Literary Criticism Matters

Recently I've been contemplating life questions like why write books, why read books, why talk about books, why bother to write posts containing my humble thoughts on books.  As an English degree-holder, I'd like to think that I did not waste my time and (parents') money getting a degree in literature and writing.  Any degree from a good school that teaches critical thinking and communication skills is time well spent, but was the actual literary criticism I spent so much time on meaningful?  Was my undergraduate paper on the color white in a Kate Chopin short story important? Maybe not, but I believe that criticism of literature definitely is.

The difference between a simple judgment and a thoughtful critique were reinforced in my mind by two articles shared with me by my old professor a year ago while discussing criticism and the philosophy thereof.  The articles, one by Daniel Coffeen and one by Sam Anderson, preach the importance of giving back to the art and the artist by engaging in a conversation with the work of art, about how it fits in with other works, what new things it brings to the world, and in what different directions the work could continue its journey.

Criticism requires more than just clicking a “Like” button and moving on, which is what most of us are used to doing.  A quick yay or nay.  In addition, Anderson states that in order for people to take notice of books and book criticism in a world of “Like” buttons, the critic must be an excellent writer and treat criticism as an art in itself.   And Coffeen says that criticism demands "a lending of oneself to the performance of another." Truly art criticism is an art all its own, since the critic and the artist go through the same process: they react to a stimulant, organize the reaction and collect their thoughts, convey these thoughts in creative expression, and prod a reaction out of others, too.

English majors, don't feel bad about your choices as young college students to take on the monstrous task of telling famous writers and poets what worked in their art piece and what didn't.  More realistically, you are telling your professors and classmates these things, but it nevertheless enriches the literary experience of fellow readers and furthers artistic growth in the world.  It matters.

Reading List

The list of books I want to read is constantly a stressful situation for me.  I find myself overwhelmed by the number of titles on my own bookshelf that I haven't read.  Working in a library doesn't help either.  At any given time I have about 20 books and 10 DVDs checked out.  When I see a book I think looks interesting, I check it out.  I'm not a speed reader, though, so the pile of unread library books in my house is always much larger than my number of free hours.  However, I am determined to make a dent in my to-be-read list in the last weeks of summer.  Here's what is on the agenda.

1. You Feel So Mortal: Essays on the Body by Peggy Shinner
A middle-aged, Jewish lesbian's meditation on her body.  I have read the first essay in this collection, "Family Feet", and honestly I wasn't terribly impressed.  The voice was much too self-pitying for me.  I want to read at least one more of the essays to see if it gets better because it seemed to have so much potential.

2. Atonement by Ian McEwan
Recommended to me by my sister Jessica, my mom, and my friend Mary, this novel covers a good deal of the life of an upper-middle-class girl whose misunderstanding of adult situations changes everyone's lives around her and leaves her in need of atonement.

3. The Dud Avocado by Elaine Dundy
A young American woman travels to Paris. I came across this title in the preface of the new edition of Chocolates for Breakfast. In addition to comparing The Dud Avocado to the book which the author was prefacing, she also likened it to The Bell Jar and The Catcher in the Rye.  If someone claims a book is similar to Pamela Moore's or Sylvia Plath's works, that's really all I need to place it at the top of my reading list.  I also just think I like books with my favorite foods in the titles.

4. A Girl is a Half-Formed Thing by Eimear McBride
I just read this blogger's review and now I am intrigued.  It seems like the young female version of Ulysses. Like Chocolates for Breakfast, it is back in print after being forgotten for 50ish years.  McBride is Irish, too. I'm sold.
(Update: 2013 was the first year this was published. McBride wrote it 9 or 10 years ago. My apologies.)

5. The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan
What sort of feminist and Mad Men fan can I really claim to be if I don't read this revolutionary and legendary text that influenced Matthew Weiner as well as a generation of second-wave feminists?

6. Half the Sky: Turning Opression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn
A journalistically-styled nonfiction written by a husband-wife team about women's issues around the world.  I received this as a birthday present from my friend Mathew, so I really should put it to use.

7. Gift from the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh
This is a self-reflective, prose-like set of essays written by Charles Lindbergh's wife is a thoughtful evaluation of her own experiences as a mother and wife who has personal ambitions in addition to her family obligations.  I have read the first half of this twice and would really like to make myself finish it.  I've talked about it a little here already.

8. One L by Scott Turow
Turow's memoir of his first year at Harvard Law.  This is another book of which I have read almost half.  This one was recommended somewhere on some sort of informative "so you want to go to law school" list, which I do, so I thought I better.  While the experiences of a Stanford-educated man in the 1970s might differ quite a bit from a Midwest woman in 2014, I doubt law school has changed fundamentally.  It's probably still just as stressful, competitive, draining, and rewarding as Turow makes it out to be.  Right, Megan, my suffering law student friend? :)

9. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
My dad has already read my copy of this and recommended it.  I don't know much about it except my dad described it as Siddartha-esque and Wikipedia says it's about a young shepherd in search of an Egyptian treasure.

10. Como Agua Para Chocolate by Laura Esquivel
I read this amazing book recently in English (Like Water for Chocolate) at my sister Jill's recommendation.  It is a Mexican love story centered around family recipes with some bizarre magical realism thrown in.  I think it would be rewarding (and challenging) to read it in the original Spanish and make comparisons.

