years ago, this unabridged, uncut edition has new and restored material not present in the original book.<br />
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<a href="https://amzn.to/31g9woj" target="_blank">I highly recommend listening to the audio version</a>. Grover Gardner is a marvelous narrator, and he makes you feel like you're listening to a grizzled survivor telling the story around a campfire on the edge of a dark and dangerous wood...<br />
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Love-Time-Cholera-Oprahs-Book/dp/0307389731/ref=as_li_ss_il?dchild=1&keywords=love+in+a+time+of+cholera&qid=1596492768&sr=8-1&linkCode=li3&tag=laurieallee-20&linkId=3865c2a617c9b038eb1d761a921f2799&language=en_US" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="400" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0307389731&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=laurieallee-20&language=en_US" width="259" /></a><b><span style="font-size: large;">Okay, so I have a different take </span></b>on <i><a href="https://amzn.to/31f3C6X" target="_blank">Love in the Time of Cholera</a></i> than what you may have heard on Oprah's Book Club. For years, this Gabriel Garcia Marquez novel has been praised as "one of the greatest love stories ever told" (<i>New York Times Book Review) </i>and "a love story of astonishing power," (<i>Newsweek</i>) but I think it's a celebration of some of the ickiest, most misogynistic aspects of "romantic" relationships. <b>A character like Florentino Ariza in the post- #MeToo era is kind of like a maskless shopper in COVID-19: selfish, out of touch and potentially dangerous</b><b>.</b><br />
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Before I read <i><a href="https://amzn.to/31f3C6X" target="_blank">Love in the Time of Cholera</a></i>, I had heard the main character Florentino referred to as a "great romantic" who, despite hundreds of affairs, sustains "love" for a woman he never had. What I found, however, was an obsessive, sociopathic, downright creepy stalker who viewed women as objects of pleasure, derision and disappointment. Even judged by the standards of his time and culture, Florentino is a ridiculous narcissist. He is deluded, manipulative, self-serving, insensitive, punishing in his promiscuity -- while clinging to an impossible ideal of love he never had. <b>You know that guy who just can't get over the girl who once rejected him? He's that guy for his entire life. </b><br />
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Any story where an old man nonchalantly grooms and seduces a 14 year old girl and then rejects her because of his decades-long obsession with a woman he couldn't possess is not something that I can call a masterpiece, no matter how well-written it may be.<br />
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And it <i>is</i> well-written. My complete revulsion toward the protagonist is almost eclipsed by my appreciation of the brilliant writing, detailed descriptions and fully realized (albeit despicable) main character.<br />
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Going back to this book now makes me think of how, when I first read it, I tried to somehow justify Florentino's behavior. Isn't that what society has long tried to do? Now, Florentino just seems like yet another entitled dude that could have been on Jeffrey Epstein's plane.<br />
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So why am I recommending the book? Because it's complicated and unique and often dazzling in its poetic wordplay. It's also a cautionary tale and an unapologetic example of the insidious way obsession, manipulation and objectification are far too often normalized. Between every beautifully-constructed line is a subtext of "boys will be boys." The fact that so many critics, fiction-lovers, writers and romantics have breathlessly uttered the same "greatest love story" line about this book reminds me of popular perception of a certain emperor and his new clothes.<br />
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I think it's interesting that the word cholera in Spanish (<i>cólera</i>) is not only the name of the disease, but a description of human rage, passion and ire -- three things that we are seeing in abundance during our own time of COVID-19. <i><a href="https://amzn.to/31f3C6X" target="_blank">Love in the Time of Cholera</a></i> a timely book.<br />
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Plague-Albert-Camus/dp/0679720219/ref=as_li_ss_il?dchild=1&keywords=the+plague+camus&qid=1596498990&sr=8-2&linkCode=li3&tag=laurieallee-20&linkId=d42239eb36a247d879bc90b08ff6821b&language=en_US" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="400" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0679720219&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=laurieallee-20&language=en_US" width="257" /></a><b><span style="font-size: large;">Sometimes a book more than lives up to its hype. </span></b><i><a href="https://amzn.to/30qPdoQ" target="_blank">The Plague</a></i>, by Albert Camus is one of those books.<br />
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I'll be honest ... Monsieur Camus and I do not have a good relationship. I hadn't picked up one of his novels since college, when I tried miserably to get through <i><a href="https://amzn.to/3ftSqs6" target="_blank">The Stranger</a></i> in French. (My own lack of fluency in the native language of Albert Camus offers explanation for my less than favorable recollection of his book.)<br />
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I read <i><a href="https://amzn.to/30qPdoQ" target="_blank">The Plague</a></i> a few months ago (in English!) during the first few weeks of COVID-19 lockdown. I expected a gripping, terrifying look into a pandemic. I expected a lot of angst and a certain level of the absurd. <b> </b>I didn't expect a thoughtful study of society, hopelessness, religion and humanity's ever-present struggle to remain compassionate in the face of profound despair. <b>I certainly didn't expect Albert Camus -- an atheist existentialist-- to leave me feeling hopeful.</b><br />
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I was kind of dumbstruck by the relevance of <i><a href="https://amzn.to/30qPdoQ" target="_blank">The Plague</a> </i>right down to the way it shows how a pandemic can bring out the worst in people. <a href="https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/books/story/2020-03-23/reading-camu-the-plague-amid-coronavirus" target="_blank">Stephen Metcalf recently wrote this about it:</a> "At first, the epidemic, like all catastrophes, secretly confirms what everyone knew already; that is, it extends the narcissism of the times into the new era, often via the forbidden hope -- that it will smite one's enemies while sparing oneself."<br />
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It's all here: the despondency, the odd complacency of the wealthy, the trapped desolation, the chaos of seemingly random annihilation, the aching loneliness of solitary quarantine and the ever-present shadow of death during a mismanaged crisis.<br />
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What made this book unforgettable for me was the way Camus presents the choice we all have during times of great turmoil: do we succumb to fear and blame? <b>Or do we choose to fight back against the suffering and uncertainty...and truly live?</b><br />
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Station-Eleven-Emily-John-Mandel/dp/0804172447/ref=as_li_ss_il?dchild=1&keywords=station+eleven&qid=1596501166&sr=8-2&linkCode=li3&tag=laurieallee-20&linkId=4803065ba6bbd46d2a18a840ee0fe17c&language=en_US" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="400" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0804172447&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=laurieallee-20&language=en_US" width="259" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Disaster tourists, Hollywood, romance and a withering, lost world...</span></b><br />
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I can't begin to adequately describe <i><a href="https://amzn.to/3i5MFmd" target="_blank">Station Eleven</a></i>, by Emily St. John Mandel, but I'll try.<br />
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A devastating flu pandemic arrives the same night a famous Hollywood actor drops dead on stage playing <i>King Lear</i>, and within weeks civilization comes to a crashing end. Decades later, Kirsten Raymonde travels the disparate, tattered remains of earth with a motley troupe known as The Traveling Symphony. Their goal?<b style="font-weight: bold;"> <span style="font-size: large;">To keep the memories of humanity and art alive.</span></b><br />
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A finalist for the National Book Award and the Pen/Faulkner Award, <i><a href="https://amzn.to/3i5MFmd" target="_blank">Station Eleven</a></i> is a darkly lyrical, poetic, compelling wonder of a novel. I LOVED it.<br />
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Hauntingly moving between pre and post-pandemic narratives, <i><a href="https://amzn.to/3i5MFmd" target="_blank">Station Eleven</a></i> is many things at once: <b>a gripping page turner, a wandering poem and a profound meditation on the grace of simply being alive. </b><br />
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Be warned: <b>the absence of linearity might make you dizzy</b>. For me, however, it spoke the language of my own meandering, nostalgic, frightened feelings during COVID-19. What happened? Who am I? Will we ever go back to the civilization I once knew and thought I understood? <i><a href="https://amzn.to/3i5MFmd" target="_blank"> Station Eleven</a></i> jumps back and forth in a similar way.<br />
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This unconventional structure allowed me to observe the characters in a non-linear way -- judging them not for the whole of their chronological story, but for who they are in each moment. There's something both mindful and unsettling about the way the book is structured, which exactly fits the mood of 2020.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Stay tuned!</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">My Pandemic Reading List: Non Fiction Edition comes next!</span></b><br />
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<a href="mailto:laurieallee@yahoo.com" target="_blank">Drop me a line</a> if you want to be included in my upcoming Book Club.<b> </b><br />
Don't forget to watch my COVID-19 video at the top of this page!<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Stay home as much as possible, stay safe, and keep reading. </span></b><br />
<i>Psssst: <a href="https://www.bookswithlaurie.com/p/now-playing.html?zx=5007fb2c94488e8e" target="_blank">What's this?</a></i><br />
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<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=laurieallee-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=0307947300" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=laurieallee-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=0307389731" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=laurieallee-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=0679720219" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=laurieallee-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=0804172447" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />
