Apparently, The Grapes of Wrath Could Have Been Longer...

I like so many other addicts, abuse a drug called Facebook because it makes me feel better about myself. I don't have the worst of the many Facebook habits - I don't use FB for eye crack. I am not a Friends junkie. No, my addiction is to the great white dust covered Virtual Bookshelf.

Yes, it makes me feel better to save all the books I've read and to write scathing critiques on Kundera or the recent failure of Murakami and every now and then I get to come across a book I've long forgotten, like the Scarlet Letter. How is that for old school?

But my favorite moment today was clicking past Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath and coming across the GOW Cliff's Notes, which is a study guide and seeing the following review:

"interesting story but I felt it could have been a bit longer"

I don't think this was tongue-in-cheek sadly.

Though I nearly wet myself showing the poor reader's review the appropriate amount of comedic appreciation.

Read more >>

Reunion, Fred Ulhman

I just finished a little book, the aforementioned Reunion, by Fred Ulhman.

In my edition, which I found for only one euro (thank you again Book Off), published by The Harvill Press of London, there is an introduction by Jean d'Ormesson. D'Ormesson sits on the highly regarded Académie Francaise in seat 12.For those of you who are unfamiliar with d'Ormesson, I highly recommend "Du coté de chez Jean".

In his introduction calls Reunion "literary perfection", and says, "Delight and distress mingled in me so powerfully that I found myself smiling through tears that came to my eyes".

The story is very simple. A young lonely Jewish boy and a young lonely German noble going to school together and becoming friends. The friendship is deeply felt by both parties and comes to an end because of the circumstances of 1930's Germany and because this friendship cannot live forever.

I highly recommend this book, so much so that I've included it on my list of Mandatory Reading. Mostly because I refuse to believe that any one who read this book would not add their own tears to d'Ormesson's or my own.

Read more >>