Monthly Archives: February 2011

February 22, 2011 · 8:07 AM

CHRISBOOKARAMA Faces the BOOK APOCALYPSE

(Ed. Note: For mysterious reasons unknown to you, citizens of the world are suddenly panicking because the time of the Apocalypse has indeed come. You have been offered a place in the official Bonjour, Cass! bunker, sponsored by the Bonjour, Cass! Book Apocalypse Protection Agency (BCBAPA™). In order to secure your spot, you are required to submit a form listing the ten books from your to-be-read list to bring with you. Today, ever-prepared Chris from Chrisbookarama shares her Official Application.)

Treason’s Harbour by Patrick O’Brian: The wind in my hair and sea in my face. Things I will not be having in a bunker. For now I’ll dream of the open sea and some swashbuckling fun with the boys of Master and Commander.

Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons: This is supposed to be a funny one and I think if I’m trapped in a bunker, I’d like to lighten the mood a bit.

Possession by AS Byatt: I’ve heard that Possession is Byatt’s masterpiece. I read The Children’s Book last year and it took me ages to read it. It required all my concentration. If I’m concentrating on reading maybe I won’t think about what is going on out there.

The Luxe by Anna Godbersen: Wealthy teen socialites getting into trouble. As far from a bunker as you can get. (Ed. Note: That’s what you’d think…)

The Evil Genius by Wilkie Collins: I just can’t get enough of Wilkie Collins. He is coming with me.

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley: When I get out of this place, I’ll build a utopia. This will teach me how to not do it.

Brown Girl in the Ring by Nalo Hopkinson: A girl in a post-apocalyptic world. Time to learn about that.

Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell: I can’t bring Jane Eyre with me but I can bring this book written by Charlotte’s friend. I have three unread books by Gaskell but this is the biggest.

Farm City by Novella Carpenter: Farm City is about farming in an urban environment. Who knows what I’ll find out there? It’s best to be prepared to survive anywhere.

Drood by Dan Simmons: Charles Dickens and Wilkie Collins. How can that not be entertaining? And look at the size of that thing! Days of entertainment.

BONUS! QUESTIONS:

 

  • Surprise! You get to bring any book that is being or has been published in 2011. Which title do you choose?

I am not good at knowing what is happening ahead of time, unless someone tells me. Good thing I was told about the bunker. So I’m not sure what’s being published this year but there is one book that just came out that looks interesting: Bride of France by Suzanne Desrochers. It’s about a girl who is banished to Canada from France in the 1600s. A girl in a dangerous wilderness battling to survive, sounds about right.

 

  • What would win in an ultimate battle: gnomes, owls, or muskrats? Defend your answer.

Gnomes, definitely. Have you seen the movie Child’s Play? Though technically not a gnome (a possessed doll actually), Chucky has some gnomish qualities: small, creepy grin, probably does stuff when your back is turned. Chucky scarred me for life and now I have a fear of knee-high magical people. When I was a teenager, I saw the movie with a friend and we screamed the whole time. Did not make friends with the other movie goers that night. I’m not fooled by smiling lawn ornaments; they look vicious and I bet those little teeth could do some serious damage.

 

  • Which blogger would you like to bring with you?

Evil question! I would like to say I’d take everyone with me but the rules of the bunker are pretty strict. So I gave it some thought. I think I’ll go with Michelle from That’s What She Read. I’ve known Michelle (on the internet) for about 6 years. We’re in the same book club. She’s proficient in vampire literature, so if vampires are involved in the apocalypse she’s got that covered. Plus, she seems like someone who could kick some butt. She’d have my back.

 

STATUS:

 

If you’d like to participate, write up your list and fill out the form. (If you have already emailed your list, you do not need to resend.) You can check my post announcing the feature for further details. Be prepared for a follow-up email containing a few random (and odd) bonus questions regarding your stay in the bunker.

