In Cold Blood (copy)

Curiosity grabs me when I see an older title on the New York Times bestseller list. I want to find the origin that revives its standing in popular culture. I want to know what is driving thousands of readers to book stores or amazon.com. What compels them to pay paperback prices for something available in their local library’s used book sale bin for 50 cents?

Lately, it has been the utterance, however slight, by daytime talk show goddess, Oprah. It is amazing how Oprah drives book sales, like the mere mention of a childhood favorite, an interview with an unknown author, or book club selection commences cash registers around the world to ring. Come on, you can’t really read You: the Owner’s Manual, but there it is, 31 weeks on the bestseller list, fat ‘n happy with Oprah’s approval.

This was my first thought when I ran across In Cold Blood by Truman Capote on the paperback list. Hovering in the top three slots for 66 weeks, this book must be enjoying a desirable place in Oprah’s book club. Yet untrue, for Oprah’s current selection, Night by Elie Wiesel, is number one on the same list.

Movie tie-ins have the same effect, but to a lesser degree. The logical answer has to be the movie Capote directed by Bennett Miller.

Reading the first chapters of Capote’s In Cold Blood gives one the feel of literature past, an old fashion read, filled with elaborately descriptive characters and settings. This writing propels you to dive in, swim slow stretched laps, and then take refuge on a float, for you truly want to spend all day in the pool.

What makes this book so engrossing? Capote uses a style as old as Methuselah, a tease that makes us read more. Throughout the whole reading experience, we want to know why such a horrific crime occurs. We become Capote, the reporter. We push the questions; we search the clues; and we look at all the angles.

By watching the movie Capote with-in the same period as reading the book, one really gets inside Capote’s head. Capote identifies with Perry Smith, the confessed killer, struggling with a growing friendship he would rather dismiss. Capote said of the relationship:

It's as if Perry and I grew up in the same house. And one day he went out the back door and I went out the front.

If you frequently watch cable network’s A & E shows like American Justice, Cold Case Files or City Confidential, you will love this book. It was the first of its kind, a non-fiction novel, which began the hugely successful true-crime genre. In honor of Truman Capote, they should rename the genre “Tru-crime.”

Note: Nymeth of Thing Mean a Lot recently reviewed this in June 2008!

In Cold Blood (copy)

http://maggiereads.blogspot.com/2006/05/in-cold-blood-copy.html

Grant Wood Visions

Capote’s setting in his book In Cold Blood reminds me of Grant Wood’s artwork. Picture his work stretched—take away the rolling hills—add more yellow, less green and you have Kansas; not his normal subject of Iowa. The black and white lithographs are more my vision, but it did begin with a warped American Gothic scene.

“That Monday, the sixteenth of November, 1959, was still another fine specimen of pheasant weather on the high wheat plains of western Kansas—a day gloriously bright-skied, as glittery as mica.”

“The village of Holcomb stands on the high wheat plains of western Kansas, a lonesome area that other Kansans call “out there.”

“Holcomb, too, can be seen from great distances. Not that there is much to see—simply an aimless congregation of buildings…”

“One of these barns was a mammoth Quonset hut; it brimmed with grain—Westland sorghum—and one of those housed a dark, pungent hill of milo…”

“It was ideal apple-eating weather; the whitest sunlight descended from the purest sky, and an easterly wind rustled, without ripping loose, the last of the leaves on the Chinese elms.”

Mr. Clutter had an insurance man over the afternoon before his family was brutally murdered in the late night hours. To this salesaman he made the first and only “payment on a forty-thousand-dollar policy that in the event of death by accidental means, paid double indemnity.” Creepy, huh? Like the print above, hard working Mr. Clutter was preparing for the foreseeable storm.

Grant Wood Visions

http://maggiereads.blogspot.com/2006/05/grant-wood-visions.html

Quote from Capote the Movie

It's as if Perry (Smith) and I grew up in the same house. And one day he went out the back door and I went out the front. ~Truman Capote

Painting by Robert Risk

Quote from Capote the Movie

http://maggiereads.blogspot.com/2006/05/quote-from-capote-movie.html

Movies Inspire Reading

People who love reading usually start at an early age. My mother took us regularly to the library where favorites like Where the Wild Things Are and The Hungry Caterpillar fueled my imagination.

