tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post5997388298017690622..comments2024-03-10T09:24:45.565+02:00Comments on Dispatches from Vilnius: A Pelican Weekend MeanderJames Fergusonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05901612633415337879noreply@blogger.comBlogger33125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-72402146932083641652010-09-01T20:19:31.330+03:002010-09-01T20:19:31.330+03:00I forgot about the Lithuanian business and how tha...I forgot about the Lithuanian business and how that pissed you off. <br /><br />As I remember the book, he wanted to write a big family-centric "modern" novel that had all the literary pyrotechnics but that also told a real story. In terms of his goals, I thought he did a pretty good job. Seemed very contemporary, though, so I figured after reading it that it wouldn't hold up avrdshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07997163948247445009noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-26850092155972976322010-09-01T16:02:54.985+03:002010-09-01T16:02:54.985+03:00I suppose one could look at Corrections as very bi...I suppose one could look at Corrections as very biting satire, which it seems many critics did, but it just came across to me as very mean spirited. No one person or one country escaped his wrath. It was like he just pulled Lithuania out of a hat and decided to use it as his dysfunctional Eastern European country, but without any of the humor in which Sacha Baron Cohen uses Kazachstan in his James Fergusonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05901612633415337879noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-23105158810757749092010-09-01T13:37:00.969+03:002010-09-01T13:37:00.969+03:00From the Sam Tanenhaus review that appears in the ...From the Sam Tanenhaus review that appears in the Sunday Book Review:<br /><br />"To their envious neighbors, a step behind the golden couple, there “had always been something not quite right about the Berglunds.” They are “the super-guilty sort of liberals who needed to forgive everybody so their own good fortune could be forgiven; who lacked the courage of their privilege.” <br /><br />Rickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01343768762996537750noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-39014908492618968002010-09-01T11:22:11.189+03:002010-09-01T11:22:11.189+03:00Franzen is a literary pretty boy as far as I'm...Franzen is a literary pretty boy as far as I'm concerned. Couldn't stand Corrections and can't imagine I would like anything by him. Not a big fan of po-mo in general, which Corrections struck me as a later incarnation of this style. <br /><br />That whole thing with Oprah some years back really took the cake. My guess is that he was purposely antagonistic so that he could reap James Fergusonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05901612633415337879noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-44050333093287281342010-09-01T04:04:10.772+03:002010-09-01T04:04:10.772+03:00BOOKS: If you ever see anything by Hornaday (like...BOOKS: If you ever see anything by Hornaday (like on Taxidermy) I'd love it! But that doesn't seem like the kind of book you'll find in a SF library sale. Still, you never know....!avrdshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07997163948247445009noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-76436704614897970332010-09-01T04:02:38.151+03:002010-09-01T04:02:38.151+03:00I like the description of how Wilkerson treats her...I like the description of how Wilkerson treats her subjects in that review. This is something I hate in non-fiction and fiction alike -- when the writer thinks s/he is smarter than his/her subject or character.avrdshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07997163948247445009noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-24926849886604009052010-09-01T04:00:41.594+03:002010-09-01T04:00:41.594+03:00I was totally committed to reading Franzen's n...I was totally committed to reading Franzen's new book -- I liked Corrections okay -- until more and more rave reviews kept piling up. In the meantime, you couldn't buy the book to judge for yourself.<br /><br />I agree with the NPR commentator that a woman writer would never get that kind of attention. That's just the nature of the beast I'm afraid. But I was still hopeful.<br avrdshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07997163948247445009noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-47878901551749523672010-09-01T03:27:30.398+03:002010-09-01T03:27:30.398+03:00Ms. Wilkerson and Ms. Skloot, both professors of &...Ms. Wilkerson and Ms. Skloot, both professors of "narrative nonfiction." The former's book looks interesting, the review made me think of The Children of Sanchez. Incidently, I heard a woman complaining on NPR yesterday over the amount of positive press Franzen's new book has received. She basically said she didn't care whether the book was any good, that it just got too Carolhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05818522346723485679noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-50127647499496193192010-08-31T17:33:14.991+03:002010-08-31T17:33:14.991+03:00Perhaps a counterpoint to Skloot?
