I’ve been saying for months that I was planning to revive Alvah’s Books and I think I got my groove back. Two reviews in a week. Not bad. Although I would like to get it to three reviews a week, but I think I’m pushing my luck.

Why did I let Alvah’s Books lapse? Writing book reviews is not an easy task. It’s work. And because I aggressively outreached to so many publishers, I got on many mailing lists and received many books. Too many books. So many books that it would take a lifetime or two to read them. But truth be told, I simply burned myself out on reading tome after tome for Alvah’s Books and for publications that pay.

But I’m back to it for Alvah’s Books, for HAND/EYE Magazine, and now for Kirkus Reviews (well, it will be my first review and it’s a nice publication to have under the belt). But back to Alvah’s Books, the two most recent reviews are up, and you can read my impressions of Jonathan Rabb’s The Second Son and Rebecca Cantrell’s A Trace of Smoke.

What’s on the burner for right now? I’m currently reading Triangle: The Fire that Changed America by David von Drehle. If you follow me on Facebook, you’ve seen my posts about this tragedy. Why am I so intrigued by it? Several reasons ranging from an interest in New York City history specifically my beloved Lower East Side, but also the birth of industry reforms for safety and labor laws. So it’s all related to my obsessions of when the Left actually had some power to make important things happen.

After Triangle, I have a towering pile of books to go through, as well as a long list of ebooks to be read and then decide which one will be lucky to be scrutinized. Now what I learned about reading for review, especially if you’re doing it for the fun of it, is to not to be so strict with yourself. My first year with Alvah’s Books, I was trying to get as many books under my belt and writing what would be upcoming that it suddenly became a chore. Then I got into this habit of reading books that I considered so-so and not bothering to review them, which then moved on to not finishing them at all.

And that goes against my maxim of book reviewing. You simply don’t read and review the good books only. If you have an audience and they’re curious about a certain book, you have to provide them the good, the bad, and the ugly. Of course, the books I’m not wild about you can tell by my lackluster writing, which typically means I didn’t want to write the review in the first place.

In any event, Alvah’s Books was meant to be a fun and interesting exercise in reading and writing book reviews, and I hope to return to that original goal. In the next few weeks, I’ll be making some changes to the site (no, I am not changing the theme or the look. I learned the hard way of screwing around with the design the first time I did that). It will just be more resource stuff and some cleaning out of old posts that no longer matter (like old NYT bestselling lists).

Okay, back to David von Drehle’s Triangle

My reading marathon for both learning and pleasure continues, and I’ve been perusing the bestseller lists, reading book reviews and blogs to get recommendations. Recently, I was invited to subscribe to another newsletter, , To Be Read, and it’s brilliant. It’s very simple in nature–book title and the cover, a quick synopsis, and blurbs from major reviewers or authors.

The newsletter comes three times a week, and so far the selections have been pretty intriguing. The founders welcome suggestions of all kinds so you might see both recently published books or some pretty old ones.

If you want some great reading suggestions, check out the site and sign up for the newsletter. It’s free and very welcome visitor to your inbox.

It’s been a while since I posted anything on Alvah’s Books, and I have a huge stack of books to read and review. Most of these are for pleasure, and some are from publicists have asked me to review the books. As the pile gets taller, I start to feel overwhelmed. Reading and writing a review feels more like schoolwork. However, I’ve been chastising myself for months for not getting back to Alvah’s Books and it’s time that I start reviewing on a regular basis. So that being said, I’ve  reviewed Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny. Please visit Alvah’s Books to read the review.

And since I am in this revival mode, I figure it’s time to develop some sort of editorial calendar. I have four books on the blacklist that need to be read and reviewed (also serves as research). Plus two introductory primers on Marxism (thankfully, they’re very short), one on the Spanish Civil War by Paul Preston, a book on the Rosenberg case, and Russell Kirk’s The Conservative Mind (that will take the longest 500+ pages). After that I’ll focus on some literary fiction before I delve back to any special interests.

I guess better start reading. First on the list: Dorothy Healey Remembers: A Life in American Communist Party, by Dorothy and Maurice Isserman.

