Books To Jump Up and Down Over
The Call by Yannick Murphy: The always interesting author of Here They Come and Signed, Mata Hari returns with a novel that whips up a worldview from a rather quirky set of limitations: namely, the call logs that a veterinarian maintains as his son is unexpectedly put into a coma and an unforgiving economy denies him work. What emerges is a surprisingly optimistic, often funny, and very moving account on how one family uses acceptance and forgiveness as a way to atone for hard knocks. (Bat Segundo interview with Murphy)
Birds of Paradise by Diana Abu-Jaber: Forget Franzen and Eugenides. If you're looking for a social novel that counts, Diana Abu-Jaber is the author you're looking for. Building from the free-form exploration of consciousness and identity in Crescent and the gripping procedural structure of Origin, Abu-Jaber's latest novel is her finest, equally fluent with gutterpunk culture and smarmy real estate men. It has been suggested by The Washington Post's Ron Charles that you will likely gain some pounds while reading this novel. This is certainly true. Abu-Jaber's description of food is so precise that it often made me want to do more cooking. But I very much admired the way in which Abu-Jaber presents all her characters as unwitting victims of rough capitalism, which permits them some dignity even as they perform terrible acts.
The Last of the Live Nude Girls by Sheila McClear: This memoir isn't so much about the decline of the Times Square peepshow, as it is about one young woman's efforts to pull herself up by by her bootstraps when presented with few economic options. Filled with self-introspective candor and a quiet dignity, McClear's story is one that might befall any of us in these volatile times. While McClear does get back on her feet, her book leads one contemplating the terrible fates of other young women now moving to New York and falling into deadlier vocations. (Bat Segundo interview with McClear)
Animals Archive
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The Stuff That Love Is Made Of
Posted on November 22, 2008 | No Comments -
“It is actually a very serious matter for finch lovers.”
Posted on May 25, 2007 | 1 CommentOne more finch tweeting post before I go – thanks for having me, Ed! -
Belgian Meritocracy
Posted on May 23, 2007 | No CommentsLadies and gentlemen, the storied sport of finch tweeting. (via the avian dialectologists and comparative Belgianists at Language Log) -
What will Japan boy do next?
Posted on May 15, 2007 | 2 Commentsthis is what writers email each other about no, Japan boy, no! http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/6656417.stm very ugly dog (now deceased): -
what is this
Posted on May 14, 2007 | 4 CommentsI’m not sure what this place is or what I’m doing here. I got an email with a login URL, a username, and a password. I forgot about it for... -
Three Color Blind Mice: See How They See
Posted on March 23, 2007 | No CommentsScientific American: “According to Gerald Jacobs, a psychologist at the University of California, Santa Barbara, the research that allowed these mice to see in full color was an attempt ‘to... -
Of Course, This All Assumes That Humans Aren’t Animals
Posted on March 21, 2007 | No CommentsNew York Times: “Dr. de Waal, who is director of the Living Links Center at Emory University, argues that all social animals have had to constrain or alter their behavior... -
Where Modern Love Meets the NYT Science Beat?
Posted on September 5, 2006 | 1 CommentNew York Times: “Scientists have found other species in which males encourage their own cannibalism. One remarkable twist on this strategy is seen in a species of orb-weaving spiders. The... -
So Long and Thanks for Everything But the Fish?
Posted on August 30, 2006 | No CommentsNew York Times: “Far from being slow learners, manatees, it turns out, are as adept at experimental tasks as dolphins, though they are slower-moving and, having no taste for fish,... -
Gorilla Warfare
Posted on July 31, 2006 | No CommentsIOL: “The gorilla is threatened with extinction by the mid-21st century if poaching and destruction of its habitat continue at the current rate, the United Nations (UN) has warned. Within...