Book Journal: Eight Men Out

What a great read. I haven't had much literary experience in sports literature, but I picked this book out at Eagle Eye bookshop and devoured it. Asinof has a great way of writing sports literature, ending every scene, every paragraph, every chapter with a hook. The story is so touching because it is so sorrowful, especially for its two most tragic figures--Buck Weaver and Shoeless Joe Jackson.

Eight Men Out by Eliot Asinof

The Black Sox Scandal of 1919 (almost 100 years ago!!!!!) is infamous--a grimy, dirty-money scandal that lopped in a few gross figures, a few stupid ones, and two really tragic ones. Eight players are banned forever from baseball after they are involved (however directly or indirectly) with gamblers in a conspiracy to throw the 1919 World Series for money. Underpaid by their tightwad jerk of an owner, Comiskey, the players, led by ringleader Chick Gandil, desperately wanted the money their talented deserved, even if it was tainted.

The story is really tragic because of Weaver and Joe Jackson. I like to believe in Weaver's innocence and I think the evidence plays out, but even more tragic is Joe Jackson. So talented, not very intelligent, sensitive to his lack of education, he was tossed around and manipulated and threw away an incredible chance to live out his life as an amazing baseball player next to the likes of Babe Ruth. He got by played semipro baseball in anonymity and that's just heartbreaking. The saddest thing of all is that these boys just couldn't tough it out. Baseball was destined to rise; just a few more years under Comiskey's frugality and their money would have been a veritable cashflow. As tragic as it is, and as sorry I feel for Joe Jackson and Weaver, I also commend Kenesaw Mountain Landis and his stance against such a horrible situation. Perhaps one day we'll see Weaver's reinstatement, but until then, we can only look at this as a tragedy in sports. And a sign that DIRTY MONEY IS DIRTY STILL!

8/10

Book Journal: A Storm of Swords

A STORM OF SWORDS! What a great title.

A Storm of Swords by George R. R. Martin

Big book but freakin' awesome. I'm at this point now of continual reading that it's becoming harder to distinguish what exactly is happening in each book, especially because the books are so long that what happens in the beginning seems a book away from what happens at the end. BUT A Storm of Swords means now--some new POV characters which is exciting, and some real schiz going down with the Lannisters and the STARKS! HOLY CRAP. Why oh why did he do that to the Starks? And OH MY GOD, the last SCENE! THE EPILOGUE! THE RESURRECTED LADY! There isn't a lot of magic in the series which I really like, and when he blends it in with his psycho religious lady Melisandre, and then with that Dondarrion fellow, it just WORKED OUT. Ah!

I found a lot of joy with Arya, Jaime, Sansa and Tyrion as usual, and particularly found Tyrion's arc tragic and sorrowful. I can only hope things will work out and that we'll see Sansa and her Hound back together soon! :)

Also, Theon, you suck, but stay strong.

9/10

My Current Booklist

As of July 2011. Bold font indicates that these books have been read!

1. The Story of English by Robert McCrum
2. The Help by Kathryn Stockett
3. The Visible World by Mark Slouka
4. A Storm of Swords by George R. R. Martin
5. A Feast for Crows by George R. R. Martin
6. A Dance with Dragons by George R. R. Martin
7. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
8. Nemesis by Philip Roth
9. A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
10. While We're Far Apart by Lynn Austin
11. The True Story of Hansel and Gretel by Louise Murphy
12. Transgression by James Nichol
13. Fall of Giants by Ken Follet
14. Dune by Frank Herbert
15. White Russian by Tom Bradby
16. A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley
17. A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin
18. Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
19. The Yiddish Policeman's Union by Michael Chabon
20. Shogun by James Clavell
21. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
22. The Physician by Noah Gordon
23. A Clash of Kings by George R. R. Martin
24. The Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M. Auel
25. Valley of Horses by Jean M. Auel
26. The Godfather by Mario Puxo
27. The Blind Side by Michael Lewis
28. Eight Men Out by Eliot Asinof
29. Burying the Black Sox by Gene Carney
30. Heaven is for Real by Todd Burpo

Numbers 26-30 were added today after a productive visit to Eagle Eye Bookstore, the greatest place known to literary man. (Well, except for number 30, which was given to me by my mother.)

I also have owned for awhile now numbers 2, 5, 6, 14, 15, 19, 20, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30. I began Shogun ages ago and lost the book when I moved into my apartment last year, but recently found it. Don't remember a damn thing so I'll have to start back up, but I wasn't more than about 200 pages into it. And it's...real long. I also quoted from The Yiddish Policeman's Union in a paper I wrote for a Jewish linguistics course I took as a sophomore but did not actually read the thing, which was a marginal regret. Not only because I got an A, somehow, but because I really like Michael Chabon and he deserves a solid read-through.

I am currently reading A Feast for Crows because...of course. But I think I'm gonna go into Eight Men Out simultaneously to spread out a bit. I don't have any qualms about reading more than one book at a time, as long as they're different enough to engage different literary interests. I.e. reading Dune and A Feast For Crows simultaneously, while really tempting, is probably not the best.

And as an added note, I would like to point out that while I might not have made a huge dent on this booklist, I have only just drafted it since July, and most of these books are well over 500 pages.

Quotes to Write By, #4

"Sisterhood is many things. It's a warm smile on a cold and rainy day, a friendly hug, a cheerful hello... It's all that a good and lasting friendship is, only better. It's treasured. It's sacred. It's knowing that there will always be someone there for you. It's dreams shared, and goals achieved. It's counting on others and being counted on. It is real."


