ypsi~dixit

OK, it ain't exactly earth-shaking. I don't have any illusions that my tiny green lemonade stand makes much impact. Still, I was humbled and gratified by the many kind readers who commented or emailed to express their wish for me to reemerge.

Thank you, kind readers. Your nice words made me feel good. I am grateful to you.

My life changed enormously as a result of having Internet access severed. Y. spent her evenings reading and plowed through an unholy number of books, maybe two dozen or so. I went to Cross St. book shop three times to restock (current interest: post-apocalyptic novels).

Lot of v e r y quiet evenings, there. They were restful and pleasant. But I yearned for my nightly explorations online, reading stuff, keeping up, yakking to friends over email.

At any rate, I apologize for being down for so long. And I thank you for your kind patience as I tried, amid a shriveled bank balance and a 60-hour work week, to fix things. Thanks.

Said mysterious City Council member is one of the few persons to penetrate the zealously guarded privacy of hermit Y.'s tiny home.

Y. installed a lockable fence for a reason. Her home is her snail shell in which she recuperates from the world. Only a handful of people have penetrated this sanctum. The AF. The Listener. My family of course. But that's it. No Solicitors. Tonight's computer helper was one of the minute number of people to survey my walls of bookcases, pet my pup, and see what pictures I have hung up on my office walls. My helper's easygoing nature made the shy Y. feel comfortable, and she was glad to admit this person into her grotto.

Oooh! Post-apocalyptic novels! Any good ones? (Read: any that I haven't already read?)

I just read John Brunner's "Polymath" yesterday. Pulpy 60s "Two refugee spaceships from a dying planet land a short distance from each other - and take completely different approaches to survival! Which will emerge from this clash of ideologies?!"

The best in that particular genre (clash of two diametrically opposed post-apoc societies), though, might be "The Fifth Sacred Thing", by Starhawk, which is less pulpy and more "welcome to the fundamentals of modern paganism".

Mike Davis, one of the rock stars of the LA school of urban theory, has a chapter in "City of Quartz" that, large part, deals with the American tradition of post-apocalyptic literature, with a subtheme of criticizing the xenophobia that often appears in it.

(p.s. Welcome back...)

Speaking of reading, I had a great time my first week or two in Columbia (SC) with a novel by Paul Bowles. I was unpacking a box of books and found "The Spider's House" which I think he wrote in the late 50s (but don't quote me on that). It takes place in the context of the beginning of the uprising of the Moroccan nationalists against the French (without being political to the point of dragging the novel down with it).

Without making anything scientific (i.e., anthropological) out of it, there are some interesting characterizations of the mindset of the people of Fez and their outlook on life.

By the way -- and I won't be able to look until Thanksgiving -- my parents' house in Ann Arbor may have a wall-mounted rotary phone.

As I recall, though, the cable leading from it (which was either a thick black cable or one of those fabric-ish old waffle iron-type cables) was brutally cut about four inches from the phone body itself, so you'd have to repair that somehow before putting it into use.

Ooh, Daniel, I'd be delighted to buy that if it's for sale. Cable fix is easy.

Murph, I agree completely about how good Starhawk's "Fifth Sacred Thing" is. It's simply the standard by which I judge all these books, and what a surprise. I'd read all her pagan nonfiction (Spiral Dance, 12 Wild Swans, Earth Path, Truth or Dare, Dreaming the Dark), but who knew her novels would be so delicious. There is a bit of pro-pagan proselytizing, I admit, but the central conflict and its resolution are so riveting that it's remained my favorite. Actually that one image of the four old ladies tearing up the pavement with pickaxes just INSPIRES me. The other day I had a massive urge to do the same while driving by the sea of asphalt at Briarweird.

...and yes, welcome back, dear YD. We've missed you so.

I rarely re-read books, but I have read "Fifth Sacred Thing" every other year since it came out. Since I usually read it at the beach, my copy is full of sand and water-logged. Starhawk's prescient descriptions of mercenary armies, corporate dominance and the power of non-violent revolution have shaped my vision of the world. The book is akin to Marge Piercy's "Woman on the Edge of Time" but better developed.

Ingrid: Wow. Sounds great, in addition to what Lisa said. I've got to get a copy.

Also, you raise an interesting question. What books do you periodically reread? Every other year, or every few years or so? In my case,

1. Moby Dick
2. Faulkner novels never wear out
3. Updike "Rabbit" series
4. All the books in my polar exploration section; all good
5. Katherine Anne Porter's Ship of Fools
6. Assorted nonfiction like Salt or Nathaniel's Nutmeg, &c.

Marge Piercy's Gone to Soldiers
Tolkien's Lord of the Rings series
Everything in Sharon McCrumb's Ballad series
Feinberg's Stone Butch Blues
AA Milne's Now We Are Six and all the rest of the Pooh stories
Alexander's Chronicles of Prydain series
Carroll's Alice in Wonderland but not Through the Looking Glass
Irving's Sleepy Hollow
Regan's Fearless Girls, Wise Women, and Beloved Sisters
Elgin's Native Tongue and The Judas Rose
And yes, Starhawk's Fifth Sacred Thing but not Walking to Mercury

Those are just a few, in no particular order. I'm shocked to say I haven't read any of your choices, esteemed Y., except Salt, which I read and enjoyed. Also loved Cod -- same author?

Lisa: I am ashamed to say I have not read your choices, either! Though I've heard of all of them, except the Sharon MCrumb.