As you can see, Rebeca Schiller has had a bit of a makeover. Do you like it? It’s still minimal, the palette is simple. I suppose I could get a little snazzier, but I like it.  I’m using a custom theme (The Ultimate Blogging Theme) and I have the license to use on other sites, but for now I’m giving it a test run to see how well it works.

I mentioned last week that I’ve been busy with some knitting and listening to an audiobook. The book I chose was Stephen King’s IT. I read this during one winter break in college and I really enjoyed it. I have no clue why I decided to buy the audio version, but I’m pleased that I did. Steven Weber (the actor who played Jack Rudolph in Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip) reads beautifully, and he acts out the parts convincingly (even the female ones). My intention is not to provide a review of the audio version, but more of my personal insight on becoming a better listener.

I’ve read a lot of Stephen King and I’ve seen the film adaptations of his books, but listening to the story opens a different world. In the beginning, I admit, I was a little impatient with the ton of detail he provides, but after an hour of listening, I started to relish all the miniscule details and see how each one fits into the story.

I always thought I was a pretty good listener and reader, but I’ve come to realize I tend to tune out a lot (I wish I could do that right now and not have to hear the mower outside my window). For someone who wants to write, listening and observation are part of the foundation of good writing (and this post is not by any means an example of good writing).  So what am I fumbling about? I guess what I’m trying to get down is that a lot of us who want to write fiction need to work on some of our basic skills. We tend to shut off the hearing for both real life situations, and we tend not to read as closely as we should. By listening to IT, I’ve gained some insight about the voice of style, balancing show versus tell, the nuances of dialogue, and the story’s pacing. Of course, these are things you look at when you read, but to actually to hear these elements in action and see how they all seamlessly fall into place, makes me want to listen to more stories and see what I missed and how I can improve my own story-telling.

So after IT, I’d like to listen to MudBound by Hillary Jordan. I stumbled across this in a brand new blog I discovered, Word Love A Bolog by Randy Susan Meyers, who wrote:

Mudbound by Hillary Jordan absorbed me from page one. Forties-era Mississippi is presented by shifting points of view from interacting characters who are opposite sides of the same puzzle: A culture-shocked wife digs deep inside herself when brought from the city to the mud-encased farm her husband buys. He clings to worn-out values, while his too-attractive brother attempts to overcome the mark of their abusive father and the bigoted culture in which they were raised. The black patriarch of a family sharecropping on this farm invokes religion to help him remain steady in this rage-invoking culture. His son, home from the war and having tasted equality while overseas, struggles to shake off the yoke of racism. His mother allows nothing to stand in the way of protecting her family.

Shifting points of view has been a topic of discussion in my online writers group, and I’m curious of how Jordan handles it, and how well the characters come across to listeners.

By the way, Meyers is also a writer. Her novel, The Murderer’s Daughters, is on my To Read list or should it be To Listen?

Author Nancy J. Parra, one of my Facebook pals, recently posted on her blog, “Resolution–Read.” She writes that as a child she was a voracious reader, reading up to six books a week, but as an adult she’s been reading less, using her spare time to write. For 2010 her resolution is:

To rediscover reading with abandon. I have to read for my Master’s program, but my goal is to read more than that. My goal is to read all the books on my shelf, to read as many debut novels as possible, to read in as many genre’s as possible. In essence, my one resolution this year is to read in hopes of finding the lost joy, the lost wonder and bring it back into my life.  

Fortunately for me I read a lot because of Alvah’s Books, but I understand Nancy’s laments about using her free time to write. Last night, I sat down with my electronic calendar and alloted time for freelance work, writing Julius, this blog, exercise, ESL, French and Photoshop. Where does reading fit in? Not sure yet, but it is a priority.

One of my reading goals for 2010  is to read the two dozen writing books I have collected in the past three years. Today I started Jill Dearman’s Bang the Keys, which according to the back cover it is:

A writing workshop in a book for the concentration-challenged, twenty-first century writer. Bang the Keys brings an irreverant, effective, and erudite approach to the craft and practice of writing. Based on eternal principles that work for scribes of all stripes, this practical compendium contains energetic and original ideas for writers who have become masters at setting their own mind traps. 

Sounds like a perfect fit.  Thus, this week’s reading agenda  is to finish Bang the Keys–I’ll provide a review of it on Alvah’s Books. Moving forward, I’ll read the mighty Writer’s Digest books on craft and review those as well.