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February 20, 2011 · 1:44 PM

Various Bibliophilic Notes

  • Amy is an excellent house guest, in case you were wondering. Even if she is a terrible bitch. (NOTE: I promised her I would spread rumors about her in order to complicate her public persona. Just think of me as the private TMZ of book blogging.)
  • A wonderful new establishment just opened in Boston: Tres Gatos, a BAR THAT SERVES TAPAS AND ALSO BOOKS. I kid you not. Ethan and I went on Thursday and it was just as amazing an experience as you could imagine. The food was delicious, and the mix of books was appropriately quirky. I, of course, brought home a couple of books:

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs: An ARC that I picked up from the free pile. The story is told with the help of photographs, which I thought might pique the interest of my dear photographer boyfriend. To be published in June.

Niagra Falls All Over Again by Elizabeth McCracken: Two friends who come up through the vaudeville circuit, one becomes a successful celebrity, the other successful in his private life. A good addition to my recent quest to find good fiction about Hollywood actors.

  • A few weeks ago Groupon or livingsocial, one of those bargain coupon enablers, had a $10-for-$20 for Amazon. I of course took them up on that offer, and my books from the order came in on Friday:

The Talented Miss Highsmith: The Secret Life and Serious Art of Patricia Highsmith by Joan Schenkar: It’s a very long biography. I needed to own it because the library copy made me nervous. I was interested to find that in the Library of Congress notes, Highsmith is listed as bisexual. I suppose, if you go by the essentialist definition that if you have sex with men at any point in your life and then sex with women, you are bisexual, but it seems rather clear to me that Highsmith was lesbian-identified. We shall see.

Inseparable: Desire Between Women in Literature by Emma Donoghue: I read this one already. I couldn’t resist! Donoghue argues that there are six major type of representations of women who love women in literature (she focuses on ancient lit to 19th century, but does mention later works) and yeah, basically she rocks. Where’s the book on lesbian fiction after the 19th century? I would like to read that, so someone go write it please. Kay, thank you.

  • Okay, don’t judge me yet, because I also used a Groupon or livingsocial coupon for Barnes and Noble (another $10-for-$20):

Bottle Rocket Hearts by Zoe Whittall: I bought another of her books Holding Still For As Long As Possible a few weeks ago and while I haven’t read it all the way through yet, the first few chapters were VERY EXCITING IN A NON-SEXUAL MANNER. So I bought the other one, too.

Black Dahlia by James Ellroy: I wanted to read LA Confidential but it’s #3 in a series, and as I am incapable of reading series out of order, I had to buy the first book instead. Unfortunately it is the version for the movie–a movie I saw in the theater and despised beyond all belief. Hopefully the book will be better, even if I have to look at stupid Jenny when I read it. (NOTE: That weird shadow on the cover is not ACTUALLY on the cover, it is my reflection. BUT IT WOULD BE AWESOME IF IT WAS PART OF THE COVER FORREALZ. Take note, Hachette paperbacks.)

  • Why do I buy books in couples? I do not do this purposely.
  • Finally, to round out my book buying extravaganza, I picked up two books from my local indie. They are in my good graces lately because a) they are hosting Jasper Fforde and b) they are  hosting my secret boyfriend Myron BolitarHarlan Coben, both next month. I am very SECRETLY excited.

Reading Women: How the Great Books of Feminism Changed My Life by Stephanie Staal: I couldn’t resist. How could I, really?

The Pure and the Impure by Colette: I’ve never read anything by Colette, so why not this amazing New York Review of Books version of the book? I would like that hat (hair?).

  • Before I forget! As I was reading Inseparable (a word I am almost incapable of spelling correctly), Madame Donoghue explained once and for all the meaning of the title The Price of Salt:

Carol charts a difficult middle course, ultimately holding neither to girlfriend nor to child but to the truth of her own nature, the salt of it. The “price of salt” to which the novel’s title alludes is almost–but not quite–unbearably high. –p. 181

 

I need to get blogging and stop reading so much. Could you help me figure out where to start with my reviews via this lovely poll?

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February 14, 2011 · 5:53 PM

Review: The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith

The Price of Salt
by Patricia Highsmith
Published 1952 by Coward-McCann
Own–purchased at a local independent bookstore
Joint read with Amy for the GLBT(Q) Challenge

The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith is the first of the read-a-longs Amy and I plan to do for the GLBT(Q) challenge. I placed it on the list because from what I know of Highsmith, she seems like a very, uh, interesting person. In the first few chapters of The Talented Miss Highsmith, a biography published in 2010, I learned that she kept detailed records of her relationships and sexual activities, scoring each woman on a scale of 1-10 on various topics. (That list has survived until this day, and it’s awesome.) The Price of Salt is generally considered to be FAKE SPOILER the first lesbian book to have a happy ending, and since I find books with gay characters that have happy endings to be all too rare, I put it on the list.