Laurie Alleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14460272282273523408noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5350567254278611125.post-90707067145066490132020-06-22T15:28:00.001-07:002020-07-27T17:24:03.998-07:00Coming Soon: Booklists for Lockdown, Liberation and Life Lessons<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKpLgRrcuMvYj1gxbnNr9qXlIRmyk89y8n7LpD6NcEZhxDLII9X-hIdboeQVicKkfBfwQrhvSQzMiQeORfZic8sSa9o9L6x87-C-hIZlqvDpv_iEHU8HLs-5lDK_NRu31-rqlxBrFDtUIE/s1600/lockdown+reading-925589_1920.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKpLgRrcuMvYj1gxbnNr9qXlIRmyk89y8n7LpD6NcEZhxDLII9X-hIdboeQVicKkfBfwQrhvSQzMiQeORfZic8sSa9o9L6x87-C-hIZlqvDpv_iEHU8HLs-5lDK_NRu31-rqlxBrFDtUIE/s640/lockdown+reading-925589_1920.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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by Laurie Allee<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Books to the Rescue</span></b><br />
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It's been a long, weird few months -- and like most bookworms, I've found comfort and guidance tucked safely between pages. Stay tuned for my <span style="font-size: large;">Must Read</span> lists coming in late July, 2020 -- that is, unless the Mayans got the date of their calendar wrong, in which case, I hope future alien extraterrestrial archeologists enjoy browsing my shelves as they comb through the digital detritus of our former civilization.<br />
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Stay well, readers, and I'll be back soon.<br />
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Go <a href="https://www.bookswithlaurie.com/p/library.html" target="_blank">here</a> for inspiration.Laurie Alleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14460272282273523408noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5350567254278611125.post-78759669225628934502020-01-09T14:49:00.001-08:002020-02-25T16:50:20.684-08:00Great Books for Writers<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jX4GzCF4b2U?rel=0" width="560"></iframe><br />
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<span style="background-color: #eedece; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px;">By Laurie Allee</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #eedece; font-family: inherit; font-size: xx-small;">For those of you reading this via email, <a href="https://www.bookswithlaurie.com/2020/01/great-books-for-writers.html" target="_blank">click here</a> to see my accompanying original video.</span><br />
<i style="background-color: #eedece; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">This post contains affiliate links. <a href="https://bookswithlaurie.blogspot.com/p/affiliate-marketing-disclosure.html" style="color: #294d66; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Click here for more info!</a></span></i></div>
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<a href="https://www.nanowrimo.org/" target="_blank">NanoWrimo 2019</a> wrapped this past November, and if you are anything like I was after my first Nano, you're still trying to decipher the rambling mess you made!<br />
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<a href="http://nanowrimo.org/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="933" data-original-width="700" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMVT1r-7oeyQz6h0InAuiYXeS5_l1JuPzm621insVvb7TMqDC-KUhiSpaY4IzxDhEq9-MW2EUwCztJFig16v8Wuggfgi1lIK62bdYk-U86S3rUE95tFNFErYrVj7K5egFtK-bJtzKt5rkW/s400/NaNo_2016_-_Poster_1024x1024.png" width="300" /></a></div>
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Congratulations to all the now-novelists who finished 50K words in 30 days. I didn't participate in the madness this year, but I'm an old NanoWriMo-er. <a href="https://www.nanowrimo.org/participants/laurieallee" target="_blank">I managed to earn the T-shirt in 2014 and 2015</a>, finishing two halves of a (really <i>really</i> long) first novel in those two intense marathons. Yes, I'm still editing that book. We can talk about the editing process later. Right now, let's talk about writing...<br />
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I love what my old friend and prolific playwright friend Mark once said. He told me that he didn't necessarily like <i>writing</i> but he loved <i>having written. </i>Can you relate? I find nothing more satisfying that finally finishing a manuscript. But getting there? All the way to the end? Sometimes we need a little help. (My very first published short story was called <i>Lifesaving</i>. It was about a bunch of characters who joined together and haunted the dreams of a writer because she never managed to finish their stories.)</div>
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With that in mind, I want to recommend a few of my favorite books for writers. Deadlines for paid gigs are excellent motivators, but we don't always have an external impetus to finish our passion projects. (And, to be honest, sometimes we need a little inspiration for those paid gigs, too.)<br />
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I've read dozens of How-To Write Well books. It's a great excuse for not actually writing. Here are the ones that actually got me back to the keyboard:<br />
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Writing-Fiction-6th-Janet-Burroway/dp/0321117956/ref=as_li_ss_il?keywords=Writing+janet+burroway&qid=1575593309&sr=8-4&linkCode=li3&tag=laurieallee-20&linkId=3dccf643b1ab44e2b4e97adebfcff9bc&language=en_US" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="400" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0321117956&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=laurieallee-20&language=en_US" width="276" /></a>If you own only one writing book, make it <a href="https://amzn.to/2OWboOi" target="_blank"><i>Writing Fiction</i></a> by Janet Burroway. This is one of the most acclaimed books on the craft of fiction, and its stellar reputation is wholly deserved. <br />
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Part guide, part anthology, this book explores the elements that make storytelling <i>work</i>. I'd heard of it for years but had never gotten around to reading it. I was eventually assigned it by my professor <a href="https://writers.uclaextension.edu/instructors/ian-randall-wilson/" target="_blank">Ian Randall Wilson</a> during a fiction writing class at the <a href="https://writers.uclaextension.edu/" target="_blank">UCLA Extension Writers Program.</a><br />
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As I first read it, it wasn't like <i>one </i>lightbulb going off over my head, but more like a strobe of them. The book illuminated and offered solutions for so many little, niggling aspects of a writer's craft.<br />
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I've given copies of this book to several writer friends, and every one of them has echoed a version of my enthusiastic endorsement. Just dive in and see if you don't emerge a better writer.<br />
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Writing-Style-Conversations-Art-3rd/dp/0205028802/ref=as_li_ss_il?keywords=writing+with+style+trimble&qid=1575594410&sr=8-1&linkCode=li3&tag=laurieallee-20&linkId=58e7faf201801ce7607b834cb562f9ed&language=en_US" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="400" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0205028802&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=laurieallee-20&language=en_US" width="267" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=laurieallee-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=0205028802" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /><br />
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<i>Writing With Style</i> was written by John Trimble, another one of my former professors. His popular style guide is hands-down the most fun, accessible book on the mechanics of writing.<br />
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If Strunk and White are like stuffy gourmets of grammar, John Trimble is more like a hip, organic food truck chef. He brings new flavor and fun to the dry mechanics of writing. <i>Writing With Style</i> is a witty, conversational storehouse of education and inspiration.<br />
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I got my copy way back in the 80s when I was lucky enough to be enrolled in John's Study of Modern Drama class at the University of Texas. (If you think his book is good, his class was even better. Plus, it was on a Friday and the students often persuaded John to go out for margaritas and literary talk after class.)<br />
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I'm happy to see that the book is still in print, now in its 3rd edition. You can still score a first edition just like my own well-worn copy <a href="https://amzn.to/2RrkRyr" target="_blank">right here</a>, or you can <a href="https://amzn.to/2PnEGnM" target="_blank">buy the latest edition</a>.<br />
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Watch John talk about writing <a href="https://www.bookswithlaurie.com/p/john-trimble-talks-about-writing.html" target="_blank">here</a>. By the looks of this video, he basically hasn't aged since I knew him in 1988.<br />
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Dewdroppers-Waldos-Slackers-Decade-Decade-ebook/dp/B001JEPVIM/ref=as_li_ss_il?keywords=dewdroppers+waldos+slackers&qid=1575595872&sr=8-1&linkCode=li3&tag=laurieallee-20&linkId=7d37bf891970a5dd03bad0c1c8d97baa&language=en_US" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="400" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B001JEPVIM&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=laurieallee-20&language=en_US" width="265" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=laurieallee-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=B001JEPVIM" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />
<i><a href="https://amzn.to/2RrN6NC" target="_blank">Dewdroppers, Waldos and Slackers</a> </i>by Rosemarie Ostler is my favorite reference book. it's a catalog of popular, now mostly-forgotten vernacular from 1900 to 1999. Word lovers: look out. This book is difficult to put down.<br />
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Thousands of words and expressions entered American English in the 20th Century, and we've forgotten many of them. <i>Dewdroppers, Waldos and Slackers</i> memorializes each decade's trendiest, hippest, most up-to-the-minute buzzwords and catchphrases. Most of them have faded from memory. Many of them really, really should be resurrected. These words capture the times in which they were spoken and resonate with each era's prevailing moods. They also ensure that your characters speak authentically no matter what year you choose for their setting. (Warning: restrain yourself from going overboard using these words or your 1950s detective will sound like you put Raymond Chandler under gamma rays.)<br />
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The book is loaded with surprise history, too. Fun fact: did you know that the word groovy didn't start with the 60s hippie generation, but was first used in the 1940s? That said, I still wouldn't advise having your WW2 soldier character exclaim "Man, I had a groovy time at the Hollywood Canteen before shipping out." Maybe he had a "killer-diller" time, instead.<br />
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I love this book, and I always feel inspired to write after reading it. My brain gets tickled by all those wonderful words and expressions.<br />
