Rednecks for Obama, Part 2

Fashion Icon of the Week

Michelle Obama rocked the J. Crew ensemble on Leno last night.



The vivid yellow color looks amazing on her and the cut of the outfit perfectly suits her body type!

Ramona Forever

Ramona Quimby is finally coming to the big screen. The linked article is a wonderful interview with Beverly Cleary, author of the Ramona books. She still writes them! A quote from the article:

"I haven't been very enthusiastic about the commercialization of children's literature," she says. "Kids should borrow books from the library and not necessarily be buying them."

What do you think of this comment? If we are truly facing economic hard times, and a turn towards more sensible spending habits, these are words to live by. I appreciate her perspective. Young readers aren't just a market to sell books to, they are our children! As a non-commercial environment, the library seems to protect them from the kind of subtle manipulation that even our beloved bookstores engage in. In libraries, children have a space to explore and discover literature at their own pace and on their own terms.

Friday Flashback: Bee Season

In 2001, we read Bee Season by Myla Goldberg. (Later, we also read her book, Wickett's Remedy.) How many of our current members have read Bee Season? It is one of the book club books that I still think about frequently. It is my favorite representation of enlightenment, or nirvana, divine trancendance, whatever you want to call it. Becoming one with God. I guess I like the depiction of it in the book because it doesn't happen in a way that any of the human characters can comprehend or make sense. Or so I remember it. I also love the exploration of obsessive-compulsive disorder, the genetic and practical variations of this kind of mental illness in a family, and its relation to their spiritual practices. So fascinating. It would be great to read and discuss it again.

Suite Francaise: Final Results

Didn't like it - 0
It was OK - 0
Liked it - 1
Really liked it - 1
It was amazing - 0
Didn't finish it - 1

3 votes total.

You Might Be A Redneck If ...

I know many of us are immersed in the upcoming elections so here are some literary-related political items I came across today.

David Sedaris has a funny essay about undecided voters in The New Yorker. An excerpt:

To put them in perspective, I think of being on an airplane. The flight attendant comes down the aisle with her food cart and, eventually, parks it beside my seat. “Can I interest you in the chicken?” she asks. “Or would you prefer the platter of shit with bits of broken glass in it?”

To be undecided in this election is to pause for a moment and then ask how the chicken is cooked.

In today's NY Times, Margaret Atwood has an editorial about debt and how it is much larger than just money. I learned she also has a book coming out on the same topic titled Payback: Debt and the Shadow Side of Wealth. Who knew she had such an interest in the subject?

And on a non-literary note, how awesome is this: Rednecks for Obama. Two men from Missouri, one 74 and the other 60, are on a mission to get rednecks like themselves to vote for Obama.