What happened to reading for fun in my teenage years? Was I too cool to read? Was I working excessively and lacking the time? Was it the constant assignment anxiety associated with deciphering the classics?

Something happened that made me afraid to read, a self-doubt crept in, my teenage brain wasn’t smart enough.

Movies were my salvation, a threshold into reading. I no longer trusted the visions conjured from reading and lazily relied on the cinema. Simply, I saw the movie then picked up the book. If I didn’t recognize any visual clues, settings or characters, I would toss the book. I didn’t get it.

Watching Capote last night, led to this embarrassing confession. I’m currently reading In Cold Blood which I started two nights ago. Visualizing settings and remembering characters is a snap, unlike my befuddled teenage self.

This is important in my quest to encourage Mississippi readers. Books can be humbling and make you feel inadequate. Teenagers face these feelings everyday from a variety of sources. Let us stop including books in a long list of educational bullies.

What can we do to help? Well, we can stop being tightwads and replace books made into movies with new movie cover releases. Yes, I think it silly, you can buy Brokeback Mountain as a stand-alone book rather than hand the patron Annie Proulx’s Close Range.

Teachers, why not assign some books for pleasure reading like the DEAR, drop everything and read, program. Coaches, have you heard of “one book, one team” reading? In my academic position, marketing movie/book discussion programs may be a viable link to our young adults.

Oh, and lets not forget the easy displays like "Seen the Movie, Read the Book" or "Don't Judge a Book by its Movie!"

Movies Inspire Reading

http://maggiereads.blogspot.com/2006/05/movies-inspire-reading.html

Reading Round Table

We pitch books today for our Reading Round Table, a group of retirees and staff, which meets during the fall and spring semesters.  I’m going to try my best to get some readable non-fiction on the list.  The suggestions should be available in paperback form.

A Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion
Devil in the White City by Erik Larson
Marley and Me by John Grogan
Rising Tide by John Barry

Wish me luck.  ;-)

Reading Round Table

http://maggiereads.blogspot.com/2006/05/reading-round-table.html

Sweet and Low Notes

My booktalk for Sweet and Low doesn’t do the book justice. I loved the book and that really did not translate in the article. My idea was to talk about Rich Cohen’s style of writing and correlate it to the Sweet ‘N Low product. Why didn't I do that?

He writes a fascinating paragraph and then ends with a line of humor, sarcasm or profound thought. Like his family's product, sweet with a slight aftertaste, and yes, sometimes bitter.

You really feel Cohen has been waiting all his life to tell this family saga:

“I sometimes think a family is no more than a collection of such stories, a chronicle that locks you down like the safety bar that crosses your lap before the roller-coaster leaves the platform, without which you would fly away in the turns.”

Read the description of his grandfather and inventor of SnL, Ben:

“He finished first in his class. He was the valedictorian. He gave a speech about man and law. He rented an office on Broadway. He hung out his shingle. There were no clients. No work. He sat for hours, days, weeks. It was the Depression. He walked about the city. He followed the streets. In these years before Betty (wife) and the hassle and complications of family, Ben was a question mark. No parents, no siblings, no friends. Like the best Americans, he was free to invent himself.”

I love Cohen’s thoughts on being the baby in the family:

“I am the youngest in my own family, and I think, to a large extent, the youngest is almost always without blame, because the show was already going when we get there.”

Cohen does an independent taste test of the three artificial sweeteners on the market and this is what he says about SnL:

“Wow, that mother kicks! Taste like cancer. Those poor rats! The aftertaste drags you to the mat. Like the balloon payment that comes at the end of the financing plan. Was the Camaro really worth it?”

He has this to say about the leading competitor:

“Splenda is not just another sweetener. It is sugar remade, a molecule from God, put up on blocks, painted, and thrown back on the market.”