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/First-Five-Pages-Writers-Rejection/dp/068485743X/ref=as_li_ss_il?keywords=The+First+Five+Pages&qid=1575681166&sr=8-1&linkCode=li3&tag=laurieallee-20&linkId=df121cc0c91b096c7b6854106277ea0d&language=en_US" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="400" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=068485743X&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=laurieallee-20&language=en_US" width="267" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=laurieallee-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=068485743X" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /><br />
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Don't dismiss <i>The First Five Pages</i> by Noah Lukeman as just another formulaic how-to writing book. It's more than that.<br />
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Are you a new novelist trying to get traditionally published? Are you a veteran author who wants your next book to grab readers from the very first page? Are you more interested in improving your upvotes, clicks, downloads or <i>Medium</i> claps? This book will teach you ways to ensure your manuscript (or blog post or Kindle ebook or any other piece of writing) stands out from the rest.<br />
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Lukeman has great advice whether you're a novelist, blogger, essayist, screenwriter, journalist, podcaster, Ted Talker or poet. He's a New York literary agent who, let's be honest, knows an awful lot about rejecting manuscripts. Listen to his advice.<br />
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<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=laurieallee-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=1877741094" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /><br />
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<a href="https://ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=1877741094&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=laurieallee-20&language=en_US" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=1877741094&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=laurieallee-20&language=en_US" width="272" /></a> Sometimes writers just want some serious inspiration. For that, I highly recommend Ray Bradbury's <i><a href="https://amzn.to/38cnxGg" target="_blank">Zen and the Art of Writing </a>, </i>a collection of exuberant, gleeful, uplifting essays that will light your literary fires. I love this book because it feels like having Bradbury as your very own fairy godfather -- optimistic and wildly creative, bestowing writing magic and miracles.<br />
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Zen-Art-Writing-Essays-Creativity/dp/1877741094/ref=as_li_ss_il?keywords=zen+and+the+art+of+writing&qid=1575682428&sr=8-1&linkCode=li3&tag=laurieallee-20&linkId=4833e0750fdae4409ef6fed4ce167e8b&language=en_US" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"></a>Many years ago my husband and I were having dinner at the old <a href="https://www.pacificdiningcar.com/" target="_blank">Pacific Dining Car</a> in Santa Monica. It's a great old Los Angeles steakhouse with dark wood, white candles and worn velvet. This is the kind of place you'd expect to be haunted by the ghosts of F. Scott Fitzgerald and Dashiell Hammett, so I wasn't exactly surprised when I looked over at the table next to us and saw Ray Bradbury -- who was very much alive and having dinner with a small group.<br />
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My husband loves to tease me about how I spent most of our meal with my head cocked listening to Mr. Bradbury's animated, jovial, (private!) dinner conversation. Come on, wouldn't YOU?<br />
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As luck would have it, he talked a lot about writing. The one thing I remember him saying was that writing should be liberating. It should be a <i>joy</i>. I thought, gee, I wish I wasn't just eavesdropping on this man. I wish I <i>knew</i> him. <i>Zen and the Art of Writing</i> makes me feel like I do.<br />
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<i>Kirkus Reviews</i> described it this way: "Bradbury, all charged up, drunk on life, joyous with writing, puts together nine past essays on writing and creativity and discharges every ounce of zest and gusto in him."<br />
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It's true! This book is a love song to the art of writing and it will make you want to rededicate yourself to the craft. With Bradbury as your coach and cheerleader, you'll triumph.<br />
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Eats-Shoots-Leaves-Tolerance-Punctuation/dp/1592402038/ref=as_li_ss_il?crid=3QRXPP3BQXERZ&keywords=eats+shoots+and+leaves&qid=1578607299&sprefix=Eats+shoots,aps,192&sr=8-1&linkCode=li3&tag=laurieallee-20&linkId=e82e613980e84b39f4963bbd86f81682&language=en_US" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="400" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=1592402038&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=laurieallee-20&language=en_US" width="275" /></a><br />
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<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=laurieallee-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=1592402038" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />
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Ok, so you want a really thorough primer on punctuation, but you don't want to read through a dry textbook. <i><a href="https://amzn.to/2t2BK91" target="_blank">Eats, Shoots & Leaves</a></i> by Lynne Truss is not only an invaluable resource, but a witty love letter to the English language. Oh, and it is very, very English ... as in sit-down-for-some-Earl-Gray-and-biscuits English. Think of Truss as the Mary Poppins of grammar and punctuation, with a little Noel Coward thrown in.<br />
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She shows us how the very meaning of language is changed by an inappropriately placed comma, and the often hilarious consequences of punctuation gone awry.<br />
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I think what I love most about the book, however, is its wonderful chronology of important events in grammar history -- from the question mark's invention under Charlemagne to George Orwell's utter abandonment of the semicolon. (I'm with Orwell. The only modern author I can think of who uses a semicolon well is John Irving. Then again, John Irving does everything well.)<br />
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Every writer should own this book.<br />
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Story-Substance-Structure-Principles-Screenwriting/dp/0060391685/ref=as_li_ss_il?keywords=story&qid=1578607798&sr=8-3&linkCode=li3&tag=laurieallee-20&linkId=09d5bd77f2436fa3436b7cca7015300d&language=en_US" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="400" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0060391685&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=laurieallee-20&language=en_US" width="267" /></a><br />
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You didn't think I'd leave out screenwriters, did you? Everyone who has toyed with the idea of writing a film script has probably had this book recommended to them. It's with good reason. <i><a href="https://amzn.to/2s9jla6" target="_blank">Story</a>, </i>by Robert McKee is pretty much the screenplay bible.<br />
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<a href="https://mckeestory.com/" target="_blank">Robert McKee teaches this stuff in expensive seminars</a>, but you really don't need to spend the bucks on attending unless you just like hobnobbing with other screen writers and you have money to burn. <i>Story</i> gives readers McKee's comprehensive, integrated instructions for exactly how to write for the screen.<br />
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What I love about McKee is how well he understands the importance of thoughtful, well-crafted, intelligent narratives. As he says, "A culture cannot evolve without honest, powerful storytelling. When society repeatedly experiences glossy, hollowed-out, pseudo-stories, it denigrates. We need true satires and tragedies, dramas and comedies that shine a clean light into the human psyche and society." (Are you listening Hollywood? Maybe lay off on all the cartoonish superheroes and show us some real heroes? It's a thought.)<br />
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Right-Write-Invitation-Initiation-Writing/dp/1585420093/ref=as_li_ss_il?keywords=the+right+to+write&qid=1578608333&sr=8-1&linkCode=li3&tag=laurieallee-20&linkId=0a59a24368496e206bcefa411140a668&language=en_US" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="400" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=1585420093&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=laurieallee-20&language=en_US" width="267" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=laurieallee-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=1585420093" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />
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My final recommendation is <i><a href="https://amzn.to/304CTZX" target="_blank">The Right to Write</a> </i>by Julia Cameron. Many of you know Cameron from her landmark self-help book <i><a href="https://amzn.to/35EGqis" target="_blank">The Artist's Way.</a></i> I think this book is actually more life-changing and revolutionary.<br />
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Cameron thinks that what we've all been taught about learning to write is actually wrong. She thinks "prevailing wisdom" stifles creativity. Instead, we should learn to make writing a personal, reflective, joyful, playful and <i>natural </i> part of life.<br />
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While craft is certainly important, we can't dismiss the importance of gleeful, uncritical creativity. This book rescued me from an intensely crippling bout of writer's block and gave me the tools necessary to find my voice again. Whether you are a newbie or an old scribe, I think <i>The Right to Write</i> will make you a better, happier, more creatively liberated writer.<br />
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For more of my favorite writing books, check out the <a href="https://www.bookswithlaurie.com/p/writing.html" target="_blank">Writing Section</a> of my <a href="https://www.bookswithlaurie.com/p/library.html" target="_blank">Library</a>. And yes, I've read them all. I know, I know, I already said that reading books on writing is a great excuse for not actually writing. I also find reading about writing to be almost as fulfilling as actually writing. Or, as my old friend Mark said, "having written,"<br />
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Don't forget to watch my tribute to old-school writing at the top of this post! What can I say? I'm <a href="http://lifeanalog.com/" target="_blank">analog</a> at heart...<br />
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Laurie Alleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14460272282273523408noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5350567254278611125.post-91666023981319368142019-10-04T12:25:00.001-07:002019-10-18T19:05:38.111-07:00Books for #SlowTech Living<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">By Laurie Allee</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">For those of you reading this via email, <a href="https://bookswithlaurie.blogspot.com/2019/10/books-for-slowtech-living.html" target="_blank">click here to see my accompanying original video.</a></span><br />
