One of My Favorite Things: Charlie Brown Christmas

I am apathetic to the holiday season this year. This does not mean though that I do not want to ignore one those touch stone texts in my life: A Charlie Brown Christmas. I missed the viewings of it on the TV. I have it on VHS somewhere but have not taken the time to look for it. Thankfully, because of the beauty of books, I still get to revisit those memories:



Has a making of the cartoon, sheet music (if only I could perform it), and a fully illustrated script. I remember when I was a kid standing in the living room after the freshly cut (we cut our own each year) tree, the smell, the cold coming off the branches, the crackle sound as the branches settle, and the beauty of the tree before it was loaded with lights, garland, ornaments, and tinsel--at these moments I always thought of Charlie Brown and would "sing" "Oh Christmas Tree."



Made for an enjoyable read this morning. No "good grief" being uttered here.

Making Eyes At Texts

I'll be brief. Text to read right now is Raymond Carver's "Why Don't You Dance?" It is a monumental short story from his collection Where I'm Calling From. Really read the entire collection. But think of starting with "Why Don't You Dance?" Will not say more on it, but within the next few days, look for a close read of the text to appear.

When HotSexyBookLove tells you to read, don't you think you should? ;)

For daily reading suggestions, interesting links regarding read and writing, follow me on Twitter @HotSexyBookLove.

Why I Came To Appreciate The Power of the Graphic Text

Aaron McGruder.

Is there really anything else to say?

Today I read an amazing article about the importance of Huey Freeman and I was reminded, a much needed reminder, of why I became enamoured with the graphic novel. The Boondocks is the first time in graphic form that I noticed a powerful voice working at drawing attention to social issues and to shake the reader out of their rut. During the 2004 election McGruder was a fantastic read everyday. The door to my office was one Boondock strip after another, I wanted to show this art form off and challenge the person bored enough to read my door. I saved all of these clippings, every once in a while I will go through them, and the argument/ideas that McGruder puts forth the reader are still relevant.

The first graphic novel I read was a collaboration that McGruder did with Reginald Hudlin, and Kyle Baker: Birth of A Nation. If you can find a copy of the book, it is both a visually stunning read and biting commentary of the times.



Until you can locate that, or one of the many The Boondocks books, here is one of my favorite The Boondocks pieces:

Few of My Favorite Things: The Kevin Smith Edition

Clerks will be a favorite film for life. Don't do rankings, so won't say it's Top Ten or some such thing. But it is one of the touchstones that I will always go back to to find that connection with.

Kevin Smith with his first film made him one of the top authors for my generation. The film had a huge influence on me. I was 20, in love with the indie film movement that was starting to grow, and I connected to the characters and their struggles. In some respects I was Dante.

Mallrats, Chasing Amy, and Dogma all lived up the the author that I viewed Kevin Smith as. Since then, well, since then, there have been some bumps along the road. With every new project I hear about though I get excited at the thought of returning to my love of the films of Kevin Smith, soon, the next one, this is what I say. One day this will be true.

I've sat on the stoop from Chasing Amy. I have visited his comic book store in Red Bank, New Jersey, Secret Stash, these are fun memories (all completed with my best friend Mary).

Outside of the VHS tapes of his films, the DVD's, and the memories, I have some other treasures that I hold close.

A few of his screenplays. I have two versions of Dogma yes. One was released in the UK, I had to see what the difference is, a pursuit I should revisit.



Then there are the comic books. I love these. It is about the time of year to read The Holiday Clerks.




But one of my favorite things (and not just Kevin Smith related) is the Buddy Christ.




"Snoochie Boochies."

Learning As I Go Along

My posting last night was lacking and faulty (I am sure I can come up with excuses, but not going to go down that road). I will fine tune the approach I take to this thing called blogging. One thing I will be full of specifics. You might end up drowning in them.

Last night I was off the cuff---in the moment. And perhaps with another topic it would have been okay, but for the direction I was taking, well, it did not work.

And lack of specifics that would have helped with clear points in a few crucial areas I now see led to perhaps a misinterpretation of my authorial intent. A lesson learned.

It was about my personal Canon and getting my readers (what all 2 of you) to think about what your Canon would be.

A Canon of My Own

Today I spent some time studying my bookshelves. I have many new additions that need homes on the shelves and off from my dining room table, so I had to look to see where they could go. The answer, I need a new shelf. And I just got one in August. Of problems to have, I embrace this one.

My shelves are highly organized. I am developing quite the library and in order to find things, well, I find it quite imperative to have genres/styles/time periods/authors (size of book also factored into arrangement) in mind when looking for a particular book. The system is flawed as I had thought I'd lost a book only to find on an unexpected shelf. I realize by looking at the size of the book and that it was a hardcover it explained the placement, but still, flawed. And then there are the books that I realized I had forgotten all about. But that is another topic.

