what book?

what book?

Saturday, April 30, 2011

Discovering Hattie....

Recently I was obsessing over poems and so I naturally checked seven books out of the library. Most were by people I already loved and wanted to read more of, but one was new. It was a book by Hattie Gossett called the Immigration Suite: hey xenophobe! who you calling a foreigner? I very happily picked it off the shelf and abandoned all of my other poets to read her book. It drew on the metaphor of the immigration experiences of people now (1994-2007) in comparison to the immigration experience of everyone else here. She draws parallels between the African-American experience and the experience of newer immigrants. Her poetry is poignant and powerful and I found myself wanting to read the book again just as I had finished it. In our current conversations about immigration, we forget that we are all involved and Hattie reminds us to look under the sound bites and find the symbolism.

posted by bubamarenya @ 10:55 AM 0 comments

Coming back

One of my three hundred goals for the year (disclaimer: these goals have not been completed but they are three hundred in my head) was to come back to the blog world. I haven't felt like writing lately so it seems almost counter-intuitive but i am looking at it as a journaling exercises. I have been reading more and watching many movies that I forget. This come back will be my attempt to keep better track of myself and possibly share some thoughts with others. Let's see how it goes...

posted by bubamarenya @ 10:45 AM 0 comments

Sunday, September 02, 2007

I just finished reading Ariel Gore's How To Become a Famous Writer Before You're Dead. I have been trying to explain to those who haven't heard of Ms. Ariel who she is and what she has written. She is most famous for her Hip Mama zine. She has made being a mother such a wonderful adventure in personhood through her writing. To me she is just a freaking amazing writer. I bought her book partially because I want to start writing again but the truth is she could write a book about the rights of robots in Missouri and I would read it. Her writing is fun and always interesting regardless of the topic.

Alright enough already about my love for Ariel's writing.....This is about the book. It is made up of millions of tiny chapters....well not millions, more like 78. Along with wonderful advice about how to become the writer you knew you were but never dared to promote, she has interviews with other authors and wonderful quotes. The interviews are witty nontraditional exchanges between Ariel and the likes of Julia Alvarez, Dave Barry, Margaret Cho, Susie Bright, and Michelle Tea....weee. There are more but I don't want to take away all the suspense. This is part DIY how to and part conversation with like minded litstars.

This is the book you turn to when you forgot your artist in a closet and realize that she is the part of yourself you like best. Buy this book and feed her.

posted by bubamarenya @ 9:28 PM 0 comments

Thursday, August 30, 2007

I started a new class that I am very excited to be taking. Our first assignment was to read Little School by Alicia Partnoy. I read it in a day and a half. It is a memoir from Alicia's imprisonment during the repressive regime in Argentina. She recounts stories of the prison that was called the little school in a moving and artful way. There are poems throughout the book and it is illustrated by her mother, Raquel Partnoy. The images are as penetrating as the words. I loved this book and suspect I will be reading it again. Painful memoirs are so easily stained by the hurt of their survivors. Partnoy tells a complete story that is knitted out of strength, courage, and resiliance.

posted by bubamarenya @ 3:46 PM 0 comments

First Love and Rockets book

I forgot to tell you about Love and Rockets (Music for Mechanics) After my friend Becca introduced me to Strangers in Paradise I developed a desire to read comics. I read an article about the Hernandez brothers and decided to give this series a try. I am under the impression that this is not their best work. The art is amazing but the story is lacking something....like a plot maybe. It may be that I still have not caught on to all of the intertwining plots or that I don't see the larger metaphor yet. I bought the second book in the series and will tell you what I thought of that when I finish it. Although some parts were a bit hyperbolic and others were just difficult to understand, the overall tone was fun and the images were wonderful to absorb.

posted by bubamarenya @ 3:36 PM 0 comments

Sunday, August 26, 2007

Rent Girl

I finished Rent Girl. A wonderful graphic novel about drugs and prostitution in a lesbian life. It is beautifully illustrated by Laurenn McCubbin who does amazing work. I enjoyed the book although the tone was more melancholy and aloof than I tend to care for. I felt like I was listening to Kurt Cobain the entire time. I enjoyed the book. The artwork matched the feeling of the words perfectly.