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">This post contains affiliate links. <a href="https://bookswithlaurie.blogspot.com/p/affiliate-marketing-disclosure.html" target="_blank">Click here for more info!</a></span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br /></span><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">How do we live a life less digitally saturated?</span></b></span><br />
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You've probably figured out by now that I'm a big fan of turning devices OFF. (Or, at least to airplane mode.) I've got <a href="http://lifeanalog.com/" target="_blank">an entire website dedicated to my quest for a more analog life</a>.<br />
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As I've struggled to find a balance between online and real life, I've read a lot of books. Here are the ones I've found the most helpful. (Some of them are downright revolutionary!)<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-large;"><b>Why unplug?</b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">These books explain the many reasons* much better than I can...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b>First Person (and very present)</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Great memoirs from a fellow traveler:</b></span><br />
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<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=laurieallee-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=1591847923" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /> <br />
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/End-Absence-Reclaiming-Constant-Connection/dp/1591847923/ref=as_li_ss_il?keywords=The+End+of+Absence&qid=1560552036&s=gateway&sr=8-1&linkCode=li3&tag=laurieallee-20&linkId=43ffc839726482b9e3b7327949dfae99&language=en_US" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="400" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=1591847923&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=laurieallee-20&language=en_US" width="267" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://amzn.to/2o2JSEd" target="_blank"><i>The End of Absence</i></a> and <a href="https://amzn.to/2oUZn0H" target="_blank"><i>Solitude</i></a> by Michael Harris are two of my favorite books of the last few years. These memoirs resonated with the part of me that has been grieving a disappearing world. It was a world without devices in public or at dinner tables or in the park. It was a world that allowed us to wonder about questions for a while, instead of immediately checking Google. It was a world that brought opportunities for revelation and inventiveness disguised as boredom. Now, we avoid boredom by staring at continually updated streams of "content." Now, we no longer daydream, we scroll.</span><br />
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Solitude-Pursuit-Singular-Crowded-World/dp/1250088607/ref=as_li_ss_il?crid=2N7ITHEXY5D2J&keywords=solitude+michael+harris&qid=1560552113&s=gateway&sprefix=Solitude+mciahel+Harri,aps,189&sr=8-1&linkCode=li3&tag=laurieallee-20&linkId=1a0407d6c17f7b74941208e1c5d1bf46&language=en_US" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="400" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=1250088607&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=laurieallee-20&language=en_US" width="265" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">If you're nodding your head right now, you need to read these books. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">It's not that Harris wants to go back to a time before the Internet. He's not a neo-Luddite or an anti-technology zealot. He longs for the beauty of a former world that is not necessarily better because of the tech that replaced it. He and a growing number of us mourn the loss of solitude, stillness and wonder. It's not that we don't want the Internet. We just don't want it to be ever present and always ON. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b>Don't Say He Didn't Warn Us</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><b>What tech is doing to us:</b></span><br />
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<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=laurieallee-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=1250088607" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=laurieallee-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=0393339750" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /> <br />
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Shallows-What-Internet-Doing-Brains/dp/0393339750/ref=as_li_ss_il?keywords=The+Shallows&qid=1560552148&s=gateway&sr=8-2&linkCode=li3&tag=laurieallee-20&linkId=efa1891777ff5beab5e83672cc3abfcf&language=en_US" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="400" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0393339750&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=laurieallee-20&language=en_US" width="267" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">I'm not going to sugar-coat this author recommendation... Nicholas Carr is harsh and will freak you out. But I think it's important that we look at how technology is changing what it means to be human. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">In <i><a href="https://amzn.to/2MeM9DY" target="_blank">The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains</a></i>, Carr lays out a frankly terrifying argument for logging off as much as possible. Yes, Google is making you stupid, and Carr has the receipts to prove it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">A finalist for the 2011 Pulitzer Prize, <i><a href="https://amzn.to/2MeM9DY" target="_blank">The Shallows</a></i> has been described as a kind of <i><a href="https://amzn.to/31Xh1jn" target="_blank">Silent Spring</a></i> for the literary mind. </span><br />
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Glass-Cage-How-Computers-Changing/dp/0393351637/ref=as_li_ss_il?keywords=the+glass+cage&qid=1560552187&s=gateway&sr=8-1&linkCode=li3&tag=laurieallee-20&linkId=6bafb01253a8d37cad2819a00753a52a&language=en_US" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="400" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0393351637&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=laurieallee-20&language=en_US" width="267" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><i><a href="https://amzn.to/31Kf89y" target="_blank">The Glass Cage: How Computers are Changing Us</a></i> picks up where <i>The Shallows</i> leaves off, and it might be even more disturbing in its analysis.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><i>The Glass Cage</i> goes beneath the surface of smart tech, robotics and self-driving cars to explore the hidden costs of granting software dominion over virtually all aspects of our lives. Yes, after reading this book you'll be shouting "Alexa! Go away!" </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Carr explores the history that brought us to our current, dizzyingly digital place -- from nineteenth century textile mills all the way to modern jets flown on autopilot. (Guess what? Autopilot is making pilots less capable of actually flying planes.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">I don't really know what to do with the information in this book since Big Tech is hell-bent on adding AI to everything, but I appreciate the warning. I am now avoiding a lot of the "smart" technology that seems to be making everyone stupid.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">I consider both of Carr's books must-reads. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b>We Can Fix Things</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Getting back to deep work and digital minimalism:</b></span><br />
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<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=laurieallee-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=0393351637" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /> <img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=laurieallee-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=1455586692" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=laurieallee-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=0525536515" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /> <br />
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Deep-Work-Focused-Success-Distracted/dp/1455586692/ref=as_li_ss_il?keywords=Deep+Work&qid=1560552217&s=gateway&sr=8-3&linkCode=li3&tag=laurieallee-20&linkId=a0d69a7cc57ab6d4787b359eab1550e5&language=en_US" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="400" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=1455586692&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=laurieallee-20&language=en_US" width="267" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Cal Newport is a millennial with no social media who has managed to have a very happy life and a very successful career. His books showed me that what I thought was innocent phone use was instead a compulsive behavior that had damaged my ability to deeply focus.</span><br />
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Digital-Minimalism-Choosing-Focused-Noisy/dp/0525536515/ref=as_li_ss_il?keywords=Digital+Minimalism&qid=1560552257&s=gateway&sr=8-1&linkCode=li3&tag=laurieallee-20&linkId=03d621632092a7f1625f5cf1e5a61fb3&language=en_US" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="400" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0525536515&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=laurieallee-20&language=en_US" width="265" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">My phone was undermining my creativity and writing ability. It was even affecting my memory. I didn't realize it, and I would have laughed and thought you were crazy if you suggested it, but it's true. (<a href="http://lifeanalog.com/" target="_blank">Read more about my story here.</a>) </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"> These books were my first steps toward reclaiming my mind and jump-starting my creative soul! Newport is the Marie Kondo of the digital world, and his books won't scare you like Carr's. Read these for hope, especially if you can't handle Carr's dystopian thesis. You'll find the step-by-step plan you need to get back to being able to concentrate, create and dive deep into your work without having to shun all technology or cut the electricity to your house. You can find a way to live more digitally minimal without necessarily deleting your accounts. (But for God's sake delete Facebook. I mean <i>REALLY</i>.) </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">By the way: <a href="https://amzn.to/2LL1Zrc" target="_blank">the audio versions of Newport's books are great!</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace; font-size: medium;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b>Say it With Me: I am Powerless Before Tech</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><b>Why we're all addicted to our devices...</b></span><br />