Yes, wasn't Salt fun? And Cod, too. And yes, they're both by Mark Kurlansky, such a good writer. Who *also* wrote The Big Oyster: History on the Half Shell, which I would love to read.

I've read Doris Lessing's The Marriages of Zones Three, Four, and Five every year for decades. It's a spring thing.

Same with The Women's Room, by Marilyn French, until a so-called friend never returned it and then disappeared.

Just finished Jeffrey Eugenides' Middlesex, and that's going on the reread list pronto. Such elegant, gritty writing. Masterful stuff, though a coworker says Eugenides did make some mistakes about Detroit.

Say, he's coming to A2 Nov. 2 to talk about writing the book. Check the famous Observer calendar for details!

Sal: I was keenly interested to read those titles, since I must confess I haven't heard of the first two.

Hm. The Lessing sounds good.

"The Marriages is set in the indeterminate lands of the Zones, Strange realms which encircle the Earth. Zone Three, a peaceful, contented, matriarchalparadise, is ruled by the gentle Queen Al-Ith;the neighbouring Zone four is land given to war and chaos, controlled by brutal warrior-king, Ben-Ata. Their marriage, a melding of the extreme male and female principles, threatens to destabilise the entire galactic empire.

"From the Publisher: 'Doris Lessing's preoccupation with the balance of dominance and need between the sexes has here extraordinary scope. A visionary fable full of strong, romantic ideas. - Gay Firth, The Times"

Sal: Yep. Jeffrey Eugenides is coming to town, you are right. But the date I have is October 31. He'll be at Rackham:

Jeffrey Eugenides: U-M English Department. This Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist reads from his work, which includes 2 novels, The Virgin Suicides, the story of the neighborhood boys’ fascination with the suicides of 5 Grosse Pointe sisters, and of Middlesex, the story of 3 generations of a Detroit Greek American family, a fable exploring crossed bloodlines, the intricacies of gender, and the deep, untidy promptings of desire. 5 p.m., Rackham Auditorium. Free. 615-3710.

I'm also a fan of Eugenides. Loved "Middlesex".

Rereading:

Pratchett, Zelazney, Tolkien, Wodehouse, Douglas Adams, Ian Banks, Neil Stephenson... I'll enjoy a book once for ideas. But I reread for language and setting. So while I read mostly science fiction, my rereading leans toward fantasy and humor.

PS: _The_Postman_ by David Brin is better than the movie.

Wow, me too. I'm right in the middle of Middlesex (on audio CD) and it is simply fantastic. Whoever the reader is, he is exceptional. Best read book I've ever heard, and what a challenge, to do the protaganist as both female AND male, not to mention all the other very memorable characters. Such a good voice actor that, before anyone is identified by name, you can immediately tell who is speaking. I think it will go on my re-read list too. I will definitely want to go out & see Eugenides, but WHY on Halloween?! What a rotten time for an author talk. I'll need to be out on my broomstick!

Fritz: no nonfiction? Doug Adams was a major joy to me when his books came out in the 80s. I've reread them since then and, to me, they seem a bit dated. Not that there's anything wrong with that. They just seem like a relic of their time.

Lisa: The author of Stone Butch Blues, Ms. Feinburg, will be in town in late October to give a talk, I can get the particulars to you if you like.

Absolutely I would love to hear her again. It's been a long time (like 15 years) since I've heard her speak. The book, I once said, is so rich that if I could only take one book to a desert isle, that would be the one I'd take and I wouldn't grow bored. Not entirely sure I'd say the same today, but it still bears regular re-reading.

Lisa: Okeydoke, I think it's Oct. 24 but will check at work tomorrow and email you the info.

I don't read nonfiction for entertainment as much as I used to. And my feelings about the books themselves have changed. When I was a kid, I cared more for specific nonfiction books, especially the fist good book on a given subject. Now, books seem more like windows onto their subjects. Some valued for their clarity, but not very interesting as individual entities. Except for reference books, I'll almost always choose a new book on any given subject over rereading an old one.

Yesterday, I skimmed the interesting bits of a library book on mixed drinks and another on tea. And I'm slowly working my way through a book on audio for the web that I got when Glen's bookstore closed. But I'm unlikely to reread any of them.

It sounds like we had the same experience with Douglas Adams. I loved the books and had the radio shows on tape. Now, I still like them. But I think Pratchett does many of the same things, and does them a bit better.

I should use the library more. I dunno; I just ascribe to the maxim "if it's good enough to read, it's good enough to own." And I'm out of shelf space as a result; eash shelf is beginning to accumulate little vertical piles in front of the books already there, and I started a new bookshelf that's already almost full. But as my mom would say, "If that's your biggest problem..."

I'll have to dip into more Pratchett. I saw a number of his books of his today at Cross St.

Yeah, Adams reread today is more for nostalgia than anything else. At the time, of course, I thought he was the cleverest and funniest thing around, and also relished the TV shows based on the works.

True, Jeffrey Eugenides' reading is Oct. 31. But he will be talking about "On Omens and Obstacles: The Writing of Middlesex"--or something like that--on Nov. 2. Also at Rackham, I believe. And also free.

Put yer %st right thar!

I'm sure it'd be great to hear him read, but I'd rather hear him talk about writing.

Me, too. I can't wait. Middlesex is absolutely amazing. Definitely it has ascended to the heady rank of "must re-read" among my most beloved books. I've taken to driving around aimlessly just to continue listening to the audio CDs...

Sal: Oh, I see.
Hm, I've heard lots of praise for Middlesex but have not read it. Seems as though I'd better catch up!