READIN

Monday, October 11th, 2004

Sylvia and I spent the evening at a neighbor's house, watching the finale concert of the Vote for Change tour and writing letters to voters in swing states. For me, the musical high point of the evening was the first song I heard, which was John Cougar singing "In my Time of Dying" -- I had no idea he sang that song, he does it very well. Sylvia was shy and stayed on or next to my lap all evening, not talking to people but smiling.

posted evening of October 11th, 2004: Respond
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We ate the rest of the pumpkin pie at the guitar jam yesterday, everyone liked it, especially Bob. I mentioned The Plot Against America to Janis, who grew up in Newark; turns out she grew up in the Weequahic section, and her mother was in high school with Philip Roth! (And to answer a question that I had while reading the book, it's pronounced "WEEK-wa'ək".)

posted morning of October 11th, 2004: Respond
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Sunday, October 10th, 2004

I read Moominpappa at Sea today, really enjoyed getting to know Moominpappa. In the other books (excluding Moominpappa's Memoirs, which I have not yet read), he doesn't really emerge as a fully developed character, just serves as a foil for Moominmamma and other characters. I could really empathize with his frustration and his ill-defined desire to be making something meaningful.

I think the events in this book occur simultaneously with Moominvalley in November, although neither book says so explicitly.

posted evening of October 10th, 2004: Respond
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Saturday, October 9th, 2004

Finished The Plot Against America -- what a page-turner! It's been a while since I found myself drawn so strongly back to the book every time I put it down -- all day today I've been either reading it or intending to read it while I do something else. Next on my list is Moominpappa at Sea.

I made pumpkin pie today, from the recipe in Sundays at the Moosewood, and it came out very well.

posted evening of October 9th, 2004: Respond
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Friday, October 8th, 2004

The Plot Against America becomes totally mesmerizing and difficult to put down, about half way through. Also it loses the annoying quality of predictability that I was complaining about last time.

posted afternoon of October 8th, 2004: Respond
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Thursday, October 7th, 2004

With Sylvia the other day, I dropped by Bank Street Bookstore, my favorite place for children's books. (Right down the street is Labyrinth Books, my favorite place for philosophy books -- Pomander Books, my favorite (in NYC) used bookstore, used to be nearby but no more.)

We picked up some more Moominfamily books, and an Olivia jigsaw puzzle -- The next level of difficulty up from the jigsaws she has been doing, this one is 63 pieces and a wider variation of shapes.

posted afternoon of October 7th, 2004: Respond
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Wednesday, October 6th, 2004

My attempt to re-read J.R. is now officially interrupted -- I did not get even as far into it as I did on the first reading of it. And let me say this about that book: it is beautifully written and often uproariously funny; but the plot is way too dense for my puny understanding to encompass. But. I will read it again in a few years and perhaps everything will fall into place.

The agent of disruption here is Philip Roth's new novel, The Plot Against America. I have been seeing articles about this for a while now and thinking, it sounds like an interesting premise; then there was a long review in Sunday's Times Book Review that really intrigued me; and whaddaya know, Monday afternoon found me in Coliseum Books handing the clerk my money.

And it's an interesting book, so far (about a quarter of the way through). Very readable and engaging, though I was thinking this afternoon the scenes move kind of predictably -- like I can see Roth setting up the scene and deciding what is going to happen in it. This is the first book I have read by Roth since I was in college, indeed since I was in my first year of college, when I read Portnoy's Complaint, Our Gang, and (I believe) Goodbye, Columbus.

posted evening of October 6th, 2004: Respond
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Friday, October first, 2004

🦋 Grandparents alert

Birthday footage coming your way in the latest Family Album installment: Sylvia turns 4. For the excellent photography, thanks go to Eric Thielking, father of Liam (7th picture down from the top).

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Wednesday, September 29th, 2004

For some reason I have not been motivated lately to post about my reading. Here is some of what I've been reading: Moominvalley in November (which I think is maybe the best of the Moomin books I've read so far, or anyway the most complex); Agapē Agape (which my mind is reeling from -- though only a small fraction of the book made it past the very front of my brain); In the Shadow of No Towers; and J.R..

posted afternoon of September 29th, 2004: Respond

Tuesday, September 14th, 2004

🦋 The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll

I found an article describing the historical record of the murder of Hattie Carroll, as well as some further legal trouble Billy Zantzinger found himself in in 1991: The True Story of William Zantzinger -- you will need to scroll down to the middle of the page. The site is in Italian but the story is in English.

NPR had a show about Zantzinger in 1991: All Things Considered, November 17 1991, first hour of program, reporter Alex Chadwick: "Zantzinger Exploited Blacks on Property". I am going to buy a transcript of the program and will post it here if it is legal to do so.

• A newspaper article describing the crime: Rich Brute Slays Negro Mother of 10 -- The article is no longer available on the web but can be found in the book Absolutely Dylan, by Patrick Humphries, 1991, and is partially reprinted in Revolution in the Air: The Songs of Bob Dylan, 1957 - 1973.
• The Art of Bob Dylan's 'Hattie Carroll', by Phil Ochs
• Greil Marcus makes a nice use of the chorus in this essay about September 11, 2001. (Update after reading a bit more of the essay: Wow! This is powerful stuff! Go read it!) (Further update after finishing the essay and digesting it for a while: well the first half or so of it is really meaningful and moving anyway. Could have done without the rabidity of the second half.)

An article from Mother Jones about Zantzinger's life. A transcript of the NPR show.

Update from January 2009: Zantzinger has died. The Baltimore Sun's obituary has his life story, and some quotes from a number of people involved in the trial. Plus a photo of Zantzinger being led away from the hotel by Baltimore police. The Washington Post obituary has another photo, captionless but I think it is from '91. Reactions from Bryan Waterman and from Peter Eisenstadt.

posted morning of September 14th, 2004: 2 responses
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