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Irresistible-Addictive-Technology-Business-Keeping/dp/1594206643/ref=as_li_ss_il?keywords=irresistable&qid=1560552384&s=gateway&sr=8-2&linkCode=li3&tag=laurieallee-20&linkId=369fe7c83e45b6e47323705b3edcd451&language=en_US" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=1594206643&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=laurieallee-20&language=en_US" width="265" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Reading </span><i style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><a href="https://amzn.to/31IRSIS" target="_blank">Irresistible: The Rise of Addictive Technology and the Business of Keeping Us Hooked</a></i><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://amzn.to/31IRSIS" target="_blank"> </a>by Adam Alter finally removed any notion I might have had that constant internet and phone use is innocuous. Sorry guys ... there's no getting around the data. Our digital tech is addictive, and designed to keep all of us logging on, scrolling and hitting those like buttons. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Our devices aren't just tools of convenience, they are drivers of behavioral addiction. According to diagnostic criteria, <i>at least half of the American public is addicted to at least one digital behavior.</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Alter explains how to get the digital monkeys off your back and mitigate the damaging effects on your well-being, health and happiness. </span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Read this to educate yourself. If you're a parent, read this to save your kids.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">(You can watch all three of the above authors speak <a href="https://lifeanalog.blogspot.com/p/social-media.html" target="_blank">here</a>.)</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace; font-size: large;"><b>They've Got You, and They Aren't Letting Go</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace; font-size: medium;"><b>How Big Tech Keeps Our Attention...and Why:</b></span>
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<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=laurieallee-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=1468315897" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /> <img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=laurieallee-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=0804170045" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /><br />
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Attention-Merchants-Scramble-Inside-Heads/dp/0804170045/ref=as_li_ss_il?keywords=The+Attention+Merchants&qid=1560552314&s=gateway&sr=8-1&linkCode=li3&tag=laurieallee-20&linkId=e305c3371066fa8c6d7d271bbd0c450b&language=en_US" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="400" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0804170045&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=laurieallee-20&language=en_US" width="259" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><i><a href="https://amzn.to/2ngnxCs" target="_blank">The Attention Merchants: The Epic Scramble to Get Inside Our Heads</a></i> is a fascinating history of media manipulation. They might not have been able to data-mine us, but advertisers and merchants have been tricking us into paying attention for decades. In our present information economy where we are plugged into virtually unlimited information (and misinformation,) our attention has become the ultimate commodity. Each time we stare at our screens we are barraged with efforts to harvest our attention. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Tim Wu's deep dive into the nitty gritty of this dirty business is a tour de force, and well worth your time. (Revelation: this isn't a new thing, but the industries that thrive on our attention have finally found the perfect technology to capture us. Think about it... when are you <i>not</i> on your phone?) </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">This book really helped me understand our current information age, and why it is about much more than information.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://amzn.to/2VblbS0" target="_blank">I loved the audio version of it, too.</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-large;"><b>Toward a <a href="http://lifeanalog.com/" target="_blank">life analog...</a></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b>Getting Back to Basics</b></span><br />
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Revenge-Analog-Real-Things-Matter/dp/1610398211/ref=as_li_ss_il?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1560809352&sr=1-1&linkCode=li3&tag=laurieallee-20&linkId=04538dc5fd86478f01210a87217f2453&language=en_US" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="400" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=1610398211&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=laurieallee-20&language=en_US" width="267" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">If you love vinyl records, film photography and fountain pens, you'll adore <i><a href="https://amzn.to/2Mcr1OZ" target="_blank">The Revenge of Analog: Real Things and Why They Matter</a></i> by David Sax. In this gleeful celebration of stuff-not-digital, Sax writes about some of the wonderful analog-era things that experts tried to convince us we no longer wanted. Guess what? Those experts were wrong! We want them!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Sax reveals a deep truth about how humans shop, interact, think and feel. Those of you reeling from the fizzle of a failed tech utopia will love all the stories in this book. In case after case, the analog is outselling the app and the tangible is surpassing the virtual. Sax covers success stories from entrepreneurs to small business and all the way up to big corporations. </span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Time will tell how it shakes out, but Sax offers plenty of evidence to support the idea of a world that happily includes both paper books and Audible, both Candy Crush and wooden chess boards, both online and in person, both virtual and real.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">There is a big future in things we thought were in the past, and I'm there for it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-large;"><b>Find these and many more #slowtech book recommendations in <a href="https://lifeanalog.blogspot.com/p/library.html" target="_blank">my library section of lifeanalog.com.</a></b></span></span><br />
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*<b>the many reasons to unplug:</b> breaking or avoiding addiction, rewiring synapses to deeply focus, healing thumb tendonitis and carpal tunnel syndrome, improving creativity, enabling "Eureka" moments of insight, elevating mood, optimizing close relationships, facilitating more meaningful communication, avoiding surveillance, limiting propaganda, opting out of data-mining and excessive advertising, stepping away from social media echo-chambers, rejoining your local community, improving health, allowing deep work, promoting more restful sleep, mastering more skills, rediscovering wonder, feeling more human...just to name a few.</span><br />
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<br />Laurie Alleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14460272282273523408noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5350567254278611125.post-87318403491999932682019-09-09T17:46:00.000-07:002019-10-18T19:06:07.759-07:00Books For Film Buffs <div style="text-align: center;">
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By Laurie Allee<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">For those of you reading this via email, click here to see my accompanying original video.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>This post contains affiliate links. <a href="https://bookswithlaurie.blogspot.com/p/affiliate-marketing-disclosure.html" target="_blank">Click here for more info!</a></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Cinephile Reading...</b></span></div>
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I had such a lovely response from readers who enjoyed <i><a href="https://bookswithlaurie.blogspot.com/2019/08/the-movies-books-make-in-your-head.html#more" target="_blank">The Movies Books Make in Your Head</a></i>. I appreciate the enthusiastic welcome! I love getting email from fellow bookworms (and film lovers) so <a href="mailto:laurieallee@yahoo.com" target="_blank">please continue to reach out</a> with your thoughts and recommendations. (And make sure to let me know if you want to be included in my upcoming Book Club!) </div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Since several of you mentioned loving books <i>about</i> films, I thought I'd put together a list of a few of my favorites you might not have read. </span></b> (My <a href="https://bookswithlaurie.blogspot.com/p/film.html" target="_blank">film bookshelf</a> has a lot more, so be sure to check it out.)<br />
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Bookworms and film buffs tend to get along really well. (Except for the fact that those pesky filmmakers often ruin a great book ... but that's the subject of another essay.) Below, you'll find my picks for those who love to read about movies almost as much as they like to watch them:<br />
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Zeroville-Steve-Erickson/dp/1933372397/ref=as_li_ss_il?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1568055981&sr=8-1&linkCode=li3&tag=laurieallee-20&linkId=fef9bd4a54eca122625a8ae742c745a1&language=en_US" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="400" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=1933372397&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=laurieallee-20&language=en_US" width="257" /></a>If you've explored my <a href="https://bookswithlaurie.blogspot.com/p/library.html" target="_blank">Library shelves</a>, you've probably seen me glowingly rave about <a href="https://amzn.to/31bhj5B" target="_blank"><i>Zeroville</i> by Steve Erickson</a>. This novel is one of my favorite books of the last 20 years, and I keep giving away copies to my friends and family. <br />
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I wasn't sure what to expect when I picked it up. I'm even more uncertain about how to describe it. I'll try:<br />
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<b>It's a book about a young architecture student named Vikar who lives/eats/breathes movies to the point of being called "cineautistic" by his friends. </b> He has a tattoo of Montgomery Clift and Elizabeth Taylor emblazoned on his bald head. He shows up in Hollywood in the summer of 1969, is mistaken for a member of the Manson family, becomes a film editor and connects with a legendary ghost, a mysterious actress, her daughter and any number of Los Angeles locals who seem to be more interested in the music made on Sunset Boulevard than the films made nearby. Vikar eventually stumbles upon a secret film contained within the reels of every film ever made.<br />
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That doesn't even begin to cover it.<br />
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<b>I rarely love a book as much as I love this one. </b> (The scene of a would-be burglar ranting about cinema will make every film nerd roar with simpatico laughter -- I mean seriously, the dude is <i>right</i>.)<br />
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Listen to <a href="https://amzn.to/32AhGXw" target="_blank">Bronson Pinchot's masterful narration in the audiobook</a>, if possible.<br />
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Making-African-Africa-Bogart-Bacall/dp/0452261457/ref=as_li_ss_il?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1568063395&sr=8-1&linkCode=li3&tag=laurieallee-20&linkId=eb0991bfd36581a2d583606593ae8e3d&language=en_US" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="400" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0452261457&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=laurieallee-20&language=en_US" width="400" /></a><a href="https://amzn.to/34yXNC2" target="_blank"><i>The Making of the African Queen or How I went to Africa with Bogart, Bacall and Huston and almost lost my mind </i>by Katharine Hepburn</a> is one of my absolute favorite movie memoirs.<br />