Amy visited me in Boston this weekend, and instead of writing a real review, we made a vlog.

 

Grade: B

Cass and Amy give it an "OKAY"

Recommended: Despite some truly 50s style occurrences (like SPOILER ALERT a private detective with an impressive array of listening devices), The Price of Salt is surprisingly modern in its portrayal of Therese and Carol’s relationship and the presentation of sexual fluidity. Recommended if you like classics, this book is a good way to round out your knowledge of the history of LGBTQ fiction.

 

You can read Amy’s much more detailed review at her blog.

 

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Filed under 2011 Reviews, B, Fiction, GLBTQ, Print

February 8, 2011 · 7:00 AM

ERIN READS Faces the BOOK APOCALYPSE

(Ed. Note: For mysterious reasons unknown to you, citizens of the world are suddenly panicking because the time of the Apocalypse has indeed come. You have been offered a place in the official Bonjour, Cass! bunker, sponsored by the Bonjour, Cass! Book Apocalypse Protection Agency (BCBAPA™). In order to secure your spot, you are required to submit a form listing the ten books from your to-be-read list to bring with you. Today, ever-prepared Erin from Erin Reads shares her Official Application.)

 

 

Improvised helmet? Check. Essential reading? Check. Application for a place in the official Bonjour, Cass! bunker? Check! Bring on the Apocalypse! (Just as soon as I get that green approval stamp…)

Here’s what I’ll bring:

The Deptford Trilogy by Robertson Davies: A former coworker was cautious about recommending Davies, but she was quite sure I’d like him. She’s usually dead on with her recommendations, so I got a copy of The Deptford Trilogy, and it has been patiently languishing on my shelves ever since. I really am curious to read it, I swear! The whole trilogy is bound into a single volume, so I’m counting it as one book.

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte: I’ve never read Jane Eyre! I guess if I didn’t get to it before the Apocalypse, I’d best get to it during. There’s a good chance I’ll love it, so if I’m stuck in the bunker for a long time, I can just keep rereading Jane Eyre. And if all you bloggers who can’t bring Jane Eyre because you’ve already read it are nice to me, maybe I’ll let you borrow it!

Blindness by Jose Saramago: After reading Death with Interruptions earlier this year, I knew I must read more Saramago. Blindness is the one sitting on my shelf, so it’s the one that will come along. It may not be the happiest book, but I’m sure it will be beautiful.

Moments of Being by Virginia Woolf: I have four unread Woolf titles on my shelf at the moment, and this is the one I’d most like to read. With not much else to do in the bunker, I’ll be able to take my time with what I’m sure is a dense but rewarding book.

Travels with Herodotus by Ryszard Kapuscinski: The writing in this book (at least, the first paragraph) is exquisite, which is enough for me. On top of that, the travel component will take me away from the bunker when I need to get out for a bit.

The Foundation Trilogy by Isaac Asimov: I don’t read much science fiction, but The Foundation Trilogy is one of my husband’s favorites, so I’d like to read it. It’s also on my classics project list. Again, I say three-in-one equals one!

Housekeeping vs. the Dirt by Nick Hornby: If this collection of Hornby’s Believer essays is anything like The Polysyllabic Spree, then it will undoubtably provide me with plenty of entertainment, wittiness, and bookish goodness to savor. All necessary while weathering the Apocalypse.

Ballistics by Billy Collins: Generally, poetry isn’t my thing, but Collins is an exception. He manages to be accessible and profound at the same time. Also, poetry will make a nice break from longer reading, as needed.

A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth: Though my sister and I agreed to read this chunkster together, neither of us has gotten anywhere with it yet. Since the book is over 1400 pages long, it will keep me busy in the bunker! It’s also one I’ve been meaning to read for a long time. I’d be sad if the world ended before I’d read it.