I don't care how cheesy this quote is. I really feel it right now. The computer changes are being made, and I'm so grateful to my sorority sisters for willingness to help that I can't even truly express it.

Quotes to Write By #3

From the Hornfischer Literary Management:

"When you query agents and send out proposals, present yourself as someone who's in command of his material and comfortable in his own skin. Too many writers have a palpable sense of anxiety and insecurity. Take a deep breath and realize that--if you're good--someone in the publishing world will want you."

(As quoted from the 2011 Guide to Literary Agents, Ed. Chuck Sambuchino, 2010, p.171)


What's funny and ironic is that actually, this literary agency is not interested in the work I have produced for my first manuscript. But that still makes me feel just a little bit better, reading that. Because this process makes me feel a little nauseous, and while the reality is that it is a tough career of much rejection and a lot of luck, believing in my vocation, even through impersonal quotes, can always bring me back down to Earth.

The Home Stretch

Scene slogging done, now changing up in the word doc, then ready to send. Currently reading about query letters and publishing houses, about networking and "spreading your writing" out elsewhere.

I feel like I could throw up.

Book Journal: A Thousand Acres

A study in why Pulitzer prizes and other awards should be largely ignored. Unless you don't mind if the author writes for the critics and not the actual...readers. Hey, like my undergraduate major!


A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley

So, this book has been on my radar for some time now--probably about two years, since I took what was probably the worst collegiate Shakespearean class ever taught in the history of literature study. A modern retelling of King Lear. Yeah, okay. Let's see.

Well, to start with--yes, yes this book is, and Smiley does a pretty awesome job of sort of sublimely paralleling the stories and characters. Plot points are touched upon and the characters match up well, with, of course, the exception of the sympathy for King Lear (and the lack thereof of Larry Cook) and the decision to make sympathetic Goneril and Regan (who are decidedly undeserving of any understanding in the play).

I didn't like this book because it bored me. Smiley does a great job of having her prose echo the landscape of this dusty, very authentically-written Iowa farm field, but it was a huge, dull bore, and it's almost like Smiley realized that, which is why she put in the whole incest thing. Which...was kind of shocking, kind of not surprising, certainly tragic, and ultimately another eventual ho-hum of this book. It's probably because absolutely none of the characters are sympathetic, nor do they experience any great psychological change. I get that Smiley is trying to show that sometimes you have to be resigned to the horror that you are dealt with, but even a small cathartic moment could have been warranted.

Ginny is a pretty horrible protagonist and her cohort Rose is equally as un-compelling. One of the biggest detractors of the book, aside from the crap characters, is the fact that the bigger points, the more exciting climactic moments, are few and far between, and the stuff that is between them is really, really horribly tedious.

You know how most people (who are these people? who are "they?") say "write what you know?" Well, most writing teachers will instead say, "Know your audience." Which is exactly why the guys I know who have read this book (1) and the male reviews of this book available on the internet are less than thrilled with this story. Because while this book is essentially touted as a modern retelling of King Lear, Jane Smiley isn't so famous and well-known that most people would also kindly point out that she is a very feminist writer. So...all her male characters kind of suck. In a way that is so incredibly Lifetime Movie-like that it's kind of distracting.

This would probably have been better for me if I had read it in a discussion class. Maybe.

4/10

LAST DRAFT UNDERWAY

aghaehrglkejrghlaegealjkhg!!!

OMG please let this be the last draft.

Book Journal: A Clash of Kings

The series continues flawlessly and seamlessly with A Clash of Kings, which isn't so much a second novel in a series but rather an incredible instant continuation that is as smooth as a river's run.

A Clash of Kings by George R. R. Martin

The aftermath of Eddard Stark's death unfolds in the second part of Martin's epic series. It took me awhile to get through this one mainly due to my GRE--and then I slowly got back into it as I tried to mentally catch up with the first 250 pages I had read. Unlike A Game of Thrones this book doesn't hold you over quite as much (I particular found the early-middle part a little slower than others, between pages 300-450 or so) but it is still incredibly engrossing and not even the slightest bit of a letdown. As with the previous book, everyone dies, and everyone else is a little confusing (again, the wikia for this series is, like, my best friend), but the way things go is pretty fascinating: Renly vs. Stannis; Melisandre the psycho religious fanatic; Theon who sucks, sucks, sucks; Sansa and the Hound; JAIME LANNISTER APPEARS; and Jon Snow is suddenly much more boring than I realized.

Again, the action moves incredibly smoothly, this time with a good ol' Lord of the Rings-y battle at the end between Stannis and the Lannisters. That was when, as well, I realized how good Martin is about presenting all sides of a story. For me, the Lannisters are essentially villains--especially Joffrey and Cersei, who are hardly presented in a good light. They are both in direct opposition to the Starks, the clear protagonists of the first book. But the story moves on, and then Stannis--who is a villainous man capable of fratricide--is fighting the Lannisters, and idk who should win! Because I hate Stannis but I HATE Joffrey. And I love/hate Cersei, who is so interesting. At least Tyrion is okay.

Other houses are moving into the game as well--the Tyrells most notably, with Mr. Knight of Flowers/Loras/Renly's boyfriend (great subtle hints), and then the Greyjoys, but now also lesser houses like the Boltons, who I can already tell I will hate.

New favorites: The Hound. Bronn. Sansa, who I like more. Gendry. And a slew of other minor players.

I'm anxious for more developments in the call for kingdom and the other houses that will be introduced.

A solid second installment.

8/10