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This is exactly the kind of chatty insider story you'd hope to get from the great Kate. Her writing style is conversational and always witty. <b>I loved reading about how she and Lauren Bacall kept up with Bogie and Huston in an era dominated by men. This was a truly collaborative project executed in a setting that would make most participants run screaming for a Four Seasons suite or a ticket home. </b><br />
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Hepburn is cynical, enthusiastic, nostalgic, professional and wickedly funny.<br />
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Without-Lying-Down-Powerful-Hollywood/dp/0684802139/ref=as_li_ss_il?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1568072053&sr=8-2&linkCode=li3&tag=laurieallee-20&linkId=c08e196957efc3864bf21e79ac9b5cef&language=en_US" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="400" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0684802139&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=laurieallee-20&language=en_US" width="292" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=laurieallee-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=0684802139" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /><b>Would you believe there was a time when women actually had power in Hollywood? </b> No, this next book isn't from an alt-history sci-fi universe. In <i><a href="https://amzn.to/3186Esk" target="_blank">Without Lying Down</a> </i>author and historian Cari Beauchamp brilliantly chronicles the story of Frances Marion her many (many!) female colleagues who influenced filmmaking from 1912 through the 1940s. <b>Did you know that Frances Marion was the highest paid screenwriter of three decades? That she produced 200 films and won Academy Awards?</b> I didn't know either until I read this fascinating film and social history.<br />
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My daughter wants to be a filmmaker, and I am thrilled to be able to tell her she'll stand on the shoulders of trailblazing, powerful women.<br />
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(I hear <a href="https://amzn.to/2NPWuJ0" target="_blank">the audio version</a> of this is great, too.)<br />
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Tinseltown-Murder-Morphine-Madness-Hollywood/dp/0062242199/ref=as_li_ss_il?crid=2KG8GNVWDB1QF&keywords=tinseltown+murder+morphine+and+madness+at+the+dawn+of+hollywood&qid=1568072323&s=books&sprefix=tinseltown,stripbooks,232&sr=1-1&linkCode=li3&tag=laurieallee-20&linkId=e700a82e1f393c0aac031d4d0395de72&language=en_US" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="400" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0062242199&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=laurieallee-20&language=en_US" width="265" /></a>True Crime fans will love <i><a href="https://amzn.to/32BJISS" target="_blank">Tinseltown: Murder, Morphine and Madness at the Dawn of Hollywood</a></i>. Winner of the Edgar Award for Best Fact Crime as well as worthy placement on the New York Times Bestseller list, this book has been described as <i><a href="https://amzn.to/2LJ9X2z" target="_blank">The Day of the Locust</a></i> meets <i><a href="https://amzn.to/2Q3n5VN" target="_blank">Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil</a></i> with a bit of <i><a href="https://amzn.to/2NTNkv8" target="_blank">Devil in White City</a></i> thrown into the mix. I don't usually care about crime scandal stories, but I was hooked from the opening pages.<br />
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<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=laurieallee-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=0062242199" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /><b>Author William J. Mann creates an epic depiction of 1920s Hollywood using a wealth of source materials including recently released FBI files.</b> He focuses on the trials and travails of three gorgeous, ambitious, drug-addled actresses, the moguls who control them, the thugs who threaten them and the spin doctors desperate to control the narrative. <b>If you think the 1960s were wild, Hollywood in the 1920s will blow your mind.</b><br />
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This is a gripping true story, told by a master storyteller who managed to solve a crime that had baffled detectives and historians for almost 100 years.<br />
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(Definitely check out <a href="https://amzn.to/32yChLW" target="_blank">the audio</a> for this one!)<br />
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Conversations-Great-Moviemakers-Hollywoods-Golden/dp/140004054X/ref=as_li_ss_il?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1568073341&sr=8-1&linkCode=li3&tag=laurieallee-20&linkId=07307be618739ef3564c2210ff76aea2&language=en_US" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="400" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=140004054X&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=laurieallee-20&language=en_US" width="270" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=laurieallee-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=140004054X" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />The next suggestion deserves a prominent place in every film buff's library. <a href="https://amzn.to/2NZjIwi" style="font-style: italic;" target="_blank">Conversations with the Great Moviemakers of Hollywood's Golden Age </a>is the most comprehensive book of cinematic knowledge and history that I own.<br />
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This huge volume includes interviews with master filmmakers from the American Film Institute's forty-year series of seminars. Wish you'd been able to attend every one? Now, you can have the next best thing.<br />
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In it you will find legendary filmmakers explaining it all in their own words. <b>Read interviews with directors, cinematographers, producers and screenwriters from the pioneering first days of celluloid through Hollywood's golden age. </b> (Who is included? Well... how about King Vidor, Howard Hawks, Fritz Lang, Hal Wallis, Ray Bradbury, Frank Capra, Ingmar Bergman and Jean Renoir just for starters?) There are some great stories, valuable advice and more than a few inside jokes. I consider this book film school in a single volume. (Although I recently discovered Volume 2: <i><a href="https://amzn.to/2N6GAdY" target="_blank">Conversations at the American Film Institute with the Great Moviemakers: The Next Generation.</a></i> It's a companion to the first volume, focusing on filmmaking since the 1950s with voices including Truffaut, Pollack, Lynch, Scorsese and Spielberg. It is currently on my To Be Read pile. I'll get back to you when I finish it!)<br />
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Nobodys-Perfect-Writings-New-Yorker/dp/0375414487/ref=as_li_ss_il?keywords=nobody%27s+perfect&qid=1564853368&s=books&sr=1-6&linkCode=li3&tag=laurieallee-20&linkId=3304f63bfd41f547ba48895d42a5998d&language=en_US" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="400" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0375414487&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=laurieallee-20&language=en_US" width="272" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=laurieallee-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=0375414487" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />Rather read about films instead of filmmakers? <b>In my opinion there is no finer film critic than Anthony Lane. </b>My favorite collection is his 2002 compilation of <i>New Yorker</i> reviews <i><a href="https://amzn.to/2N7rZyS" target="_blank">Nobody's Perfect</a>. </i>Lane writes about movies for people who adore movies. He is witty, relatable and thoughtful with a ridiculously expansive knowledge of many, many things.<br />
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This book also includes several of his pieces on books (yay!) and a few more essays about people. But what you'll love most are his movie reviews. This volume offers commentaries on films as far apart as <i>Forrest Gump</i> and <i>Showgirls</i>, treating all with equal parts respect, curiosity and brilliant analysis. I love the way Lane can make me think about films I'd forgotten -- and a few I never bothered to think about at all. He wanders all over the intellectual landscape without ever becoming snobbish or pedantic. Plus his writing is just <i>so</i> <i>good</i>.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Happy cinema reading, bookworms and filmbugs!</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">And don't forget to watch my original video at the top of this post. It's obvious THIS bookworm is also a filmbug...</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://bookswithlaurie.blogspot.com/p/bonus-film-for-screenplay-lovers.html" target="_blank">(Since you're all so great, here's a bonus.)</a></span></b><br />
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<a href="https://bookswithlaurie.blogspot.com/p/film.html" target="_blank">For more great film books, click here.</a><br />
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Laurie Alleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14460272282273523408noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5350567254278611125.post-13721692099980411532019-08-24T12:57:00.000-07:002019-08-24T13:13:58.349-07:00Love Librarians? Nominate Your Favorite!<div style="text-align: center;">
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<b>(It's amazing what you can find digging around film archives...)</b><br />
<b>Could YOU have been a librarian in 1947? </b><br />
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by Laurie Allee </div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://bookswithlaurie.blogspot.com/2019/08/love-librarians-nominate-your-favorite.html" target="_blank">If you're reading this post via email, click here to see the accompanying video</a>!</span></div>
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<a href="https://bookswithlaurie.blogspot.com/2019/07/scroll-less-read-more-books.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Read my Books With Laurie introductory post here.</span></a></div>
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The fine folks at <a href="http://www.ilovelibraries.org/" target="_blank">I Love Libraries</a> are sponsoring the <a href="http://www.ilovelibraries.org/lovemylibrarian" target="_blank">I Love My Librarian award</a>, and I want everyone to know about it. I once heard someone say that librarians are superheroes without capes, and I think that is the best description I've come across.<br />
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The <a href="http://www.ilovelibraries.org/lovemylibrarian" target="_blank">I Love My Librarian award</a> is your chance to shine a light on the achievements, service and all-around goodness of your favorite librarian -- from public, school, college, community college, or university libraries. <b>Each year ten librarians are chosen to receive $5000 cash, a plaque and a travel stipend to attend the awards ceremony and reception held in their honor. </b><br />
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Nominate the librarian who means the most to you! Nominations for the 2019-2020 award are open through October 21.<br />