A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson: I’ve read several Bryson books, but never this one. I know Bryson is a funny man, so I’m sure A Walk in the Woods will keep me giggling, despite the Apocalypse raging outside.

BONUS! QUESTIONS:

  • Bonjour, Cass! Book Apocalypse Protection Agency (BCBAPA™) is adamant that you solve a crisis plaguing the English language before you can be admitted to the BCBAPA™ bunker: kindly create a word to rhyme with ‘orange.’

Enscorange (v.): to wedge into a small or cluttered space; ex. The bunker is getting crowded, but I think we can enscorange a few more book bloggers into it.

  • In a limited time offer, the BCBAPA™ can ensure delivery of one (1) magazine. Mark your choice below:

The only magazine I currently receive is “Interweave,” which is, in fact, a knitting magazine. I feel this would be an appropriate choice to bring into the bunker, as, in the event that we all survive the Apocalypse and can find a fiber source for making textiles, I would be able to knit up pretty things for all the book blogger survivors.

  • Which book blogger would you take with you?

That is, of course, a difficult decision. I’m trusting the other applicants to make sure everyone gets in! I will take Amanda from the Zen Leaf. Not only could she tell me about all the classics I’ll potentially never get to read, but she knows Death AND Baby Death and could maybe put in a good word for me.

STATUS:

If you’d like to participate, write up your list and email it to me at bonjourcass @ gmail . com. Please include a link to your blog! You can check my post announcing the feature for further details. Be prepared for a follow-up email containing a few random (and odd) bonus questions regarding your stay in the bunker.

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February 7, 2011 · 8:25 AM

Review: Reality Bites Back by Jennifer Pozner

Reality Bites Back: The Troubling Truth About Guilty Pleasure TV
by Jennifer Pozner
Published 2010 by Seal Press
392 pages
Recommended by Melissa Harris-Perry via twitter (sadly, not directly)
Purchased by me from a local independent bookstore

Do you feel guilty for indulging in reality television? I will admit, for the merits of this post, to watching American Idol and Project Runway regularly, and being a former viewer of America’s Next Top Model, The Real World, Survivor–even, horrors of all horrors, Flavor of Love and Rock of Love. And these are just the ones that I watched for entire seasons.

Chances are, if you’ve watched American reality shows, you’ve either pretended not to, or you’ve followed the sentence “I watch [reality show name here]” with “But just because it’s funny.” In Reality Bites Back, Jennifer Pozner argues that watching reality television has consequences on culture that go beyond being merely entertaining; happily, she does it in a way that doesn’t make you feel like a terrible person for indulging. So rest assured: even if you can name all the winners of American Idol in order (ahem) or you can recite Tim Gunn’s favorite lines (“Use the bluefly.com accessory wall thoughtfully”), you won’t come away from this book feeling guilty for watching.

You will, however, feel a whole heck of a lot smarter and aware of the stereotypes and -isms (sexism, racism, classism, etc.) reality television perpetuates. It’s an excellent and readable feminist analysis of popular culture. With chapter titles like “Bitches and Morons and Skanks, Oh My!” Pozner keeps her humor cap on, fully aware of the ironies of “scholarship” and “reality television” while arguing convincingly that there is much to be done to make reality tv more inclusive and less reliant on typecasting and archetypes. The chapter I mentioned, for instance, lays out four tropes that reality tv relies on when portraying women:

1. Women are catty, bitchy, manipulative, and not to be trusted, especially by other women.

2. Women are stupid.

3. Women are incompetent at work and at home.

4. Women are gold diggers.

–p. 98-127

If you’ve ever watched any of these shows, I’m sure you can come up with a bunch of reality show “stars” who fit those categories. We can all agree, I hope, that women are more than, and better than, this–so why aren’t any of those women on reality shows?

The most unique, impressive part of Reality Bites Back, is that unlike many other feminist books on popular culture, there is a chapter full of resources on what you can do to make it better. There are drinking games (although Pozner thoughtfully encourages you to use non-alcoholic beverages because if you followed the rules with alcohol, you’d end up with alcohol poisoning). There is a “backlash bingo” game to help stay aware of the portrayals of women and minorities on the shows. There is a guide to writing useful protest letters to the networks that broadcast the shows. Instead of just leaving the reader angry without a way to be proactive about what’s going on, Pozner’s resources to fighting back will help you be mad and ready to do something about it.

