Dear Listener,

I have read my share of Cormac McCarthy, often being brought to tears by both empathy and disgust.  After I read an IndieBound synopsis that described Donald Ray Pollock’s first novel The Devil All the Time as “a novel that marries the twisted intensity of Oliver Stone’s Natural Born Killers with the religious and Gothic over­tones of Flannery O’Connor at her most haunting,” I was pretty certain I was in for a fun ride.  (You can find the whole write-up here.)

I was not disappointed.  With the intensity and amoral grace that surrounds the book also comes a tongue-in-cheek look on human thought and emotion.  The characters tend to act more like animals than people.  So much so that the New York Times mentioned that “it becomes unclear whether they’ve been spawned for the purposes of plot or purely for atavistic pleasure.” (You can read the whole review here.)

While reading this book, I listened to a couple from Shreveport who make up the band riverwolves.  Their soft, melodic, eerie folk/rock coincides nicely with the darkness that The Devil All the Time exudes.  If interested in this unfortunately lo-fi video, you can download their two most recent albums here.

by Simon

Since the release of John Grisham’s latest novel, The Litigators, I remembered that Grisham readers and collectors often look to fill in any gaps in their Grisham collections. So, I thought about doing a display where all of Grisham’s books would be together, a place where it would be easy to see the year of each book. So this display was born and I am quite pleased with it as it illustrates the diligence and discipline of John Grisham.

So I dug further into the First Editions room and found this interesting piece of Grisham memorabilia. In 1994, The University of Mississippi Libraries held an exhibition focusing on three aspects of Grisham’s career: The first novel, A Time to Kill; the international reception of John Grisham’s novels; and the translation of novel into film (a script and other materials used in the filming of “The Firm” were on display). The guide, pictured below, written to accompany the exhibition, includes a Foreword by Richard Howorth, A Memoir by Willie Morris, An Essay by Anne Rapp, and An Afterword by John Grisham. This copy is signed by John Grisham and is one out of 100.

I liked this passage in Grisham’s Afterword concerning the 1994 exhibition:

Presented here are papers and books that hold wonderful memories for me. The original handwritten manuscript for A Time to Kill is still impossible for me to look at without a twinge of emotion. Written on three stenographer pads, I carried this with me for three years as I diligently pursued my new, secret hobby. I wrote on these pads in the early morning hours at my office, often before the sun was up. I carried the story in my briefcase, and would sneak off to empty rooms and write while I waited for judges in the courthouses of Mississippi. I scribbled on these pads at the dining room table, long after Renee and the children were asleep. Many times I cursed the sight of these green pages, but for reasons I cannot fully articulate, I was always drawn back to them.

Grisham: An Exhibition (1994), Limited Edition Signed by John Grisham 1/100. $200.00

Chances are you or somebody you know is eating vegan. The holidays present quite a challenge if you begin to think about preparing meals and snacks that are free of milk, cheese, eggs, and meat. From New Year’s Eve to Independence Day to Cinco de Mayo to Hanukkah and Christmas, Simpson has outlined simple, no nonsense recipes that anyone can make. If you’re not already a vegan, you might think that it is not all that hard after perusing Quick & Easy Vegan Celebrations.

Whether you’re new to vegan cooking or just need to fill in some knowledge gaps, Simpson has a guide to some of the basic substitutes for non-vegan ingredients. She suggests ginger beer, kelp powder, liquid smoke, silk tofu, soba noodles and even tacks on a vegan source for spirits to name a few. Newbies would be off to the closest whole food store with a list of must-haves.

After looking at recipes for Spicy Seitan Burgers, Red Velvet Cupcakes, Shepard’s Pie, Taco Soup, Chipotle Black Bean Burgers, and Portobella Brisket, I was ready for a party at Ms. Simpson’s house. However, armed with her guidance, I think I could pull a vegan celebration off by myself!

In getting ready for the long-awaited release of 1Q84 on October 25th, I was pleasantly surprised to find evidence of Lemuria-Staff-Past who have also been devoted fans.