http://www.nyti...Perhaps a counterpoint to Skloot?<br /><br />http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/31/books/31book.htmlavrdshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07997163948247445009noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-62716864822983261522010-08-31T16:51:18.283+03:002010-08-31T16:51:18.283+03:00Thanks, Marti. I'll listen to that. I see hi...Thanks, Marti. I'll listen to that. I see his book is also on the best seller list in L.A. <br /><br />Here's a follow-up to the Charles' review of Freedom. My first thought was what in the world is he thinking? But as I kept watching, I think he may be on to something here:<br /><br />http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/video/2010/08/30/VI2010083003847.htmlavrdshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07997163948247445009noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-83001034187105240572010-08-30T10:22:33.707+03:002010-08-30T10:22:33.707+03:00Avrds, I recently listened to a podcast of Fresh A...Avrds, I recently listened to a podcast of Fresh Air (Terry Gross) that had a re-broadcast of an interview with Tony Judt from March 29th. <br /><br />http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=125231223Martihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11341915969684349287noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-33730807048426250282010-08-25T16:51:45.143+03:002010-08-25T16:51:45.143+03:00Enough rave reviews for Franzen's Freedom -- a...Enough rave reviews for Franzen's Freedom -- and one that's probably more on the mark <br /><br />(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/24/AR2010082405326.html) -- <br /><br />have come out before the book was available to make me have second thoughts. So picked up a book recommended by Rick instead: Stoner. <br /><br />Some people just know how to tell a great avrdshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07997163948247445009noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-28423556049788724792010-08-18T21:25:17.203+03:002010-08-18T21:25:17.203+03:00I heard the program when it was broadcast; it was ...I heard the program when it was broadcast; it was a great story.Carolhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05818522346723485679noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-81447534770681213422010-08-18T19:54:52.777+03:002010-08-18T19:54:52.777+03:00If you can figure out how to skip to the second st...If you can figure out how to skip to the second story, this is well worth your time. BRILLIANT story (The Appropriation of Cultures):<br /><br />http://beta.wnyc.org/shows/shorts/2010/aug/15/avrdshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07997163948247445009noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-61984715454710106782010-08-08T16:03:00.307+03:002010-08-08T16:03:00.307+03:00A little black humor to start the day....A little black humor to start the day....avrdshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07997163948247445009noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-89714999670423871812010-08-08T12:19:05.206+03:002010-08-08T12:19:05.206+03:00I just finished reading "Stiff" by Mary ...I just finished reading "Stiff" by Mary Roach. I'd forgotten that I had the book when I saw the author on The Daily Show last week, promoting her latest book "Packing for Mars."<br /><br />Stiff was informative and humorous (in an odd way). The author researched the history of the use of cadavers. There were two chapters that were extremely off-putting later in the bookMartihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11341915969684349287noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-49939751703328106172010-08-08T02:43:44.026+03:002010-08-08T02:43:44.026+03:00So another interesting fact on which to hang a nat...So another interesting fact on which to hang a national myth. And some dreaming. Thanks, guys.Carolhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05818522346723485679noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-20951042773155590562010-08-08T01:06:30.349+03:002010-08-08T01:06:30.349+03:00The grizzly was once a plains/coastal animal. Per...The grizzly was once a plains/coastal animal. Perhaps the movement of people forced these animals into the forests -- or maybe they developed in totally different ways after the massive land split. <br /><br />I looked at a Biodiversity paper about them just to confirm that they were indeed bison (Linneaus and Buffon apparently both believed them to be, in essence, feral cattle). It said theiravrdshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07997163948247445009noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-86039441255076745332010-08-08T00:59:22.021+03:002010-08-08T00:59:22.021+03:00Well, that's definitely a different kind of hi...Well, that's definitely a different kind of history. But those were the good old days. Or, as Carly Simon might say, _these_ are the good old days.<br /><br />As for the Lithuanian bison, they are indeed forest animals according to Schama (and I just checked -- they are indeed bison: _Bison bonasus_). Here's some of what Schama writes (and I take it back, there are a couple actual end avrdshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07997163948247445009noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-81689526163806809432010-08-07T23:57:42.934+03:002010-08-07T23:57:42.934+03:00I love history, especially the avrds/bo/squirrel k...I love history, especially the avrds/bo/squirrel kind. Takes me back to some good old days.Carolhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05818522346723485679noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-40381643826851839002010-08-07T23:56:54.786+03:002010-08-07T23:56:54.786+03:00Av, Gintaras, are you saying the Lithuanian bison ...Av, Gintaras, are you saying the Lithuanian bison are forest animals? That would distinguish them from their North American cousins.Carolhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05818522346723485679noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-26212579771065871672010-08-07T22:18:26.553+03:002010-08-07T22:18:26.553+03:00And for Bo:
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/jacke...And for Bo:<br /><br />http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/jacketcopy/2010/08/105year-old-dawons-book-shops-clearance-sale.htmlavrdshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07997163948247445009noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-18871849152088473572010-08-07T22:16:22.869+03:002010-08-07T22:16:22.869+03:00Very sad to see that Tony Judt has died. I really...Very sad to see that Tony Judt has died. I really admired him as a writer and historian. <br /><br />http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/08/books/08judt.htmlavrdshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07997163948247445009noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-65128323241079855402010-08-07T22:04:47.060+03:002010-08-07T22:04:47.060+03:00After following your link and reading that excerpt...After following your link and reading that excerpt online from Google books, via Russian/Lithuanian Google, I'm now officially googling in Russian.... I once tried to teach myself to read Russian but it was a dismal failure. Maybe this is my second chance?avrdshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07997163948247445009noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-66444301602034710052010-08-07T17:20:54.518+03:002010-08-07T17:20:54.518+03:00To which I should add about the zoos.... according...To which I should add about the zoos.... according to Schama. <br /><br />He's one of those erudite writers who seem to know everything. So you just assume they know what they are talking about. Again, no footnotes -- but pretty thorough notes at the end of the book.<br /><br />What fascinated me about that section was how the bison took on the same sort of cultural meaning that the avrdshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07997163948247445009noreply@blogger.com