Highly recommended to anyone who has ever watched and enjoyed a reality show (but cringes at the ridiculousness of it all).

Grade: A

Also: Pozner gets extra points for including a short essay from Julia Serano (author of the brilliant Whipping Girl) entitled “Improving Representation of Transgender People: Tips for Media Makers.” Can’t let that go unmentioned, since it made me really, really happy.

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Filed under 2011 Reviews, A, Gender Studies, GLBTQ, Non-Fiction

February 2, 2011 · 9:50 PM

January Round-Up

A picture of Ethan bundled up to shovel out the car. (On a billboard thanks to PhotoFunia for iPod touch)

 

Total Books Read: 22
Audio — 6
Print — 16

Cover of

Cover of The Age of Dreaming

By Genre
Fiction — 10

  1. Bob the Book by David Pratt: I don’t even know how to start talking about this book. A cute idea (the main character is a gay book) that somehow manages to be anti-kink, anti-masturbation, and anti-hooking up. Fascinating.
  2. The Fairy Tales of Oscar Wilde: The Devoted Friend & The Nightingale and the Rose (Fairy Tales of Oscar Wilde) by Oscar Wilde and P. Craig Russell: Adapted in graphic novel format. I haven’t read anything else by Wilde (I know, I know), so I was a bit surprised by just how depressing these stories were. But in a good way. Good depressing. That’s a thing, right?
  3. The Age of Dreaming by Nina Revoyr: Eva read this recently and I put it on hold because I couldn’t resist a novel about early Hollywood! I quite liked the book and I’ve been working on a review. I was quite surprised to learn (while reading Hollywood Babylon by Kenneth Anger) that the novel was based on the true story of William Desmond Taylor, a director in the 1920s. I may have missed it, but I didn’t see any acknowledgment within the book! It’s clear that The Age of Dreaming was inspired by the real story (the fictionalized William Desmond Taylor is named Ashley Bennett Tyler in the book, for instance), so I’m shocked that Revoyr didn’t mention it!
  4. 32 Candles by Ernessa T. Carter (audio): Coincidentally, this book made an appearance on Jodie of Book Gazing’s Book Apocalypse application! It was a cozy book about a young black woman obsessed with Molly Ringwald movies who runs west and becomes a lounge singer. It would have been the perfect cozy read had it been edited down a bit (a lot of the story seems like filler).
  5. The DUFF by Kody Keplinger
  6. Boston Noir edited by Dennis Lehane: A collection of short noir stories set in (you guessed it) Boston. I liked a couple of the stories very much (especially Lehane’s) but overall I was surprised by how many of the stories featured characters who hated Boston and wanted to move to New York. Kind of odd for a collection set in Boston, no?
  7. The Lover’s Dictionary by David Levithan: Levithan’s first book for adults. It’s usually hit or miss with his books, but this one was more of a “hmm.” (Is that a rating? If not, can we make it one?)
  8. So Cold the River by Michael Koryta (audio): Supposedly So Cold the River is AS CREEPY AS THE SHINING. Now, I haven’t read The Shining but I’m going to go out a limb here and say that no, it is not that creepy. A guy has a bottle of mysteriously cold water. He drinks the water. Weird things happen. The end. Only the audio was like 17 hours so it took forever for the end.
  9. The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith: Amy and I will be reviewing this soon!
  10. Play Dead by Harlan Coben (audio): The first novel Coben had published, reissued and narrated by Scott Brick. Certainly not Coben’s best, but several of the characters found in his later books are featured in some form and it made me quite happy.

