Merry Wanderer of the Night:
read along

It's obvious I'm obsessed with essays and really want to make all of you love them too. I've studied essays as long as I've been in college (almost three years!) and read them before I came here, but in 2011 I would like to take a few steps back. My Awesome Essays posts typically focus on newer essays, or at least essays from the 1960's to present. I like that focus because I think it's easier for people to read those essays and discuss them. But for those of you who are up to a bit of a challenge, you might like to join me in the 2011 Montaigne Readalong. This isn't a challenge, you can participate as much or as little as you like.

This really my own self challenge. I want to read all of Montaigne's essays in one year, no small feat. Michel de Montaigne is a 16th Century writer, so obviously the writing style is very different from what we read today. The edition I plan to read is 1,344 pages long! Now you understand why I want to read it over the course of a year. Break that huge number down, and you're reading about 25 pages a week, which probably about as much Montaigne as I can take every week.

So where do you fit into all of this?

You don't really even need to sign-up, although it'd be nice to let me know if you want to participate in any way by leaving a comment. I'm going to post a schedule for what essays I'm going to read each week on a page underneath my header. If you're struck to join in for any particular week, you can go there and find out what essays I'm reading so you can discuss them on my blog post that week. Basically you can follow along as much as you want, joining in on conversations a few time over the year or every week (if you dare).

How do I find the essays?

The great thing about Montaigne is that he is in the public domain! That means you don't even have to buy a book to participate in this. One option is to subscribe to Montaigne's Essais on Daily Lit. This way you'll get essays emailed to your account as often as you like, although I'll tell you there are 459 parts to the Daily Lit subscription, meaning that if you got an email every day it would still take you over a year to read. I think these should line up with my book, although I'm not entirely certain yet. You can also check out some of the essays on Oregon State's website. If you're really excited you can read the same book I am, the Penguin edition called The Complete Essays.

I'll provide more information about all of this later, but I wanted you all to know I am hosting this next year!

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The day has finally arrived for discussing The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay

. One month ago I decided to host a readalong for this book, and some of you along the way have dropped by to say if you loved it or hated it. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay is the story of Joe Kavalier, an escaped Jew from Nazi-invaded Prague, and his cousin Samuel Klayman who lives in New York City. When Joe arrives in New York Sam doesn't know what to think really, but they bond over a love of art and comic books. Together they decide to create a comic book that will fight the Nazis and hope to earn enough money to bring the rest of Joe's family to New York. Joe is the artist, the creator, the escapist. Sam is the brains and negotiator. Together they battle monsters throughout this epic story by Michael Chabon.

When I started this book I was still in a bit of a slump from Middlesex. I just loved Middlesex, and every book I read after it felt a little pointless. I mean, it just wasn't going to be as good as Middlesex. But when I started The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay I got that same feeling in the pit of my stomach that I did within the first ten pages of Middlesex. That feeling that whatever I'm about to read is going to be absolutely amazing. They're very similar in some ways. They both have long, breathy prose that makes you want to read slowly and soak every last page in. They're both terrifyingly long, but difficult to put down even though neither have them have super exciting plots. There are exciting moments in Kavalier and Clay, like when Joe is escaping from Prague or when they find out they've been cheated by the owners of the company who publishes their comic books-- but Chabon is not a suspenseful writer. If Kavalier and Clay were written by Dan Brown the story would have been more of a page-turner in those instances. What keeps the pages turning with Chabon is his well-developed characters and recognizable relationships.

Oh, and did I mention Chabon is the master of bringing comic books alive in prose? Because he totally is. Check out this passage for proof: "His eyeballs seemed to clang in their sockets. He felt as if someone had opened an umbrella inside his rib cage. He waited, flopped on his belly, unblinking as a fish, to see if he would ever again be able to draw a breath. Then he let out a long, low moan, a little at a time, testing the muscles of his diaphragm. "Wow," he said finally. Sammy knelt beside him and helped him to one knee. Joe gulped up big lopsided gouts of air. The German man turned to the other people the platform, one arm raised in challenge or, perhaps, it seemed to Joe, in appeal" (192). The book is full of examples such as this, where Chabon can slow down town just through words. And when he slows down time his writing becomes the panels of a comic book. One line is one panel, and as you're reading you see everything happening as if it were drawn for you. It's masterful.