This is truly a fun book and I hope others pick it up despite my blah booktalk. :-)

Sweet and Low Notes

http://maggiereads.blogspot.com/2006/05/sweet-and-low-notes.html

Sweet and Low (copy)

Ben Eisenstadt is “part of that special breed of Americans—orphans, mongrels, mutts—responsible for no one but himself.” Growing up in turn-of-the-century Brooklyn, eight-year-old Ben works in his uncle’s tea bag factory from sunrise to sunset. This tough kid, with slouch-brimmed hat and chewed toothpick, eventually becomes the inventor of Sweet ‘N Low.


While working, Ben attends school and eventually becomes a lawyer. He attracts beautiful wife, Betty, ready to ride on the coat tails of his future success. Unfortunately, the Great Depression hits and Ben faces work as kitchen help in Betty’s family business. He enjoys local fame as the only busboy/lawyer in New York.

It’s in one of these shabby family diners where the idea to package sugar starts. Betty complains about the mess involved in sugar dispensers and bowls. The dispensers clog easily and the bowls are unsanitary because of the shared spoon usage. Ben asks, “What if the sugar was packaged separately, in little pouches?”

He purchases one of his uncle’s old tea bag machines and sets it up for sugar. We could stop here, with Ben’s success; unfortunately, Ben did not patent his machine. Hoping for a contract, he invites the leaders of Domino’s sugar to view his contraption. After two weeks of waiting, Ben finally discovers they are packing sugar, but with their own machines.

Sweet and Low by Rich Cohen mixes memoir, humor, and history as the story of his family’s business unfolds. This unauthorized true story, as seen through the eyes of a disinherited family member, reminds me of the cast in Neil Simon's play, "Lost in Yonkers": a Jewish family complete with one neurotic mother, miserly father, golden-boy son, recluse daughter, and a daughter with moxie, or in this case, Cohen’s mother.

The author tells this incredible story in three parts. The first part consists of a brief history of Brooklyn and Sweet ‘N Low’s humble beginnings. The second part relates how mobsters infiltrate the factory and launder millions of dollars through phony invoices. The last part concentrates on the disinheritance of the Cohen family and Sweet ‘N Low’s market loss.

Cohen, contributing editor of Rolling Stones Magazine, has waited all his life to tell his family’s story. Just like the product that made his grandfather rich, the story is sweet with a little bitter aftertaste.

Sweet and Low (copy)

http://maggiereads.blogspot.com/2006/05/sweet-and-low-copy.html

Al Capone Does My Shirts (copy)

When you reflect on your childhood, do you remember your Mom reading to you before bedtime? Did a teacher share Little House on the Prairie or Charlotte’s Web with your entire class? Was there a funny story told every holiday about your dad or the wacky aunt? I bet there was.

It is within our human structure that we crave these interactions with others through stories. As infants, we first seek out the calming nature of our mother’s voice. Through oral stories, we learn morals and basic vocabulary. As we age, we continually build our vocabulary in order to communicate effectively. This is one reason to continue to read-aloud even after the age of eight.

Last year I did an informal study on what the kids were reading and enjoying at our library. The survey was purely qualitative and the sample skewed for I only asked kids that came into our building for one week. The results pointed to a certain teacher’s daily reading aloud of one book.

Bud Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis was the unanimous favorite among Como Elementary students. Each child I talked with remembered different plot lines and humorous situations, to the point of retelling them with great enthusiasm. Why? They felt special being read to and it showed.

The world is full of great read-alouds, the key is matching the person with the right book. For the book Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko, I suggest a male reader. Main character and narrator, 12-year-old Moose Flanagan just calls out for a male voice.

This Newbery Honor book is set on the island of Alcatraz during the 1935 depression. The Flanagans hope to change their life for the better as Father works two shifts and Mother gives piano lessons. Moose meanwhile is missing baseball because he’s stuck baby-sitting his 16-year-old autistic sister.

