Image: Publishers Weekly
The Book Booth is a weekly feature at The Political Carnival, relating news, notes, and reflections from the world of books and publishing. It is written by @SeattleDan and SeattleTammy, operators of an on-line bookstore (which you can find here) , who have been in the book business since shortly after the Creation, or close to 6000 years now.
The Book Booth: What Keeps Mankind Alive Edition
Thanksgiving has passed and our tummies should now be sated and well-fed again. Black Friday has come and gone and I hope you all remembered to shop locally, which is especially important in the days and years to come. I hope everyone enjoyed their feasts and are ready to settle back with a good book.
The Oxford Dictionaries have announced their word for the year, 'post-truth' which means: “relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief”. Seems appropriate. It beat out 'alt-right', a word invented by its proponents and that I won't use to describe them when 'fascist' seems a lot handier.
'Post-truth' is Oxford Dictionaries' Word of the Year
The rise of American fascism was predicted by Sinclair Lewis in his 1935 work It Can't Happen Here, a book I read earlier this year. It certainly resonates today and with the election of Trump, the sales of the book has remarkably increased. I'd recommend reading it, if you haven't already.
Sinclair Lewis's 'It Can't Happen Here'
What should we read now that we are in the post-election blues? Booksellers around the country have some suggestions for you that can either cheer you up or help you understand what the hell happened.
What Should We Read Now?
Trump's election has also seen an influx of donations to Planned Parenthood (good) and an increase in women seeking long-term birth control, a precaution that is very understandable considering the clowns Trump has surrounded himself with. Emily Temple at LitHub has, in view of the current state of affairs. come up with a list of forty new feminist works that are well worth looking for and reading.
Feminist Classics You Should Read
On a lighter note, the Literary Review has issued its short list for the Bad Sex in Writing Award for this past year. And, yes, the writing here is pretty awful. Here are the nominees with passages included for your edification.
Bad Sex in Writing
Frank Herbert's Dune and its sequels have long been achieved the status of classics. But for those of us who have not read them, and attempted to understand it through the lens of David Lynch's film, are still in the woods about what it's all about. Fortunately for us, a new team of producers has picked up the rights to the books for film and tv, so now we may have a chance to join the club of Dune lovers.
Dune Revisited - On the Big Screen?
Looking for something different to give as a gift this holiday season? Check out these literary tights, which look pretty darn good.
Read Classic Texts On Literary Tights
We lost another literary limelight this past week in William Trevor who passed away at age 88. His short stories have been compared quite favorably to Chekov's. I saw his play Scenes from an Album performed at the Abbey Theater in Dublin many years ago. It was a play that explored the tensions between the Anglo-Irish gentry and the Catholic population and was quite powerful, as I recall.
William Trevor Has Left Us
I'll close with an anti-thanksgiving song of a sort. It is hard to not be cynical now, and I do fight its temptation, but there is truth here in what Tom Waits sings in this Brecht-Weill song from The Threepenny Opera.
I hope all and everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving holiday with much cheer and food and companionship. Now is the time to digest, kick back and enjoy a good book. And please do tell what works you are enjoying this weekend.
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