And the epic quality of his writing is perfection, this passage stopped me cold on the bus, "So much has been written and sung about the bright lights and ballrooms of Empire City--that dazzling town!--about her nightclubs and jazz joints, her avenues of neon and chrome, and her swank hotels, their rooftop tea gardens strung in the summertime with paper lanterns. On this steely autumn afternoon, however, our destination is a place a long way from the horns and the hoohah. Tonight we are going down, under the ground, to a room that lies far beneath the high heels and the jackhammers, lower than the rats and the legendary alligators, lower even than that bones of Algonquins and dire wolves" (267). The light changes in this passage. In just two sentences Chabon takes the dimmer switch from dazzling and dancing bright lights, to dark, low light where shadows are everywhere. It plays with your emotion. You're entranced by the beauty of the city, then frightened by unknown underground.

I could go on and on about Chabon's writing and how much I loved Kavalier and Clay-- but I think I'll give some other people the chance to discuss. What did you like about this book? What did you not like about it? Did you even finish it? Have you ever read anything about Chabon before and after experiencing this do you think you will again?

Oh I'm giving this an A by the way, like I even have to say it. In January Books on the Nightstand is hosting their own readalong of this book-- so if you didn't catch it this time around try to get in on theirs! And if you have a review of this book please add it to the Mr. Linky. If you don't have a review, please leave a comment with your thoughts!

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I actually started The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay

this week and I'm about fifty pages into the 550 pages. What can I say? Midterms took over my life for awhile. We're halfway through the month though and I wondered how other people are doing on the book? The official end date isn't until November 1, so if you haven't started (or haven't joined!) there is still plenty of time to read the book. You don't even have to have the book finished by November 1, just know that this is when I will post the end post.

From what I've read so far in the book it is excellent. The opening scene is of Kavalier and Clay meeting each other for the first time and they have so much in common. Sam Klayman is sleeping at night when all of a sudden his door swings open and his mother is standing in the doorway with another boy, Josef Kavalier. It turns out it's his cousin who has come from Nazi-invaded Prague. I read some of this on the back of the book, but I didn't realize that Kavalier was escaping Nazis when I first picked up this book, so his role as an escape artist is even more interesting to me now.

Have you read this book? Are you joining the readalong? You can sign up at the original post.

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I have decided to host my first readalong! The book I want to read is The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay

by Michael Chabon. This is a book that I've had for at least six years and I have started multiple times, only to set it aside for something else. Well it's time to read it! I've read so many rave reviews of this novel and know a lot of people with similar taste to me who loved it. I want to do this as a readalong because I thought maybe if some of you joined me in reading the book I might actually finish it this time! And if you're rereading it, all the better.

Here is the description from the back of the book: Joe Kavalier, a young Jewish artist who has also been trained in the art of Houdini-esque escape, has just smuggled himself out of Nazi-invaded Prague and landed in New York City. His Brookly cousin Sammy Clay is looking for a partner to create heroes, stories, and art for the latest novelty to hit America- the comic book. Drawing ont heir fears and dreams, Kavalier and Clay create the Escapist, the Monitor, and Luna Moth, inspired by the beautiful Rosa Sakes, who will become linked by powerful ties to both men. With exhilarating style and grace, Michael Chabon tells an unforgettable story about American romance and possibility.

My copy is about 560 pages, so it's on the longer side of things. I'd like to have it finished by mid-October November, so I think this readalong will end on October 18 November 1. If you'd like to participate then on October 18 November 1 you can come here to post your thoughts on the book, and if you have a review then you can share that with us as well. Towards the end of this month I think I will post a progress report of my own and check in to see how everyone else is doing, if they've started yet. I really hope some of you join me in this readalong! The book is supposed to be fantastic, it won a Pulitzer after all, and it's something I think a lot of you would enjoy. I've included a Mr. Linky here where you can sign up with the name of your blog so I can get an idea of how many people want to participate, and if you'd like you can post about the readalong on your blog (I'd really appreciate it!) and link back to that.

Please help me read this book!

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Last year I had to read a section of In Cold Blood

for my nonfiction writing class and was astounded by how well Capote made this horrible nonfiction story sound like a novel. I wanted to read the book, but put it off until the College Students group on Goodreads read it for the month of August. The book is the true story of a murdered family, the Clutters, in the small town of Holcomb, Kansas. Mr. Clutter, his invalid wife, teenage son, and teenage daughter were brutally murdered by two men who appeared to have no motivation for killing them. I knew a little bit about this story before going in, but the book reads almost like a mystery novel so I found myself wanting to find out what would happen next- something that doesn't often happen for me in nonfiction books.