I'll stop at ten.

Have you read any of these? Any thoughts? Where should I start?? (Help!)

(My and Luna's favorite window in our new house)

New Year

I like New Year's resolutions. I like the sense of renewal and freshness they can give you. The problem is, that feeling of revival often seems to barely make it through January.  On New Year's Day I started writing out a list of things I wanted to improve upon or accomplish in 2014. It was a long list of tangible goals such as read one book a week and lose five pounds. Things that I could measure but that wouldn't really change my mindset. The list was also much too long to actually be completed. I would have lost motivation to make all the changes and would have been left feeling defeated.  So I started to rethink my resolutions.  What could I do that would really change my year?  What could I do to change the way I think? The following is what I landed on after meditating on it for a few days.  The great thing about these is that I believe any woman could take them and make them their own resolutions for the year.

1.  Become an expert in something. Instead of trying to improve in all of my areas of interest, I decided that focusing on only one this year is much more doable and therefore beneficial as a goal.  I thought I'd use the opportunity to take something I know a bit about and deepen my knowledge and understanding in that subject.  The word "expert" sounds intimidating, but being an expert doesn't have to mean you know more than anyone ever about that subject.  That would be impossible, since there will always be someone ahead of you in an area.  I just mean that I want to know a lot about it, maybe so that to my friends and colleagues would consider me an expert in the area.  I haven't quite decided what I'm going to choose to learn more about, but right now the contenders are Irish literature, yoga, and speaking better conversational Spanish.

2.  Stop apologizing.  Very recently, my good friend Lauren brought it to my attention how often women apologize.  For example, in a college class a male student would say, "I had a question about this," while a female student might say, "Um, sorry, but I had a question about this."  Almost immediately after Lauren told me this, I saw how true it was in my own habits.  I apologize for all kinds of things that are not wrongdoings but insecurities.  This can be traced to a deep-set lack of self-confidence that many women have been conditioned by our society to feel.  I won't delve too deeply into this huge issue, but simply being aware of constant apologizing will change the way I think about my accomplishments and ideas.  I'm excited by what a difference this resolution could make in my future and the future of other young women.  So, in 2014 I vow to stop saying sorry.  Sorry I'm not sorry. :)

3.  Be more like my dog.  This seemingly-odd resolution came to me when I was walking Luna yesterday.  It's been so cold recently that walking Luna just has not happened in a while.  In the winter she probably only gets two walks a week compared to her usual two a day in warmer weather.  So I expected her to be out-of-her-mind ecstatic to go for a walk after so long.  Then I realized that she is always out-of-her-mind ecstatic to go on a walk, whether it's the third one that month or the third one that day.  She acted as usual,  trotting excitedly along on our regular route around the snow-covered campus.  And her unwavering level of joy inspired me.  I have found myself in a rut of routine recently, but Luna has inspired me to be excited for everything I may encounter, be it on a new and uncharted park trail or the tried and true route circling the campus.  I should be constantly searching for a new smell in the same bush, a new adventure on the same old sidewalk, a new friend walking the opposite way.  This year I want to have the excitement for life that Luna has.

Whatever your goals for the new year are, may you accomplish everything you set out to do in this new, fresh, and exciting year!

Happy 2014!

Julie and Luna

5 Favorite Fall Sippers

Nothing pairs better with a book on an autumn evening or Sunday afternoon than a mug of something warm, spiced, and sweet.  Today I'm sharing five drinks I reach for when I'm turning pages in the fall.

1. Pumpkin Spice Latte

Of course, you can't have a list of hot fall drinks and exclude the Pumpkin Spice Latte!  I make my own syrup following this recipe and add it to strong coffee and warmed milk or half & half.  I adjust this recipe slightly by substituting the ground ginger for ground allspice and really overdoing it on the pumpkin puree (which isn't possible but amounts to about 1/3 cup).

2. Maple Spice Latte

I had a Maple Spice Latte a few weeks ago at a French cafe in Brookside (Kansas City).  It is reminiscent of a Pumpkin Spice version, but much subtler and more delicate.  Maple and cinnamon just go together so well.  Here's my version of the syrup.

1 cup water

2/3 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup pure maple syrup

2 cinnamon sticks

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Combine everything in a saucepan, let simmer for 20 minutes, strain in a fine mesh strainer, and store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.  Add with warmed milk to strong coffee or espresso.

3. Red Tea Latte

The last latte on the list is a simple Red Tea Latte.  My mom tried one at the cafe in the beautiful Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas.  Simply steep a red tea bag (Celestial Seasonings Madagascar Vanilla Red Tea is divine) in boiling water for about twice as long as recommended, warm a little milk or half & half in a saucepan, whisk to create foam, and add to the tea.  You can stir in sugar if you like, but I think it's wonderful without any sweetener at all. Try it with your favorite novel.

4. Spiced Apple Cider

Heat some local apple cider on the stove.  Maybe add a cinnamon stick, maybe a clove or two.  Put the cider in a thermos.  Take it and someone special to a park and marvel at the leaves.

5. Trader Joe's Harvest Blend Herbal Tea

This tea is just The Essence of Autumn, dried out, bagged up, and presented to you in a little golden box with a tea-sipping fox.  If you have the means, I highly recommend picking some up.

Enjoy these drinks and the fall weather!