Village Books Blog

I Simply Don't Care...Unless I Win

The National Book Awards were announced last night and the winners are:

Fiction: Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann (Woo-hoo!)

Nonfiction: The First Tycoon: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt by T. J. Stiles

Young people's literature: Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice by Phillip Hoose

Poetry: Transcendental Studies: A Trilogy by Keith Waldrop

I don't know how much book awards dictate your book selections. I know for me that book awards don't dictate my book selections. If I want to read a book, I'm going to read a book. And if I don't want to read a book, I don't care who is telling me I should read it, I'm simply not going to read it (unless I suddenly end up back in college where my grade in Practical Criticism pends on my knowledge of and ability to interpret Mrs. Dalloway in at least three different literary analyses ranging from Marxist crit to feminist crit). Even though I don't read what the awards committees tell me to read, I'm still intrigued enough to follow their selections and find out who the winners are. The Man Booker Prize, the National Book Awards, the Newbery, the Caldecott, the list goes on and on. Rarely have I read any of the finalists for these awards, let alone the winners. So what does that mean? Is my taste in books not refined enough? Is my eye for good writing not discerning enough? I mean, I'm apparently pompous enough to think that House of Leaves is a mind-blowing interactive read (if you ever want to hear about my creepy experience reading this book, stop in and I'll tell you), but also lowbrow enough to think Bitter with Baggage Seeks Same is one of the funniest things since Peanut Butter Jelly Time. All that being said, when a book I have read appears on an awards list, I suddenly become the proud parent--"That's my baby! I always knew she'd go places!" Suddenly I feel like I'm in the know--"Oh that old book? Yeah, I read it, like, 6 months ago. Oh? You haven't read it yet? Well, you are absolutely missing out." So when I saw that Colum McCann's Let the Great World Spin won for fiction, I was elated. It's such an underrated book. Great concept: It's 1974 and Philippe Petit is walking the tightrope between the Twin Towers. While the crowds gather below, we are told the stories of a handful of characters who are either hearing about or witnessing this feat. I've been plugging this book for months and maybe now will be its time to shine. My little baby has been given the recognition she deserves. Oh? You haven't read it yet? Well, you are absolutely missing out.

-Lindsey

On Eating Animals

The latest book I'm taking on is Jonathan Safran Foer's latest, Eating Animals. Those of you who know me know that I may be a weensy obsessed with Foer's fiction. Although I'm a strict fiction reader, I had to delve into his nonfiction book about, well, eating animals. When Foer and his wife (Nicole Krauss--The History of Love--are they a power couple or what?!) learned they were having a baby, they really began evaluating their lives--in particular, their eating habits. What sort of habits would they want to pass on to their child? They both came to the conclusion that perhaps this was the perfect time to stop their occasional vegetarian ways and instead go all the way. Eating Animals is the result of Foer's desire to understand why they were making that decision. Thus far the book is an interesting take on vegetarianism (something I don't practice). For example, when I read a book about vegetarianism, written by a vegetarian, I don't expect the author to give an extremely convincing argument on why we should eat dogs (don't worry, I'm not going to eat my dog. Or yours, for that matter). Yet, early on in the book I was facing just that argument. It caught me off guard, and let my guard down that I was going to spend the next 300 pages reading a fire and brimstone sermon on why I'm wrong for being a meateater. Some of the matter is, of course, shocking in its imagery, as we all are aware of the horrific practices of slaughterhouses and factory farming. Much of it is informative. And Foer's style still prevails even in his nonfiction (woo-hoo!) I will always eat meat and I'm ok with that. We'll just have to see if any of my unwise practices as a meateater change after I finish this book. I'm certainly aware of what I do wrong, but will I be moved enough to take action, or will I simply feel like I've just been dealt a major guilt-trip? That's yet to be determined, but it has at least got me thinking and that's better than nothing, right?

-Lindsey