As I was looking through my stacks I came to the conclusion that with the exception of 1 bookcase, I have determined my own "personal" Canon that appears in bits in pieces on my shelves. Whether it be in current fiction (my book shelf or hardcovers and book shelf of paperback) or my theory bookcase (yes, I have enough books on Aesthetics, Literary Theory, Cultural Theory that they have a bookcase unto themselves, a rather large one). But this really shows up where literature scholars would view I have The Canon shelved (1 of 2 such cases, but this one is purely focused on this type of literature). But I have made it my own, kind of, influenced of course by the actual Canon without doubt. My Canon is influenced by the type of literature I am drawn too, texts that challenge me and make me think, I am not a big reader of "pulp fiction" these books just do not motivate me to read (what they do is for another time). I will say it is not perfect space creates the imperfection, but does not detract from my point.

On the top shelf (oh, I built this bookcase at 12) we have the top of my Canon:



For me Henry James is my main man. And he has the place of honor on this shelf. Tucked next to him his contemporary and competition Edith Wharton, then there is James Joyce. These are not literary lightweights. And both James and Joyce rarely taught. The Canon thinks that they are too difficult and rarely make it to students. Shameful (they are not too difficult to teach, this must be overcome), but they make my top tier Canon placement.

The Middle Shelf, still weighty but not Henry:



Being a Modernist girl at heart, this would be my literary time period (Henry James and Herman Melville are both early Modernists, but this is another topic), no surprise to find Fitzgerald, Ellison, Waugh, and Chandler located there. All powerful and important authors, but in my opinion not up with James. Hence their placement on the second shelf.


Lastly the bottom shelf, the dregs (not really), the might as well be pulp (just kidding) it's barely literature literature (again I kid) aka they're no Fitzgerald:




Smattering of authors, Kundera, Camus, random Modernists texts, and others round out this shelf. All great texts by great authors (except for the Hemingway), but not Henry James of F. Scott Fitzgerald to me. In my canon, it seems I have ranked them third tier, at least in this little microcosm. If the shelves were larger and fit more, these would be the books buried at the bottom of the others, because the likely hood of my wanting to pull off at random times is low.

Do we all in some way create a Canon of our own? I say yes. I doubt though that everyone displays it in the same manner which I unconsciously did, or do you?

Literature In 125 Words: The Great Gatsby

Year or so ago read a story about how "The Classics" were going to be published in shorter versions, to be more reader friendly. Who needs to read a chapter from Melville on whale blubber? Well, problem is, that it's never just about whale blubber is it?

I was thinking why stop with shortening a 700 page book to say 350 pages. Do it right! Get it down to 125 Words.

F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby gets the first such treatment:

I, Nick Carraway, was told to go East. Settled in West Egg, cannot reside in the East for I am too honest. I stare out to the green light and imagine the life of Gatsby across the bay—then watch him vanish. My eyes aren’t the only witness, glance up to the faded eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg's watching over the ash heaps. Tom’s a brute, ruling life. Watch Daisy float and fall in love with shirts. Jordan cheats and could never be. Poor Myrtle, ripped asunder, damned. Then Gatsby, the man I knew, but did not. Really Gatz, but his books were real. I did not pull the lever. Glittering and new gray ash heaps, before me, pathfinder for a generation in the loneliest decade.


Okay, now your turn!

Everything Deserves An Introduction

Primarily this will be a book heavy blog. Blog. I do not like this word. As a rule I love language, but there are words that just stick in the mouth and clunk about, blog being one of them.

I thoroughly enjoy writing about literature, which since I love to read, well is handy—oh and loads of READ THIS BOOK will be happening.

Look for HotSexyBookLove to make many, many such statements (oh and may I suggest following @HotSexyBookLove on Twitter).

This might manifest as a book here or there, maybe a reading list, or if I am really into it, a full on Syllabus style list. Yeah. I love the syllabi creation. Syllabi are fun!

I do not just do reading of books—I think EVERYTHING is a text to be read.

Have a “Lost” (yes the phenomenal TV show) project that I have been grappling with for what feels like ages now, that I am working my way back to, so really, expect theories and arguments stemming from my developing reading of “Lost” to appear.

And of course movies; already working on something on Say Anything and The Big Lebowski.

One thing I hope for, comments—lead to conversation.

Really it will shake itself out as it comes along.

Now it has to begin, eh?

Have To Begin Somewhere

I have an idea. Well ideas. Now it is up to me to see what I can or will do with them.

Stay tuned. Or do not turn the page on me just yet.