THE TALLY: MARCH 2015

Dear Son,

At the end of each month where I have posted, I list the books we addressed for that month.  For March, we noted eight books. So, so far we've noted 927 titles.  If 7,000 is the estimate for the number of books in the library, that means we only have 6,073 books to go!  We'll be reading for a long time!  Which is okay as, Son, that's a sort of Heaven in itself.  Here is March's List noted under each post's title:

BOOKS THAT CAME HOME:
MAN IS WOLF TO MAN: SURVIVING THE GULAG, memoir by Janusz Bardach and Kathleen Gleeson 

THE ART FORGER, novel by B.A. Shapiro 

THE STORIED LIFE OF A.J. FIKRY, novel by Gabrielle Zevin 

THE DESCARTES HIGHLANDS, novel by Eric Gamalinda 

ANGELICA'S DAUGHTERS, collaborative novel by  Cecilia Manguerra Brainard, Erma Cuizon, Susan Evangelista, Veronica Montes and Nadine Sarreal 


THE MITZVAH PURCHASE:
SPINE STILL HOLDING by Bonnie Long

RESURRECTION by Nicole Cooley (

NEW COLLECTED POEMS by Eavan Boland 

BOOKS THAT CAME HOME

Dear Son,

Dad and I just returned from a trip to New York--I think it was our first trip away from you.  Oh yes, we missed you very much!

Son, whenever your Mom travels, she tends to pack a huge load of books with her to read during the airplane ride and at her destination.  She often packs books she's not sure she'd like from her huge To-Read List.  The reason she does so is so that she can just leave those books behind during her trip if she doesn't like them--she leaves them at the airport, in the hotels, in eating areas.... certainly there's the possibility that others might enjoy them and she doesn't mind that.  But she prefers not to return with books she didn't care for.  This strategy also helps lighten the luggage for the return home.

This trip to New York was interesting in that we returned home with every book your Mom packed and read.  So welcome these additions to our library and we hope you will enjoy them, too, in the future:

MAN IS WOLF TO MAN: SURVIVING THE GULAG, memoir by Janusz Bardach and Kathleen Gleeson (University of California Press, Berkeley, 1998) -- among other things, this book shows how much the human being can suffer and how one need not be toppled by suffering.

THE ART FORGER, novel by B.A. Shapiro (Algonquin Books, Chapel Hill, NC, 2012) -- a fictitious story but with interesting details about real life art forgeries

THE STORIED LIFE OF A.J. FIKRY, novel by Gabrielle Zevin (Algonquin Books, Chapel Hill, NC, 2014)-- your Mom is a sucker for fiction revolving around bookstores and this is a charming one

THE DESCARTES HIGHLANDS, novel by Eric Gamalinda (Akashic Books, Brooklyn, 2014) -- your Mom believes Eric Gamalinda is one of the greatest living writers today.  Do follow up on this book and also his poetry.

ANGELICA'S DAUGHTERS, collaborative novel by  Cecilia Manguerra Brainard, Erma Cuizon, Susan Evangelista, Veronica Montes and Nadine Sarreal (Anvil Publishing, Pasig City, Philippines, 2010) -- the structure of this novel is interesting, styled a la the Filipino early 20th century "dugtungan" novel where each writer wrote a chapter, passed it on to another writer who'd write the next chapter and so on.  It may be a tad Chick Lit-ish for you but it's interesting to consider the structure: colaboration with others, Son, can be one of life's pleasures.

Love,

Mom and Dad

THE MITZVAH PURCHASE

Dear Son,

As you know we have devoted a good section of the library to poetry.  This morning, I acquired three more books, including the chapbook featured above: SPINE STILL HOLDING by Bonnie Long (Finishing Line Press, 2015).  It's a publication I might not have purchased, were it not for the coincidence of her entering the bookstore where I was perusing shelves.  Since it's a small store, I couldn't help but overhear her conversation with the bookseller -- that she hoped it would sell, etc.

Now,  it's difficult for poetry books to sell.  I also knew from coincidentally reading the article on her this morning that it's her first "book" publication.  So I purchased a copy, to her delight.  Since I didn't know her poems (yet), this is called a mitzvah, or an act of kindness (per Judaism).  Son, you must always be kind to poets if you ever stumble across them in situations where they are trying to sell one of the least marketable objects in existence: a poetry book.

I only wish now that I'd shown this poet what else I was buying -- I think she would have liked the company in which her chapbook found itself:

RESURRECTION by Nicole Cooley (Louisiana State University, 2006)
NEW COLLECTED POEMS by Eavan Boland (Norton, 2008)

Son, we hope you come to understand poetry enough to not just enjoy it but treasure it.

Love,
Mom and Dad