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<a href="http://www.ilovelibraries.org/lovemylibrarian" target="_blank">Go here to learn more, sign up for notifications and even spread the word with the I Love My Librarian promotional toolkit. </a></div>
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Laurie Alleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14460272282273523408noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5350567254278611125.post-18945803051279665232019-08-12T11:35:00.001-07:002019-10-18T19:06:36.089-07:00The Movies Books Make in Your Head...<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">by Laurie Allee</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><a href="https://bookswithlaurie.blogspot.com/2019/08/the-movies-books-make-in-your-head.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: x-small;">If you're reading this post via email, click here to see my original accompanying video!</span></a><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://bookswithlaurie.blogspot.com/2019/07/scroll-less-read-more-books.html" target="_blank">Read my Books With Laurie introductory post here.</a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>This post includes affiliate links. <a href="https://bookswithlaurie.blogspot.com/p/affiliate-marketing-disclosure.html" target="_blank">Click here for more info!</a></i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">My fellow bookworms can back me up on this: the best movies are books. </span></b> </span></div>
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Zeroville-Steve-Erickson/dp/1933372397/ref=as_li_ss_il?crid=3U7P0F2VC34W8&keywords=zeroville+by+steve+erickson&qid=1565590747&s=books&sprefix=zeroville,fashion,196&sr=1-1&linkCode=li3&tag=laurieallee-20&linkId=180a4ec181966c6b23902dfbd711726e&language=en_US" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="320" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=1933372397&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=laurieallee-20&language=en_US" width="206" /></span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I don't mean that the best movies are those made from books, because that is decidedly untrue. In fact, there are some awful films that are fantastic books. (I'm looking at you, <i><a href="https://www.mcall.com/news/mc-xpm-1984-04-07-2416423-story.html" target="_blank">Hotel New Hampshire</a>, </i>and to some extent you, <i><a href="https://film.avclub.com/harold-pinter-nobly-fails-to-adapt-the-french-lieutenan-1798184600" target="_blank">French Lieutenant's Woman</a></i>. Actually, I have a feeling the reason James Franco took so long to release his film adaptation of <i><a href="https://www.indiewire.com/2019/04/zeroville-james-franco-release-date-mycinema-alchemy-1202055080/" target="_blank">Zeroville</a></i> is because it just couldn't compare to the absurdly spectacular weirdness of the actual book.) Yes, there are bad films made from good books. I suppose the reverse is also true, but I've already listened to enough arguments about <i><a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=ready+player+one+is+a+good+film+from+a+bad+book&oq=ready+player+one+is+a+good+film+from+a+bad+book&aqs=chrome..69i57.5712j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8" target="_blank">Ready Player One</a> </i>and <i><a href="https://www.newsweek.com/why-twilight-film-better-book-75897" target="_blank">Twilight</a></i>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">What I mean is this: <span style="font-size: large;"><b>the scenes that play out in your head when you read a great book are better than any film.</b> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I don't say this lightly! I say this as a cinephile, photographer and avowed film nerd. I studied film. I <i>make</i> my own little films. I watch films with a passion rivaled only by my love of books.</span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"> </span></span><br />
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Hotel-New-Hampshire-John-Irving/dp/052512800X/ref=as_li_ss_il?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1565629581&sr=1-1&linkCode=li3&tag=laurieallee-20&linkId=fd4a09a30043e350f97afd125a29ed78&language=en_US" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="320" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=052512800X&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=laurieallee-20&language=en_US" width="224" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">But... <b><span style="font-size: large;">I've yet to see a film (even Bergman, even Spielberg, even Welles, even Tarkovsky or Goddard or Kubrick) who could best the cinema that plays in my mind when I read.</span></b></span></span><br />
<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=laurieallee-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=052512800X" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Harriet-Spy-Anniversary-Louise-Fitzhugh/dp/0385376103/ref=as_li_ss_il?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1565586569&sr=1-1&linkCode=li3&tag=laurieallee-20&linkId=fe62c605bd98ff1e920360a817196f23&language=en_US" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">When I was in the fourth grade, I would have told you my favorite book was <i><a href="https://amzn.to/2GX62hh" target="_blank">Harriet the Spy</a></i>. A book about a young girl who crawled around her neighbors' houses peeking through cracks and writing down what they said in her notebook was just about the coolest thing I could imagine. This was no polite Nancy Drew story. Harriet was tough. While the vintage Nancy fussed over her hair and worried about offending boys, Harriet wore jeans and cared more about her writing than whether or not she was pretty or popular. And did I mention she <i>snuck into houses?</i> </span></div>
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<a href="https://amzn.to/2GX62hh" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="320" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0385376103&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=laurieallee-20&language=en_US" width="213" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I also loved the way I could see Harriet's world so clearly when I read her story. Harriet's New York was my first taste of the Big Apple. And <span style="font-size: large;"><b>while Woody Allen's cinematic odes to the city are some of my favorites on film, I have to admit that when I first saw <i>Annie Hall</i> I was oddly reminded (you guessed it) of <i>Harriet the Spy</i>.</b> </span> Actually, when I saw <i>Manhattan</i>, Mariel Hemingway also reminded me of Harriet, but I guess none of us would be surprised if Woody Allen turned out to be influenced by underage literary heroines.</span><br />
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Better-t-shirt-Funny-reading-T-Shirt/dp/B07P1BBR5M/ref=as_li_ss_il?keywords=the+book+was+better&qid=1565587265&s=apparel&sr=1-4&linkCode=li3&tag=laurieallee-20&linkId=d3ebb3ee2e5148245bb70766f3d7c0a1&language=en_US" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">No movie screen could have contained the scope of <i>Harriet the Spy</i> as it unfurled, chapter by chapter, in my nine year old head. It was an epic coming-of-age movie featuring a character so distinctly herself, I could not have named a living actress who could have adequately portrayed her. I hadn't yet read Raymond Chandler, but I was already feeling the shadowy underbelly of adolescence. As Harriet's sneaky adventures filled my head, the scenes could have been shot by John Alton for any film noir. I didn't just read Harriet. I <i>saw</i> Harriet and her entire world.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I was hooked.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://amzn.to/31AqKeM" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="299" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B07P1BBR5M&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=laurieallee-20&language=en_US" width="320" /></a><b style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-large;">That's the wild alchemy of reading. You get the words of an author and combine them with your own experiences, imagination, proclivities, fears and dreams ... and they all combine into a unique production that plays, page by page, just for you.</b><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I am certain no other of the millions of <i>Harriet the Spy </i>readers has ever seen <i>MY</i> Harriet. There's magic in that! I'm always amazed that something as quaint and harmless-looking as a book can wield so much power and literally project images of other worlds into people's brains. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b>With that in mind, here are a few more of my favorite books that have filled my mind with atmospheric, cinematic splendor:</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Magus-Novel-John-Fowles/dp/0440351626/ref=as_li_ss_il?keywords=the+magus&qid=1565620764&s=gateway&sr=8-1&linkCode=li3&tag=laurieallee-20&linkId=242a15c5bcc0a2a511dbdcdc0456a304&language=en_US" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0440351626&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=laurieallee-20&language=en_US" /></a><br />
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John Fowles' masterpiece <i><a href="https://amzn.to/2Kyhhix" target="_blank">The Magus</a></i> is rich with symbols, archetypes, mythological constructs and a literary labyrinth of plot twists and puzzles. This is a truly unsettling work of contemporary fiction. Plus, it is set on a fantastical Greek island, so prepare to be dazzled by the scenery. When Nicholas Urfe accepts a position teaching on a mysterious island, he gets caught up in the nightmarish mind-games of a local recluse. The book shows us all of it in creepy, beautiful detail. This is Jungian, existential, and gorgeous. It's what Kubrick probably wanted his film <i>Eyes Wide Shut</i> to be.<br />
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Spoonbenders-A-Novel/dp/B0723647GC/ref=as_li_ss_il?crid=38JGP8TSUHTT1&keywords=spoonbenders&qid=1565620845&s=gateway&sprefix=spoonbender,aps,191&sr=8-1&linkCode=li3&tag=laurieallee-20&linkId=5d05d9dd9ecb00a22d7ae747fa96f641&language=en_US" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B0723647GC&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=laurieallee-20&language=en_US" /></a></div>
<a href="https://amzn.to/2Kv1mBf" target="_blank"><i>Spoonbenders</i></a>, by Daryl Gregory, is one of those books people who know me keep receiving as gifts. I have not loved a novel this much in years, and I particularly enjoyed the audiobook version read by Ari Fliakos. The writing alone fills your head with a grand, cinematic tale of intrigue, love and family weirdness. (I switched back and forth from the book to the audio version, because I couldn't bear to stop reading even when I had to drive somewhere.) There are government agency shenanigans, mobsters, lost love, telekinesis and a long con worthy of a William Goldman script. Fliakos' remarkable voice acting brings the Telemachus family (and those they encounter) brilliantly to life.<br />
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Mr-Penumbras-24-Hour-Bookstore-Novel/dp/0374214913/ref=as_li_ss_il?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1565629365&sr=1-1&linkCode=li3&tag=laurieallee-20&linkId=06c152890eb7cce79a0147e9bc38fd9b&language=en_US" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0374214913&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=laurieallee-20&language=en_US" /></a><br />
