Collected Miscellany

In an effort to learn more about some of the pivotal battles in history, I am starting to read books about those battles. The first book I read toward achieving greater knowledge was Alessandro Barbero’s The Battle: A New History of Waterloo.

Before reading this book, pretty much the only thing I knew about Waterloo was that Napoleon lost and Wellington won. Thanks to Barbero, I know a whole lot more.

Barbero sets Waterloo in the context of Napoleon’s return to power from exile on Elba by providing a brief description of the two battles immediately preceding Waterloo (Quatre Bras – between French Marshal Ney and Wellington; and Ligny – between Napoleon and Prussian Field Marshal Blucher) and then thoroughly exploring Waterloo from all sides.

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As I have noted before, I have always had a generally negative view of Christian fiction despite not having read particularly widely in the genre. In the past what I saw just didn’t interest me. But reading some blogs and website caused me to feel that a re-evaluation was in order. So I decided to check what people thought was the best in this field. Madman by Tracy Groot, a historical novel built around the story of Legion, the demon possessed man in Mark 5:1-20, was one such recommendation. Madman turned out to be an interesting and well written historical novel. It was a little slow in a few spots, and at times seemed a little too intent on showing the historical research of the author, but in the end it was still an entertaining and illuminating look at the dark side of the mind and soul.

The central story of Madman concerns two interlocking mysteries. The first deals with the dissolution of a Socratic academy set up in Palestine. The founder and financial sponsor of the academy send his servant, and fellow scholar, Tallis from Athens to investigate and see if he can find out what happened.

What he finds is a path of destruction surrounding those associated with the school. As the book’s back jacket describes it: “One was murdered. One committed suicide. One worships in the temple of Dionysus. And one … one is a madman.” The mystery of who this madman is and what has led him to madness is the focus of the second mystery.

The link between the two turns out to be the inn where Tallis is staying. At first frustrated at the lack of answers or information, and quickly running out of money, Tallis eventually begins to unravel the horrifying details of the academy’s last days. He is also drawn into the lives of the customers and staff of the inn. When he is forced into the front lines of the battle between good and evil, Tallis finds both answers and allies at the inn.

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For the most part I don’t enjoy talk radio. Actually, what I don’t like are call in shows on talk radio. Intelligent discussion I like. Loudmouthed opinion and hyperbole I can do with out. For this reason it has only been in the last year or so that I have begun to listen to sports radio more. I am out of touch when it comes to music and can never seem to find a station I like, and I can only take so much NPR, so I started listening to the local sports radio station when I am in the car. One show that I enjoy is Mike and Mike in the Morning. They seem level headed, knowledgeable, and humorous without being over the top. If I am in the car in the morning I generally have them on.

So when I found out that one of the Mike’s from the show, Mike Greenberg or Greeny, had a book (Why My Wife Thinks I’m an Idiot : The Life and Times of a Sportscaster Dad) coming out I thought it might be worth checking out. After all, I am a big sports fan and have recently become a father. I figured it might be interesting to see what Mr. Greenberg has to say about balancing sports and fatherhood.

When Greenberg made a stop in Columbus on his book tour it presented the perfect opportunity to get the book and to meet the author. So I swung by the Barnes and Noble at the appointed time. What I found out was that a lot of people had the same idea. There was a large line that was getting larger by the minute. Faced with a decision, I bought the book and jumped in line.

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One of the most enjoyable aspects of book blogging has been the opportunity to interact with authors. Whether through email Q&As, reading their blogs, or exchanging comments on others blogs, it is enjoyable to get to know a little of the personal side of authors.

One such author I have had the privilege of interacting with is Kevin Wignall. Besides having a great surname, Kevin is a talented writer and successful author, and a thoughtful and interesting blogger (when he finds the time to post).

A couple of years ago I had stumbled upon People Die at a discount bookstore and picked it up as a good summer read. I was right, it was a good summer read. Although parts of it bugged me a little bit, I found it to be “a readable and entertaining story with a dark yet melancholy style and tone; a sort of part noir thriller part psychological exploration.”

At the time I made a note to read more Wignall and I have even checked out For the Dogs from the Library a couple of times. But for some reason I never got around to reading it – until now. This summer I decided I was going to read it. So I bought a copy and officially bumped it up the TBR pile. Once again I am glad I did. For the Dogs is an edgy, compact, and creative take on vengeance and love.

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– In my brief hiatus Mr. Birnbaum has posted two interviews. One with George Saunders, whose The Brief and Frightening Reign of Phil sits in TBR pile mocking me, and one with Lawrence Weschler.

– I received an email from Lynne W. Scanlon, The Wicked Witch of Publishing (TM), alerting me to her blog The Publishing Contrarian. In a recent post she asks the provacative question(s) How Low Should You Sink to Shamelessly Market Your Book? Is Author Jeff Pearlman a Prostitute? Click on over to find out the answer.

– The Summer Issue of Bold Type is out:

For the sweltering months ahead, we bring you a breathless Boldtype issue with an array of our traditional in-depth reviews and a special section with snapshot looks at fresh magazines, eye-candy art books, short story collections, and beloved beach reads. Whether you’re breezing out of town or just cranking up the AC at home, summer reading is all about assembling a teetering stack of possibilities. We give you plenty to work with, from Gary Shteyngart’s Absurdistan (which looks to be the season’s breakout novel with its crazed Rabelaisian Russian narrator) to Stephen Wright’s Civil War polka to Sigrid Nunez’s complex portrait of two women dealing with the burnout of ’60s idealism. Here’s to a strange piece of paradise…

– An email from FSB alerted me to the existence of Written Voices Radio “the best collection of author podcasts on the Web!” A fascinating site where you can “Listen to interviews, browse titles, read excerpts, and much more.” Looks pretty cool. I plan on checking it out in more detail as I have time.

This will not come as a great surprise to anyone who has read this blog, but grammar and spelling are not my strong suites. I went to high school in Central Indiana and the education I received was not exactly first class. (Incidentally, this is also why I was never interested in literature as a academic focus despite my very early love of reading. The teachers made books and literature a chore rather than a delight.) The focus at the time was on creative writing and other useless endeavors not on knowledge of the rules and structure of language. Even the strangely lauded senior composition class was useless as preparation for college term paper writing.

It was only when I got to college and began writing history papers that I was taught how to write. My history professors did this by merciless use of the red pen. They simply corrected my poor grammar, punctuation, and spelling over and over again until some of it began to sink in and the deluge of red ink began to subside a bit. This process was repeated in graduate school.

As a result any sense or skill I might have in writing comes from instinct and “ear” rather than from a formal knowledge of the rules. This not only hampered my writing, but also made it that much harder for me to learn a foreign language. If you understand the structure of your own language you can learn a new much easier. Since I really didn’t understand the building blocks of my own language I had a very hard time picking up those of a foreign one (an added drawback was the pathetic curriculum I had in college).

This background has made me sensitive to issues surrounding grammar and language. I am often on the lookout for books that will help supply some of the education I missed out on growing up. So when I saw a positive review of Grammar Snobs Are Great Big Meanies I quickly ordered a copy. I am glad I did. It turned out to be one of those entertaining and educational products so many people promise but so few deliver.

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