From: dsy@psych.toronto.edu (Desiree Sy)
Subject: Re: 1992 in Review
Organization: Department of Psychology, University of Toronto
Date: Mon, 4 Jan 1993 21:09:01 GMT

In article <1993Jan4.173600.1065@speedy.aero.org> nadel@attatash.aero.org (Miriam Nadel) writes:
>
>I don't keep simple lists of books - I keep a journal and write anything from
>a half-page to 3 pages whenever I finish a book.  This forces me to reflect
>some on my reading and still makes it easy to look back and see what I've
>read in the past year.  (Actually, I filled two blank books in 1992 so
>it also encourages my habit.  When I go to the bookstore for more blank
>books, I usually end up with a stack of other stuff too.)

I'm impressed.  I keep an intermittent journal, but I find it
hard enough to keep track of my reading in lists (I started
backsliding in August and never caught up).  Don't you find it
difficult to find beautiful blank books?  Personally, I dislike
those with lines -- you can see a lot about how you felt on a
certain day from your line spacing.  Also, I use a fountain pen
to write journal entries or letters, so the type of paper in the
book is important (those with recycled paper tend to absorb ink).

Ah, stationery.  Another frivolous whimsy.

>[...] Some of the particularly delightful or interesting books of the year:
>
>Roald Dahl, _Revolting Rhymes_.  Very funny interpretations of classical
>fairly tales.  For example, the giant smells Jack because Jack has b.o..

Yes, I enjoy these, too.  Also, for some reason or other I love
Quentin Blake's illustrations.

>Amy Tan, _The Kitchen God's Wife_.  I found this even better than _The
>Joy Luck Club_.  More mothers and daughters trying to come to terms with
>one another's lives.

I still found _The Joy Luck Club_ a better novel.  The form of
that novel -- the interlocking 16 stories (4 squared, like the
four players seated around a square mah jong table), and the
balance of different narrative tones -- was just exquisite.  I
enjoyed _The Kitchen God's Wife_, but I didn't get that feeling
of ... well, uniqueness, about the novel.

>Fay Weldon, _The Lives and Loves of a She-Devil_.  This one completely
>infuriated me, though it did make me understand what people mean by the
>term "post-feminist."

I've read Weldon's _Letters to Alice_, which I loved, but I've
never been able to finish another book of hers.  Now I'm afraid
to pick them up.
>Samuel Wilson Fussell, _Muscle: Confessions of an Unlikely Body Builder_.
>Fussell turned to bodybuilding because he was terrified of living in NY and
>got hooked.  In the end, intellect triumphs over body, but it's a close call.

I believe this is the novel that the Sondheim/Lapine
work-in-progress will be based on.

>Ken Mandelbaum, _Not Since Carrie_.  This has been discussed extensively
>on rec.arts.theare.  Obligatory reading for anyone with an interest in
>musical theatre.  The description of Carrie justifies the purchase price.

I'd add as a footnote (I meant to post this in r.a.theatre/movies)
that I highly recommend Julie Salomon's _The Devil's Candy_,
which was just released in trade paperback.  Salomon is (was?)
the film critic for the Wall Street Journal.  The book is the
result of hanging around and watching the pre-production, filming
and post-prod'n of that incredible flop film, THE BONFIRE OF THE
VANITIES.  It's one of the best books on film I've read.

-desiree