I have issues with grammar. I am technically and professionally a grammarian. (Don't point out my blog errors) I don't like to think about it that much, which might explain why I make so many mistakes when I am not working. I usually think that being too grammatically preoccupied leads to bad writing. Although my artist likes to take over, the little grammar lady was yelling throughout this book. There were so many overlooked errors. I kept rereading sentences to see if there was a new word I didn't know about only to find that it was one more typo. Some sentences overlapped needlessly. I kept getting upset for caring but it did detract from the beauty for me. In an email I could careless. In a blog I really don't care that much either but it a book, and such a beautiful book it seemed somewhat sacrilegious.

posted by bubamarenya @ 7:07 AM 0 comments

Monday, August 20, 2007

on the road again....well off and reading

The road brought many wonderful opportunities to read and find things to read. As I promised I read Lynne Trusse's book to Bug on the road trip. I think she enjoyed it. Although I have to say the voice in my head seems a lot funnier than my out loud reading voice. We read that on the way up and started a book that we had both already read....done that.....then another book that is fun but just wasn't a good read out loud book. Finally we found one that suited the trip. Michael Moore's Adventures in TV Nation. This book was a funny look at the TV Nation show which was like MM's movies but in little tiny segments. The show was the original punked...oh yeah and it had a point. It was a great book to read for information and a laugh or two. I don't think I will be getting to metaphorical or analytical on this one...I did start to read Whipping Girl by Julia Serano. You can expect A LOT of theorizing on that one. So far it is one of the best books I have read in a long time. I missed her discussion of the book in Atlanta by one day. Oh well.

Speaking of Atlanta. I bought 19 books. I am trying not to read them all at once. Only three at a time.

posted by bubamarenya @ 2:54 PM 2 comments

Thursday, August 02, 2007

I really really need to update this blog. Well the last book I read was Talk to the Hand by Lynn Trusse. This woman is brilliant. She can make anything funny. I read it on the three hour plane ride to Mexico and looked completely silly because I could not stop laughing. We all have different view points about what is rude but she speaks to the frustration that comes from a society that is so buried in its narcissism that it seldom takes others into account. She is a wonderful writer and you have to love her British humor. I highly recommend for some fun. I bought it again because I gave my copy to my aunt. I will be reading it on a road trip.

posted by bubamarenya @ 11:17 AM 1 comments

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Ariel Gore!!!

I am very excited because Ariel Gore has written a new book (How to Become a Famours Writer Before You're Dead) . She is one of my favorite authors. I was going to post about my excitement and put up the link and I wondered if this would have any relevance to this blog. I then realized two things:
1. This is my blog. Everything is relevant.
2. Julia Alvarez is in Ariel's book.

Maybe now I will understand Yo better. :)

posted by bubamarenya @ 5:48 AM 0 comments

Yo!

Finally I have a new book to write about. The truth is that I have read a few books since my last post but I keep forgetting to write about them.

I read Yo! by Julia Alvarez. I have to say that I was happy to read this author that I had heard so much about but hadn't gotten around to reading. I had heard of How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents and wanted to know what this was about.
This book is a play on words. The title character is named Yolanda, Yo for short. Since Yo means I in Spanish we are supposed to see the biographical feel in the writing. I have not read enough on the author to determine how many autobiographical elements exist but the book seems to be written from the point of view of someone writing about others talking about them....??? Confused? Let me explain. The book is written in chapters that pertain to people other than Yolanda. The book is in the voices of people according to their views of her. This a very interesting literary technique because it allows the reader to see the many sides to one character. As I stated, though, it is obvious that it is coming from the point of view of someone who sympathizes with the character. I am not sure exactly how to explain this. I can feel that the author is reacting to things people have told her and imagining what went on in their heads when they said it.
I liked the book as a novel. It was entertaining although it was not extraordinary in any way. The stylistic format was engaging to read but the reader never gets a sense of a full story. This may be on purpose to understand that a person can not be written into one uniform story but it makes for a choppy feeling. I finished the book feeling as though I had just read half of fifteen other books. There is no conclusion to most of the stories. I have to go out now and get her other novels so I can get more of the story. I am curious but mad. I can't stand movies that force you to watch sequels like I can't stand books that don't tell the whole story so you will read the others. I will have to read the other Alvarez books and let you know if there are any serious conclusions that stem from them.
The book seemed a little simplistic in some areas and maybe redundant. It was enjoyable but it was missing something bigger.

posted by bubamarenya @ 5:25 AM 0 comments

© 2006 what book? | Blogger Templates by Gecko & Fly.
No part of the content or the blog may be reproduced without permission.
Learn how to Make Money Online at GeckoandFly
First Aid and Health Information at Medical Health

About Me

Name: bubamarenya
Home:
About Me:
See my complete profile