Summer's Literary Malaise

Or make that my-laze... I've just not been able to get into anything since my Harry Potter rampage. (Next scheduled HP rampage: July 10th.) I've delved into "The Kalevala", the Finnish folk epic, and Barbara Kingsolver's new book, "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle", but I'm more in the mood for fiction. There's something about the summer heat that makes me crave a good, strong plotline.

Did a little more work on my children's mystery tonight. It's been a few months since I last worked on it. I keep thinking each chapter will be the last, or I was anyway; I'm now thinking it'll be another two chapters. It's a little darker and scarier than I'd originally intended, but I like it. We'll see what happens on the edit.

I had an interesting conversation the other day with an acquaintance who has the happy job of editing books. She said it's good to get some articles published, just by way of establishing some publication credits in a somewhat wider market than, say, poetry, lit or children's books. Good tip. Time to get back into creative nonfiction mode...

Crazy for Harry

I resisted reading the Harry Potter series for a long time, but when I finally caved, I caved big. I devoured all four books then in print, promptly pre-buying each new release as soon as possible. I admit it: I'm a total freak for Harry Potter. I'm already getting excited about the seventh year, coming out July 21st, although I've also started mourning the end of the series. I know Rowling's going to put out an eighth book of some sort, but it won't be the same. Honestly, I've been both excited about and dreading the day ever since I first read "The Sorcerer's Stone".

Anyone who enjoys childrens' books, and imaginative settings, has to love Harry Potter. I don't see how you couldn't. J.K. Rowling writes brilliantly, and her characters are fantastic. She does a great job of roundly portraying even the most minor character.

I have this tradition of re-reading the series on occasion, and most especially before the next one's due out. I realized last night, after finishing "Division Street", that with as little time as I have to read these days, I'd better get started on Harry. I got as far as pulling the book off the shelf before I got involved in something else and before I knew it, the next day had dawned without reading a word. Case in point. In fact, what am I doing writing?!

Thoughts on Division Street: America

I'm about two-thirds of the way through Studs Terkel's "Division Street: America", and it's so good. Very thought-provoking; it features interviews on civil rights, American race and class struggles like gentrification, and the changing world at a time when people's views on the world, civil rights and class were evolving rapidly, and more pressure was being brought to bear on these issues socially.

One thing I've noticed more about this book than Studs' others is the juxtaposition of interviews. At times, he'll put highly contrasting viewpoints one after another, each as certain as they can be that everyone sees things the way they do. It may be these shifting contexts that make this feel more like a vast ethnography of all of Chicago's microcosms, rather than straight oral history. It's more about how people's perceptions of the rest of the world, rather than what people do, which seems to be more the focus of much of his other work.

Regardless, as usual, it's going way too fast. One of the things I love about Studs' books is that they're easy for busy people to read, but they're so good that I find myself unable to stop reading. Another nice problem to have.