Non-Fiction — 12

  1. The Bad and the Beautiful: Hollywood In the Fifties by Sam Kashner and Jennifer MacNair
  2. How I Made It to Eighteen: A Mostly True Story by Tracy White
  3. The Polysyllabic Spree by Nick Hornby: Recommended by Erin. It wasn’t my favorite book, but it is certainly a wealth of inspiration for writing about books! I need to buy a copy.
  4. Deconstructing Sammy: Music, Money, Madness, and the Mob by Matt Birkbeck (audio): I fell for the awesomness of the title. The book is mostly about the difficulties in settling Sammy Davis’s tax debt after his death, which wasn’t exactly what I was expecting. I need to read a real Sammy Davis biography soon.
  5. Possessed: The Life of Joan Crawford by Donald Spoto: I didn’t think it was possible, but Spoto makes Crawford sound like the most boring person ever. Even while detailing her love affair with Clark Gable and her obsession with cleanliness.
  6. Joan Crawford: Hollywood Martyr by David Bret: David Bret uses a lot of italics and even more exclamation points! In his hands, Crawford comes off as the campiest actress ever! I don’t believe most of what’s written in the book, though, mostly because Bret uses Hollywood Babylon as a “respectable” source. Umm.
  7. The Nearest Exit May Be Behind You by S. Bear Bergman: I’m working on a review! I even book marked several pages in the book. Soon, soon.
  8. The Slow Fix by Ivan Coyote: Enjoyable, but not nearly as good as Missed Her.
  9. Reality Bites Back: The Troubling Truth about Guilty Pleasure TV by Jennifer L. Pozner: So, so good. Review forthcoming (really!).
  10. High Society: The Life of Grace Kelly by Donald Spoto (audio): Spoto’s biography of Grace Kelly is much more interesting than his biography of Crawford. Maybe it was because I listened to it on audio, but I was quite impressed. I’ve watched The Country Girl (which I loved loved loved) and Dial M for Murder (which I liked) since listening to the book. High Society is on the way from Netflix.
  11. Without You: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and the Musical Rent by Anthony Rapp (audio): A lot of people die in this book, including Rapp’s mom from cancer, but somehow I still ended up liking the book. Rapp narrates very well.
  12. Hollywood Babylon by Kenneth Anger: Oh my. Talk about trashy. You should read it. It’s ridiculous. Just don’t believe a word.

Source
Own — 5
Library — 15
Borrowed — 2

Book Apocalypse

In January I began my new BOOK APOCALYPSE feature, where bloggers submit ten books from their TBR list that they would bring with them if they had to seek safety in a bunker sponsored by the elusive (and often cranky) Bonjour, Cass! Book Apocalypse Protection Agency (BCBAPA™). I’ve been surprised by how many classics everyone would want with them at the supposed end of the world! I guess there’s no time like the end time to try to tackle Jane Eyre or Moby Dick! If you’d like to participate, you can find the details at my announcement post.

Challenges

Remember that time I decided to sign up for three challenges that were reading a book a month? Well, uh. I kind of failed in January, reading only one of the three books I had planned: The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith. Amy and I are planning our joint review/write up of the book. The good thing is that it will actually be posted since Amy is quite SERIOUS about reviewing every book, leaving me no room to slack.  I have higher hopes for finishing all three books in February!

Amy and I will be reading In a Queer Time and Place by Judith Halbstalm for the GLBTQ challenge in February. I started it today and woo boy is it making me put my gender theory cap on nice and tight.

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February 1, 2011 · 6:14 PM

UNPUTDOWNABLES Faces the BOOK APOCALYPSE

(Ed. Note: For mysterious reasons unknown to you, citizens of the world are suddenly panicking because the time of the Apocalypse has indeed come. You have been offered a place in the official Bonjour, Cass! bunker, sponsored by the Bonjour, Cass! Book Apocalypse Protection Agency (BCBAPA™). In order to secure your spot, you are required to submit a form listing the ten books from your to-be-read list to bring with you. Today, ever-prepared Wallace from Unputdownables shares her Official Application.)


Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte: I haven’t read any of the Bronte sisters’ works all the way through, but I have started this one. And though I absolutely had a hard time listening to this on audio, I’d like to give it another shot on paper. I recently watched the 2009 Masterpiece Theater version and LOVED it. LOVE, love, loved it. I felt like that helped me get what the story was about. So now I would like to try to re-tackle the actual book and see how I feel about it. Plus… when everything is blowing up and being scary outside the bunker, it wouldn’t hurt to have a little classic 1st love angst going on in my head.

John Adams by David McCullough: I’ve been wanting to read this one for years. I adore history, especially colonial and Revolutionary US history. This one would keep my brain making wrinkles and would give me ideas to help start the new gov’t we will need when the new world starts.

