Poor neglected blog.

It has been awhile. I read somewhere that some ridiculous percentage of blogs are abandoned after a few posts. It's sad. I have joined and am posting on DNBRD lately. And there's the 1001 Books too. So I am around on the web, and I really don't want to let go of this blog just yet. So hang in there, blog!

Ex libris,

Marissa

Of the Book, By the Book, For the Book

I took a course in History of the Book this summer, and it was breathtaking. No other way to describe it. Handling old books, learning about how things were printed, seeing treasures from centuries ago...it was awesome. Then in July, my aunt Marcy suggested I read People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks. It centers around a book conservator who has been invited to work on a Haggadah (special book recited at the Seder meal in the Jewish tradition) that was thought to be lost. The history of this particular book is traced through artifacts that the rare book conservator finds in its binding. There is a twist at the end, too. I highly recommend it!

Ex libris,
Marissa

The Girl Who Reads Scandinavian Noir.

I can't believe I haven't ever written a blog post about Scandinavian noir. So here's how it all started: I was in college and had to take my world literature requirement for my English major. I chose Global Detective Fiction a) because it fulfilled the requirement, b) I had a crush on the professor, and c) it sounded cool. Perfect, right? And it was.
In that class, in addition to books that took place in Italy (written by Donna Leon) and Africa (written by Alexander McCall-Smith), we read Henning Mankell's Sidetracked which is set in Sweden. I was hooked. It was so dark and multi-faceted that I had to read more. So I read more by Mankell, and then some Karin Fossum (Norway), Kjell Eriksson (Sweden again), and Arnaldur Indridason (Iceland). The whole genre is fascinating. First, it's COLD in the winter, which makes the hideous crimes mean more, at least to me, because it would seem that there would be less crime since people are inside trying not to freeze to death. If you are making that effort of killing someone, it better work and be worth the trouble. Second, the nights are long and dark, which is spooky. The countries are very isolated, especially Iceland which is just floating out there in the middle of the North Atlantic, so one could easily kill someone and get away on a boat, or toss a body into the sea. Finally, these are not vast countries, so there is a great sense of local color, food, and names that often end in -son or -dottir.
That brings me to Stieg Larsson. He wrote the wildly popular Millenium Trilogy consisting of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire, and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest. At first, I thought this was another author who jumped onto the bandwagon. But I was so wrong. I've only read Dragon Tattoo so far, but it was so exceedingly amazing and carefully crafted that I could not stop reading it. I then watched the Swedish movie of the book, starring Noomi Rapace, and I was clinging to my couch. I can't even describe the detail that Larsson has put in his books. Dragon Tattoo starts off slow with a lot of background, as most of the Scandinavian noir that I've read does. It is rather boring, to be honest. But then BAM! You're hooked into this complex web of awesome.
I read that Larsson intended the Millenium Trilogy to be ten books, but sadly he died suddenly in 2004 leaving us with only three. Also, there may possibly be a fourth book out there in the ether, but it is unclear if it is supposed to be fourth or fifth in the series. Larsson wasn't married, but he did have a longtime partner, but since he didn't leave a will, his estate goes to his father and brother under Swedish law. However, Larsson's partner Eva Gabrielson has the laptop with the fourth book but won't publish it unless she gets rights to Larsson's literary property. It's all very convoluted and mysterious. If you're intrigued, you can check out this website about Larsson and the whole series, characters, etc.
So, in summary, try some Scandinavian noir! I like Henning Mankell and Karin Fossum the most. Stieg Larsson is absolutely amazing and I hope the fourth book gets published someday. In the meantime, the Millenium Trilogy is intense, violent, and breathtaking and I recommend it. If you're not a book person, the books have been made into films in Sweden that are available in the US, and the US film industry is making them here into what I anticipate will be watered-down versions. Get the originals and watch them with the subtitles ON.

Enjoy the darkness.

Ex libris,

Marissa

Meeting Linda Greenlaw!

I was just on Cape Cod for the holiday weekend, and Linda Greenlaw was making an appearance at Booksmith in Falmouth, MA. The coincidence is that I had just finished listening to Sebastian Junger's The Perfect Storm on the ride up to the Cape, which is the book that first referenced Greenlaw and the sinking of her ship's sister boat, the Andrea Gail. Junger's book was later made into a movie. Greenlaw just released a new book, Seaworthy, about her return to swordfishing after ten years. She spoke about her book, and she is well-spoken and quite hilarious. She's written mostly nonfiction, but has authored two mysteries. I asked her which she preferred, and she said that she thought fiction would be easier because "you just make shit up" (HA!), but she prefers writing about what she knows. Greenlaw also spoke about the situation in the Gulf, her experiences in the publishing world, and the time she was most scared on a trip (when a crew member died onboard and had to be packed in ice in the fish hold). She's been fishing since the age of nineteen and, even though she got a degree in English from Colby College, she went back to fishing because she loves it. I admire people who have such conviction and pursue their passion! I had her sign my book and told her that she had done something much more adventurous with her English major than I had with mine, and I told her I was a librarian, to which she responded that librarians are, by far, the smartest people she knows. I couldn't believe she said that! It was so great to meet her. My dad and I had a great time and we both bought her book-- which I was originally going to get my dad for his birthday, but alas, I will have to find a different present for him.

Linda's biography and information about her books are available on her website.

Ex libris,

Marissa

Birthday book.

This is the second year I've bought a book for the library I work at. This year, I chose Playing With Books by Jason Thompson. The book is full of great ideas for using old books. We've already used the paperback postcards tutorial for a drop-in teen craft at my library, and we're going to be using the kusudama flowers tutorial next week. In addition, Thompson is the proprietor of Rag & Bone Bindery, a bindery that creates gorgeous albums and journals. I wanted to work for Rag & Bone after college, although there wasn't an opening and it was a pipe dream! I bought my sister one of their paper page albums after my niece was born, and it's now the only thing she ever asks for.

In summary, giving a gift on your birthday is good karma, as is finding new uses for old books. And if you need a new book, try Rag & Bone.

Ex libris,

Marissa