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You see the image on the background of this website? Well, I chose it because I was so inspired by what the bookstore looked like in <i><a href="https://amzn.to/2Tr0ala" target="_blank">Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore</a>.</i> Robin Sloan's novel is another recent publication that has me grabbing people and making them listen as I gleefully read it aloud. (Several friends and family members received this book for Christmas last year.) This book has everything: what it's like inside Google, the secret to eternal life, a mysterious underground society, young love, a curious curmudgeon boss with a heart of gold, obscure code-breakers and the city of San Francisco!<br />
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Wuthering-Heights-Emily-Bronte/dp/150531349X/ref=as_li_ss_il?keywords=Wuthering+Heights&qid=1565629937&s=books&sr=1-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUExOU9OTE9DN1ZERElFJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwNjMzOTE5NTFZN1M2MllST1VQJmVuY3J5cHRlZEFkSWQ9QTAwMzUwNzUyUU9NWjBCR0o1MzcwJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfYXRmJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==&linkCode=li3&tag=laurieallee-20&linkId=7b81d970864df49fe297a2ce30e9c608&language=en_US" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=150531349X&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=laurieallee-20&language=en_US" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://amzn.to/31D2EzN" target="_blank"><i>Wuthering Heights</i></a> is the ultimate hot mess mid-19th century novel. There's wild, codependent, doomed love. There's a brooding, poetic bad boy who literally created the brooding, poetic bad boy archetype. Forget Edward. Forget Stanley Kowalski. They pale in comparison to Heathcliff. And if you've ever been caught in a love triangle and wondered how you got there, you can feel inherently superior to Cathy when you see her situation unfold. Honestly, this book is like a beautiful steampunk trainwreck wrapped in heather gathered tearfully, so very tearfully, from foggy moors. You don't really read this book. Instead, it washes over you.<br />
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Arcadia-novel-Iain-Pears/dp/1101946822/ref=as_li_ss_il?keywords=arcadia+iain+pears&qid=1565630053&s=books&sr=1-3&linkCode=li3&tag=laurieallee-20&linkId=47b3e8dc4f962b702924441d63c0bc25&language=en_US" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=1101946822&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=laurieallee-20&language=en_US" /></a><br />
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<i><a href="https://amzn.to/33sDcil" target="_blank">Arcadia</a> </i>is one of those novels that needs an accompanying decoder ring. In a way it has one -- a<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/aug/20/novel-use-for-app-iain-pears-arcadia" target="_blank">uthor Iain Pears created an app to go with it.</a> You can read the entire book on it in whatever order you choose. But be warned: there are three distinct, interlocking worlds in this novel with varying timelines and four characters galavanting through them affecting the future and the past. I read it the old-fashioned way, page by page through the actual book. The lushness of this novel is staggering! People throw around the word awesome a lot these days, but this truly remarkable book deserves the descriptor.<br />
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Fermata-Nicholson-Baker/dp/0679759336/ref=as_li_ss_il?keywords=the+fermata&qid=1565632925&s=books&sr=1-1&linkCode=li3&tag=laurieallee-20&linkId=3c8be2b6aed7b9bb8ad5b1e673229c22&language=en_US" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0679759336&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=laurieallee-20&language=en_US" /></a><br />
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Okay, so I couldn't very well talk about movies of the mind without including one that's NSFW. After Nicholson Baker made phone sex into high art in <i>Vox</i>, he wrote <a href="https://amzn.to/2YXgwmL" target="_blank"><i>The Fermata</i></a>. The Seattle Times described it as an "X-rated sci-fi fantasy that leaves Vox seeming more like mere fiber-optic foreplay." I say people focus wayyyyy to much on the sex in Baker's literature and not nearly enough on the actual literature! <i>The Fermata</i> is an ingenious bit of writing. Telling a bizarre story of a man who can stop time--and chooses to do it for his own kinky pleasure--it's elegant, heartbreaking, and original. It's also a very 90s book, and reading it will take you right back to a time before smartphones and social media. Narrator Arno Stein's ultimate loneliness plays well in this setting.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Happy reading -- and mind-movie watching -- fellow bookworms!</span></b><br />
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<a href="https://bookswithlaurie.blogspot.com/p/fiction.html" target="_blank">For more fiction recommendations, click here.</a><br />
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<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=laurieallee-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=B0723647GC" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=laurieallee-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=0374214913" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /> <img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=laurieallee-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=052512800X" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=laurieallee-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=150531349X" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /> <img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=laurieallee-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=150531349X" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /> <img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=laurieallee-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=1101946822" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /> <img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=laurieallee-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=0679759336" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />Laurie Alleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14460272282273523408noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5350567254278611125.post-17896905455483431962019-08-01T00:03:00.000-07:002019-10-18T19:06:59.699-07:00Scroll less. Read more books. <div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>This post includes affiliate links. <a href="https://bookswithlaurie.blogspot.com/p/affiliate-marketing-disclosure.html" target="_blank">Click here for more info!</a></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Welcome to <a href="https://bookswithlaurie.blogspot.com/p/welcome-to-my-library.html" target="_blank">Books With Laurie</a>!</b></span><br />
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You can find out more about it (and also about me, your friendly bookworm) <a href="https://bookswithlaurie.blogspot.com/p/about.html" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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I'm <i>that</i> person -- the one who always has some book they're rambling on about and insisting you <i>must read</i>. (I'm also the one you call for a recommendation, and the one whose bookshelves you raid for a summer read, or an herbal guidebook, or a weird autobiography, or a volume of leftist history, or a film theory book...)<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://bookswithlaurie.blogspot.com/p/about.html" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="769" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVTQ1DIiX-JryIWW_gVP_Ol64w2UXIXlUn9TRhZiMO1ag9gCi9RRzMWGshVbZ6YcxPNEa9JVT1ujab21qlB4JxisUgUq91wUsp4GHuIRsXpyWE37BJTRXR-Km_DaIXeUguAvp7x_A1Eais/s1600/IMG_7186.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I'm Laurie Allee, Bookworm in Residence</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></span></span></span></b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">This blog is my bookish dream world, and I invite you to share it with me.</span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></b></span></span><br />
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I will regularly post new articles and videos on all kinds of readerly things. Don't worry, you don't have to hit any like buttons or subscribe to anything. I'm connecting with fellow bookworms, not building a brand. I'm just a reader (and a writer!) who encourages you to put your phone down, venture away from the social media hive, and get lost in a good book. Let's look at words that don't blink or flash.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Let's scroll less and read more books.</span></b><br />
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<a href="https://bookswithlaurie.blogspot.com/p/links.html" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="771" data-original-width="1600" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjBTrp1DQaLKo9kavcdIwuCaj9kpRzTX3828-Nzpo5F8e5BU0nVYecVNKQhyphenhyphenTZm5LfzIqZt-8GKYx_n5pcoAu-_v8x_21Zs7t73TRDT6p_uFEGUH9wt48ZwII1d7K79ivtl-n5Jwmx4W5p/s400/book-1945499_1920.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I'm building a community of fellow reading nerds, so be sure to <a href="https://bookswithlaurie.blogspot.com/p/book-club.html" target="_blank">get in touch if you'd like to be part of my upcoming old-fashioned book club.</a><br />
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You'll find hundreds of <a href="https://bookswithlaurie.blogspot.com/p/links.html" target="_blank">book lover resources and links</a>, as well as all kinds of Easter eggs for bookworms hidden throughout the site, so click around and explore. (Hint, no image is ever <i>just</i> an image.)<br />
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<a href="https://bookswithlaurie.blogspot.com/p/this-book-changed-my-life.html" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="776" data-original-width="1600" height="193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcJmJZ2G8ka2xaXiT4VRtCmK-9PuKzbI9CZitf_H4RJBwklkdiVCoFEdbIJglp1cyVZDSu18H89IXWfS7zLwSd5V9DHgH22UJeIG5i_RVS4QccivPqz5nE0LKkZJQ3xWALzIBeJxZi3677/s1600/book-2304389_1920.jpg" width="400" /></a><span id="goog_534675458"></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a><span id="goog_534675459"></span></div>
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If I could have a real bookstore, it would look a lot like <a href="https://bookswithlaurie.blogspot.com/p/library.html" target="_blank">Books With Laurie</a>. Enjoy my little oasis away from multitasking, Twitter arguments, selfies, hashtags and memes. Find <a href="https://bookswithlaurie.blogspot.com/p/library.html" target="_blank">great books on all kinds of subjects</a>, explore some of the world's coolest libraries and bookstores, watch interviews with authors and indie book shop owners and book lovers of all sorts, snag deals on books and get other reader freebies, and discover how great it is to reconnect with one of the oldest forms of media.<br />
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<a href="https://bookswithlaurie.blogspot.com/p/welcome-to-my-library.html" target="_blank">This</a> is a good place to start.<br />
(When you're finished, <a href="https://lifeanalog.blogspot.com/?zx=2b99144ff13d3a85" target="_blank">head to my place next door</a>.)<br />
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Laurie Alleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14460272282273523408noreply@blogger.com