Conflict is just around the corner, literally with Piper, the Warden’s daughter next door. Miss Piper has a knack for contriving moneymaking schemes that tend to go sour. Her latest project is convincing the whole class Al Capone will do their laundry for a nickel.

Word of caution; always read the book first. It is embarrassing when words pop up you don’t know, can’t pronounce or find inappropriate for the age group. It is best to buy the book so you can mark changes in the margin. What! A librarian just said mark up a book! Yeah, well not the library copy, please.

Al Capone Does My Shirts (copy)

http://maggiereads.blogspot.com/2006/05/al-capone-does-my-shirts-copy.html

Great News!

Tunica Times has picked up my weekly articles!

Everybody Dance!

You may remember the name "Tunica" from a 60 Minutes report in the late '80s or early '90s. At the time of the report, Tunica County ranked poorest county in the nation. Things have changed tremendously since the casinos came to town. They have a wonderful museum, library, and airport serving tourist and locals. Unfortunately, they still carry a high rate of illiteracy that needs eradication.

Thanks Tunica Times for allowing me the chance to

Make Mississippi Read!

Great News!

http://maggiereads.blogspot.com/2006/05/great-news.html

My Husband Pete...

...Enjoying one of my many
recommended reads!
Notice how he craddles it like a stuffed bear.

My Husband Pete...

http://maggiereads.blogspot.com/2006/05/my-husband-pete.html

Zamba (Copy)

Early in Ralph Helfer’s career, a Hollywood studio approached him to offer work as a stuntman. “Sure,” was his automatic reply before they explained the dangerous stunt, “We want you to pretend you are a lion tamer and work a male lion on a pedestal.”

Prior to this proposition, Ralph established himself as a fearless stuntman by handling rattlesnakes and scorpions in earlier productions. Well sort of, he just happens to be the only soul left standing in a room full of unpredictable creatures when a director hollers, “Action!”

The day of the shoot, Ralph meets the trainer. A rough man described as a “Bullderm” chewing, western type: completely messy, uncouth, and unethical with animals. A man preferring to use fear and sheer brute strength to control animals like his lion, Rex.

With a squirt of juice on the ground the trainer asks, “When do these people pay us?”

Ralph, shakes his head uncertain, and then inquires about the lion’s mood. The handler cocks back and says, “Well, okay, I guess.”

The instructions seem easy enough: get Rex to jump on a pedestal, cuff his paw, and snarl at you. (Piece of cake!) The handler then gives Ralph all the hand signals needed and lets him memorize the movements, but without Rex.

Fresh from wardrobe, Ralph ridiculously sports a blue and gold epaulet costume and long leather whip. He then takes his mark, which feels a little too close to the pedestal, and the director bellows, “Action!” With the gate open, Rex saunters into the cage, barely acknowledging Ralph and sits on his haunches.

Ralph has to snap the whip to rouse him, and then proceeds to do hand signals. Rex reluctantly “acts” the scene through and the director hollers, “Cut!”

“That was great, son. Let’s do it again.”

The next take, sends Ralph to the emergency room, unconscious and broken. From that horrible encounter, Ralph vows to learn a better way to treat animals, using respect and love. He coins his new technique “affection training” and smothers his animals with praises when they do well.

He gets another chance when Zamba, a lion cub abandoned near the Zambezi River, enters his life. You will laugh and cry reading, Zamba: the True Story of the Greatest Lion That Ever Lived by Ralph Helfer. It is full of narrow escapes and surprises, as Ralph evolves into the “Lion Whisperer.”

Zamba (Copy)

http://maggiereads.blogspot.com/2006/05/zamba-copy.html

Opal Mehta thoughts...

The plagiarism, which occurred in Opal Mehta by author Kaavya Viswanathan, has really got me thinking. Just how easy is it to claim something as original though?

Viswanathan has already admitted some of the work is word-for-word from Megan McCafferty. She being a Harvard graduate should know better…

I have a similar annoyance with a sentence I wrote on this blog February 26th. My sentence, found at the bottom of the entry, is…For when the child’s bedtime prayer becomes the adult’s touchstone in crises, habits have meaning.