Capote is a great writer. He manages to make you feel just the slightest twinge of sympathy for the murderers, and he goes to great lengths to explain why something like this might happen. I don't think anyone can ever explain it, but the psychological reasons were really interesting to me and scarier than the actual murders. Basically, you can be crazy and not even know it, and to me that is really terrifying. The trial moved rather quickly, which is something I always like in a book because sometimes I think trials go on forever and you really aren't learning that much about what is happening.

I did have just one teeny, tiny problem with this book that totally wouldn't have bothered me if it wasn't for To Kill a Mockingbird's 50th Anniversary in July. When I read Mockingbird: A Portrait of Harper Lee I learned how much she contributed to this book and all Truman Capote gave her was a lousy dedication. No one in Holcomb liked Truman Capote, but they did like Harper Lee and so they gave her a great deal of the information. Basically, without Harper Lee this book probably wouldn't exist. And I know I shouldn't let that dictate how I feel about this book and I do think this book a great read, truly reads like a mystery novel and is the perfect blend of fact and storytelling, but it still just bothered me. I'm sure things like that happen all the time, authors not giving credit, but the fact that I knew made this experience different for me.

I give In Cold Blood a B.

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I am currently about fifty pages from the end of To Kill a Mockingbird. Yesterday I mentioned that I was planning on watching the movie for the actual fiftieth anniversary, but since I wasn't finished with the book I decided to wait. Today is a rainy day and I have nothing to do, so I think it's the perfect time to actually finish up this book. I've been reading Mockingbird: A Portrait of Harper Lee by Charles J. Shields at the same time. I'm not very far into this biography about the extremely private Harper Lee, but I feel like the book is full of information that makes the book even more interesting.

I recently learned that Harper Lee was childhood friends with Truman Capote, but I had no idea that he was that base for the character Dill. I also didn't know that Harper Lee's father was a lawyer and in some ways he is like Atticus in the book. Some of the similarities between her life and the book you could guess, but it's interesting to read an account of them and see how things might have come together. Shields put together this book without interviewing Harper Lee, which made it extremely challenging and I'm amazed by how well he did. He used old interviews and accounts from people who knew or know Harper Lee to create the story. It's a great biography and reads like a novel.

I'm also following the To Kill A Mockingbird Anniversary Facebook Fan Page and found this article by Tom Brokaw about his first experience with To Kill a Mockingbird. It's really interesting to read an account by someone who was there for the release of the book and it made me think about things I hadn't really considered before. Check out this article if you're interested! There are several other posts on the Facebook fan page that are also great for different ideas about the book. Also, be sure to check out Capricious Reader's post about To Kill a Mockingbird as well.

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This is my second time reading To Kill a Mockingbird

by Harper Lee, the first time was about five years ago when I was a sophomore in high school. It seems like that was a million years ago, but I remember this being one of the few books I read for class and really got into. I mean, I couldn't put it down. I ended up finishing it in a couple days and had to spend the next five weeks pretending I was still reading it. Coming back to the book, I started out wondering what it was about this book that drew me in so much. There isn't a whole lot of suspense, besides wondering who Boo Radley really is and what he is going to do next. I just don't think that would have been enough to propel me through the novel at fifteen. I have to agree with Capricious Reader's post from today, it was Scout that made me want to read more. Her voice in this novel is perfect, she's tough but not unbelievable, and she is a great storyteller.

And she loves to read. When her teacher in first grade gets upset that she already knows how she becomes so upset she doesn't want to go back to school. I underlined the same quote as Capricious Reader did. I underlined it when I was fifteen, and it still meant as much to me at twenty; "Until I feared I would lose it, I never loved to read. One does not love breathing." I think every booklover can connect with that quote, and maybe that was the base of my early love for this novel. It's like Scout is asking us to keep going, to love this book now.

I also love the lazy way Harper Lee describes the town."People moved slowly then. They ambled across the square, shuffled in and out of the stores around it, took their time about everything. A day was twenty-four hours long but seemed longer." How opposite is that from how most people feel today? There aren't enough hours in the day, I don't amble anywhere. I sprint. Everywhere. And I'm always connected with my Blackberry or my laptop or my iPod or whatever. But when I crack the spine on this book I don't look at the time. I just sprawl out in my living room and take it all in. I think I might be reading this book a little slowly, but I honestly don't really know.

If you've never read To Kill a Mockingbird, please do so! And if you have, read it again! This month is the 50th Anniversary of the classic and I'm going to talk about it every Monday along with Capricious Reader. If you do a post on the book visit her site and share the link with everyone.

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