Enjoy this review by Catherine, Lemuria Class of 2006.

One of the more preoccupying themes of Japanese literature in this century has been the question of what it means to be Japanese, especially in an era that has seen the rise and fall of militarism and the decline of traditional culture; but from reading the books of Haruki Murakami, one of the country’s most celebrated novelists, you’d never know he was Japanese at all: his characters read Turgenev and Jack London, listen to Rossini and Bob Dylan, eat pate de foie gras and spaghetti, and know how to make a proper salty dog.

In Murakami’s early books, the references to Western pop culture were sometimes so obscure that they even flew over the heads of many Americans. Murakami’s protagonists are soft, irresolute men, often homebodies with dynamic girlfriends or wives, who go through long, inert periods of ennui — a blatant renunciation of the frenetic, male-dominated ethos of modern Japan. Breaking with his own tradition, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle is Murakami’s attempt to not only glimpse at Japanese-ness, but to use a very wide lens.

This is a big, ambitious book clearly intended to establish Murakami as a major figure in world literature. Although his earlier books bristle with philosophical asides and literary allusions (Western, mainly), most critics treated him as a lightweight, a wise guy who never took anything seriously. Wind-Up Bird Chronicle almost self-consciously deals with a wide spectrum of heavy subjects: the transitory nature of romantic love, the evil vacuity of contemporary politics and, most provocative of all, the legacy of Japan’s violent aggression in World War II. But it all begins with a man losing his cat. Then his wife. (Then his mind?)

Focusing some of Wind-Up Bird Chronicle’s best chapters on the occupation of Manchukuo and the consequent border skirmishes with Russia and the Mongols, Murakami seizes upon a sense of collective guilt as cause of personal Japanese confusion. The Manchukuo passages are absolutely dazzling; the prose crisp and the visuals epic. The narrative leaps from 1930s Manchuria to 1980s Japan – with comparative stints spent in downtown Tokyo and Siberia.

The transitory nature of the book, to me, was one of the most intriguing elements of Wind-Up Bird Chronicle. Yes, it is a big book, but one that is constantly changing. At times, I felt so far away from the original premise that I wondered if I was still reading the same book at all; oddly enough, instead of feeling muddled by the development of the book, I felt refreshed, glad to be always moving; leaving characters and plot lines behind; going deeper into the rabbit hole.

Many regard Wind-Up Bird Chronicle as Murakami’s masterpiece and I would be inclined to agree. The experience of reading this book is absolutely mesmerizing — and utterly indescribable, so perhaps I will stop trying to explain. Instead, I will say that Murakami has written a bold and generous book, and the resulting reading experience is its own reward. Trust me: It’s a beautiful mind bender.

Written by Catherine (Lemuria 2006)

For an introduction to Murakami and preview of 1Q84, click here.

Click here to see other blog posts on Murakami.

1Q84 is here.

hmhm

If you have not had the pleasure of seeing the Broadway play Wicked then I encourage you to do so at some point. This fabulous show opened in October 2003 in San Francisco. Because of the popularity of the play, it expanded to other large cities which also lead to being shown off Broadway in some smaller cities as well. That being said,  it could be on it’s way to you.

The musical is based on Gregory Maguire’s book Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West. This story tells of the time in the Land of Oz before Dorothy is welcomed in. Wicked has two main characters: Elphaba and Galinda. Elphaba is the one with green skin who-you guessed it-becomes the Wicked Witch of the West. Opposite the Wicked Witch is Galinda the popluar, attractive one who becomes the Glinda the Good Witch of the North. The storyline that intertwines these two is very entertaining, funny and may cause you to belt out the tunes that go with each scene!

After reading Wicked, you will want  more. Luckily for you, Gregory Maguire continued on for more books in the Wicked Years. The second title Son of a Witch came out in 2005. A  Lion Among Men came out in 2008. The final book in the Wicked Years, Out of Oz, came out on Tuesday.
This beautiful book was just unpacked and we have them ready for you to buy. The best news is….we have signed first editions of Out of Oz.

Come see us and start on the Wicked journey!  -Quinn