I know exactly where the idea came from. So many truths came from A Year of Magical Thinking that I remember relating them to other books read around that time. Is this sentence word-for-word from Didion’s book or did I write original text? I really don’t know.

Why didn’t Viswanathan reread McCafferty? She had to know things sounded a little familiar. You had better believe if I was publishing a book I would reread Didion to see if my memory was word-for-word.

Plagiarism is a form of stealing and Viswanathan is a thief. Am I for publishing that sentence on Maggie Reads without researching the origin?

Opal Mehta thoughts...

http://maggiereads.blogspot.com/2006/05/opal-mehta-thoughts.html

Celestial Ramblings (copy)

As the weather warms, most of us long to be in the great outdoors. My idea of heaven is lying on a blanket and staring into the warm night sky, being pleasantly surprised to catch a shooting star or satellite.

As you can imagine, I have developed a taste for astronomy books. They are tough to purchase though, as with the vastness of space, the books tend to have too much material and feel textbook heavy. Most publishers break astronomy into smaller pieces like stars, planets, or solar systems. It is next to impossible to find a book dealing with Greek myths and the constellations.

From experience, the books with constellational Greek myths are far and few. The last one purchased, Star Myths by Theony Condos, was so dry I ended up dreaming of stars.

Imagine my delight finding Greek myths included in the 2004 book titled Night Sky Atlas by Robin Scagell. This spiral book, appropriate for all ages, includes a two-page layout of the monthly skies and easy explanations of celestial concepts. The adult version, Stars and Planets by Ian Ridpath, delves more into telescopes and positions of the planets, using a strip diagram to the year 2012. As with the children’s book it follows a monthly chart format, allowing you to discover which planets might be visible in the May skies before venturing out.

My husband and I are currently using a third copy of Stars and Planets, having literally worn out the first two. We don’t leave home without it either. Our copy has traveled with us to Alaska, Nova Scotia and Ireland just to name a few places. Just like life, the night sky is slightly different when seen from another perspective.

Celestial Ramblings (copy)

http://maggiereads.blogspot.com/2006/05/celestial-ramblings-copy.html

Rare Sighting!

It's hard to see, but those little blue dots are Indigo Buntings! There were around 20 in the drive way when I got home this morning, a mix of males and females. So why just three and all male? Well, let's just say I'm loud. These brave souls ventured out after an hours wait! ;-)

Rare Sighting!

http://maggiereads.blogspot.com/2006/05/rare-sighting.html

My Boyfriend's Back (copy)

In March of 1985, I handed an engagement ring back to my stunned ex-fiancée and walked away. I remember the day as bitter cold just like my heart. Last year I attended my 20th high school reunion, where I would once again face the young man of my serious youth. I was ready for my “I’m sorry” speech when classmates informed me he would not be there.

This is my personal story but it is in no way unique. Many people for one reason or another leave their first loves and go out into the world alone. Others marry their high school or college sweethearts and enjoy long lives together. My parents are perfect examples having been the best of friends since Kindergarten.


So you ask, what does this have to do with books? Well, I picked my reunion weekend to read the 2005, My Boyfriend’s Back: True Stories of Rediscovering Love with a Long-Lost Sweetheart by Donna Hanover. The author herself rekindles a college romance after thirty years apart. The familiarity she experiences with old friend Ed is akin to the magic of falling back into step with someone as if time hasn’t elapsed. This comfortable level of trust can enhance an old relationship and lead to a later in life matrimony.

While reading the book I kept picturing the end of the movie, “When Harry Met Sally”. The movie ends with different couples telling how they were once sweethearts torn apart then much later reunited. This is the book’s premise, loads of real life reconnections peppered with psychological explanations. I have to fault Hanover in one respect. She uses each story to point out that childhood or young adult friends make for better relationships than some obvious stranger does. I get the feeling she has some trust issues.

My Boyfriend's Back (copy)

http://maggiereads.blogspot.com/2006/05/my-boyfriends-back-copy.html