Howard’s End is on the Landing by Susan Hill: I figure that since I can only bring 10 books in with me, I will want to have a book about books. One that makes me feel like I’m getting a little glimpse inside some of the books I couldn’t bring with me. And then I get to read what Ms. Hill says about those books, so it will feel like we are having a bookish conversation.

Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell: I watched this on Masterpiece Theater (yes, I’m a fan of MT) and fell completely in love with this town and all the characters. I’ve never read the book, but definitely want to. It’s the kind of story to warm you up when you are getting lonely. It would be comforting to imagine that I am in Cranford with it’s funny and sweet characters rather than in a bunker during the end of the world.

You Can’t Go Home Again by Thomas Wolfe: Because being in a bunker while the world is ending might be the only time this book would actually make me feel better. If I (literally) can’t go home again, might as well immerse myself in the psyche of why home wouldn’t have been the same anyway.

Savage Beauty by Nancy Milford: I started this (only got about 40 pages into this hundreds of pages tomb) and desperately want to finish it, but it’s hard to find time. So, it seems like having all the time in the world would be a good time to sit down with it again. I am fascinated by Edna St. Vincent Millay, my favorite poet. She was a homely girl from a small town in Maine and became one of the most famous writers of her time having men and woman fall head over heels in love with her. I’d like to see how she accomplished it all.

The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street by Helene Hanff: Helene Hanff is one of my very favorite writers (and probably my favorite non-fiction writer). I have read  most of her work, and keep the books of hers that I own on my bedside bookshelf. I haven’t read this one — have been saving it. Couldn’t go away in a bunker without bringing it with me so that I could have a bit of Helene down there. She’s so smart, and witty, and ahead of her time. I adore her.

Between the Sheet by Lesley McDowell: A portrait of nine of the 20th Centuries most prominent female writers and how they were influenced and altered by the people they loved. I am so interested in reading about these significantly talented and bright women, who so many of us look up to as wickedly influential, yet who were so incredibly human. It’s an amazing study of how these women were so damaged by the ones they loved, yet they continued to love them. And it poses the question, would they have been the writers they were if not for these damaging relationships? A good conversation starter for those of us down in the bunker.

Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell: Because I love her. Period. (Can I bring this on audio… her voice would make life that much better).

OK, I’ll explain why I’m bringing this one. I adore Sarah Vowell. She is wicked, wicked smart (I’m not even from the east coast, but she deserved “wicked smart”, preferably with Casey Affleck saying it because it sounds better) like Will Hunting. But she’s funnier than him. And her voice it better. And she writes about US History, which always interests me. If I had known about her when I taught middle school Social Studies, I would have out her on the mandatory reading list.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak: Because thinking of a tenth book is SO MUCH PRESSURE and because I hear this one is a book lovers wet dream and because I hear it’s a page turner. Going to need a page turner for when I start thinking too much about the fact that I am in a bunker and the world is ending.

BONUS! Questions

  • Congratulations! You will be allowed to have dessert in the bunker. Only it has to be something with bananas–and you have to have it every day. What will it be?
Bananas with peanut butter and chocolate chips (chocolate chips stuck onto the peanut butter, please).
  • The Bonjour, Cass! Book Apocalypse Protection Agency (BCBAPA™) will be keeping you occupied with learning a new language. Top two choices? (The BCBAPA™ is leaning toward Swahili. Or Klingon.)

First Choice would be Elvish (yes, as in from Middle Earth). Second Choice would be French (yes, as in from Europe).

  • Which book blogger would you bring with you?

Ti from Book Chatter. She was one of my very first real blogging friends, and I have learned a lot about blogging from watching her. She’s one of my favorite bloggers because she has a solid following (for good reason) without an ounce of pretension. I love seeing what she is reading and hearing about what she thought of each book. I think she’d be a great addition to the Bunker.


APPLICATION STATUS:

If you’d like to participate, write up your list and email it to me at bonjourcass @ gmail . com. You can check my post announcing the feature for further details. Be prepared for a follow-up email containing a few random (and odd) bonus questions regarding your stay in the bunker.

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