The following is what I've been reading. The reviews are capsules; if you want to discuss the works in more detail, or recommend something, mail me.
On the nightstand:
- The American Presidency, Alan Brinkley and Davis Dyer
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A collection of essays on each president from modern historians.
Recent additions to the library:
- Crooked Little Vein, Warren Ellis
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This is Warren Ellis's first prose novel, and as a follower of his web presence and other work, I was expecting his usual adrenalin-rush prose and trips into alarming corners of the human experience. That's all there. What I wasn't expecting were the bits of sweetness in here.
It's a very enjoyable book. Nothing in here changed my life, but I laughed, I got a little misty, and I kept wondering what was around the next corner.
I wouldn't pick this up if you're not ready to have your mind (and other parts) expanded by the disturbing range of human behavior. No, really. If that doesn't bother you, pick it up and enjoy.
Recommended (with the caveat above).
- The Wordy Shipmates, Sarah Vowell
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The Wordy Shipmates is Vowell telling us some of the story of the Massachusetts Bay colony, and she brings her love of American history and ability to make times come alive. As usual when I read anything she's written with any research behind it at all, I learned a lot and enjoyed it.
The only criticism I have is that her goals in telling this history seem vague. Other than her personal interest, it's unclear why this period is particularly interesting, or what she'd like readers to take away from the book. The result is that the book is more of a snack than a meal. I learned a bunch of things about the period, and understand the people involved better. There are occasional allusions to how the attitudes fostered here relate to modern times, but without an overarching theme, I don't form a lasting impression.
It is Sarah Vowell, so there's only so much I'm going to gripe. But I think that a clearer theme would help focus her excellent writing and research.
- The Acts of King Arthur and his Noble Knights, John Steinbeck
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This is a strange little thing. It's a recasting of Le Mort d'Arthur into more readable prose by John Steinbeck. Steinbeck apparently never considered the work finished, and it was published after his death.
It definitely has the feel of being a work in progress. The early tales cleave very strongly to Mallory's phrasing, and are pretty lifeless to my ear. Later tales begin to warm to life, but also have a lot of the voice of 1960's Steinbeck in them. At any rate the voice I hear sounds a lot like the one I heard in America and Americans.
I get the impression that had Steinbeck been able to smoothly balance timelessness and modern perspective, as he does in the best spots of Acts, this would have been a really enjoyable book. I don't think he got there. Like Juneteenth, this may not have been published for a reason.