Now off to revise chapter three of Julius.

Yesterday afternoon I was at the library and while I was browsing at the new book section it occured to me that I should read a book that’s out of my comfort zone and review it for Alvah’s Books. The one I was thinking about was Sarah Palin’s Going Rogue.

I went to the checkout desk and asked in sotto voce if the book had been ordered. The librarian asked why was I whispering. I admitted I was embarrassed because I felt I was betrying my political beliefs. “I’m a Marxist,” I said and then went on to explain that I wanted to review a book that I typically would not consider. The problem, I added, was that it might put off my readers, but most importantly, would I give it a fair and objective review considering my politics? The librarian laughed and said that if I wanted the book she would order it for me. I finally decided to let it go because I know that the final result would be a bad review.

The idea of reading something out of the ordinary has a certain appeal, but I know myself well enough that I don’t like science-fiction, fantasy, romance, or books written by conservative politicians. So why seek these books out? I suppose it’s the idea that if you don’t read it you won’t know if you like it or not.  There might be that golden nugget in a basketful of rotten ones that stands out, surprises you, and changes your mind about the genre or the author.

There’s a part of me that really wants to give Sarah Palin the benefit of the doubt and maybe if I decide to read her book I’ll find a redeemable quality. However, I’m too much of a cynic to be fully, or partially, convinced, that Ms. Palin might have an endearing characteristic that might sway me a little to her defense. Well, there is one thing that she’s got going for her–the cover photograph on Newsweek. She looks great.

As a writer I read quite a bit. Partly because I write freelance book reviews and I’m also the editor and publisher of Alvah’s Books, but I read to write better. Currently, I have several stacks of books to review for two other review sites and/or publications and for Alvah’s Books; I have to admit that I am a little overwhelmed by all the books I have to read and then sit down to write a review.  I love to read, but recently this great affection has turned a little into a chore. In spite of how I feel, every evening I settle in bed with a stack of books and read a few pages here and there, until I settle on one book to complete.

What am I currently reading? First, let’s start with I recently finished. On the top of the list is Frank Bruni’s Born Round.  For those not familiar with Bruni, he’s the former restaurant reviewer from The New York Times. This is his memoir about his trials and tribulations of eating, gaining weight and losing it.  There are several laugh out loud sections in Bruni’s book, at least I thought so. Review will appear soon on Alvah’s Books.

 Next completed book was Barbara Ehrenreich’s Bait and Switch. This one should be of interest to laid-off white collar workers who are going through the misery of job counseling and networking and not getting anywhere. Ehrenreich can come across as sharp with her analysis of career coaches who supposedly know the ins and outs of the job search, but she’s not off-base with her observations. I found myself nodding in agreement that a lot of the job search charade is nothing but horse-shit.  Finding a job in today’s market (and this was written in 2005) for a well-educated, middle-aged laid off executive is a crap shoot. It doesn’t amount much to talent or experience, it’s being whereever you need to be at the right time and right place (and if you’re younger and and have a cheaper salary history, even better).

Now to the current reading list. The big book that I’m slogging through is Blood and Politics: The History of the White Nationalist Movement from the Margins to the Mainstream  by Leonard Zeskind. For anyone interested in this topic, Zeskind does a great job of providing a comprehensive history of the white supremacist movement.

I’ve laid off requesting advance copies from publishers because of my back log, but I today I recently purchased the third and final book of Steig Larsson’s Millenium trilogy The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest. I plunked down the $26.00 and now I have to patiently wait until it gets in my hot little hands. I have a feeling once it arrives, I’ll be pulling a 24 hour read-a-thon.

I could list the other 50 or so books, but the guilt of not getting to them will be too much to bear. Many of those are novels and I’m discovering that I’m getting fussier about fiction than non-fiction. Does that have anything to do that I consider myself a novelist and I’m critical of some the plot devices, character development, dialogue and whatnot? Can’t really say. With the exception of a few novels I’ve read this year, I can’t say that I’ve been wowed by many and perhaps that’s why I’ve been dragging my heels recently. Hopefully that ennui will wear off soon.

Now time to settle in with those nasty white supremacists.