The highwayman came riding

I admit it, when I was but a mighty red crayon, I desperately wanted to be Anne of Green Gables (well, after I gave up my dream of being Harriet the Spy or Encyclopedia Brown). I devoured every Anne book (and pretty much any book by L.M. Montgomery I could get my hands on), and they left an indelible imprint. To this day, any reference to Prince Edward Island or the Lady of Shalott or the name Gilbert can transport me right back to that world.

As any good reader of the series will remember, one key moment of the books was Anne’s recitation of “The Highwayman” by Alfred Noyes. Here’s a clip of Megan Follows recreating that moment:

And, as a bonus, here’s Loreena McKennitt’s version of “The Highwayman”

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Added bonus! I just read that they are bringing Anne back to tv!

 

This typo was made for walking

Yes, I admit it: I read Fifty Shades of Grey. And I’m left with very little to show for my investment other than a renewed appreciation for the deft touch of an editor.  Even if nothing could have been done to prevent the relentless repetition (okay, we get it! He’s turned on when she bites her lip! Her breath hitches when something exciting happens! His eyes are grey!) (seriously, his name is Grey and his eyes are grey?), at least perhaps this little typo on page 428 could have been prevented:

Okay, here’s the deal: If you’re talking about strappy summer shoes, you are wearing sandals. If you’re wearing sandles, well, then you are in desperate need of an editor.

A wink and a nod

If there’s one thing that makes me a somewhat peevish reader these days, it’s the weedlike way some books have grown (Freedom, “Twilight,” and “Dragon Tattoo,” I’m looking at you), seemingly without the careful pruning and nurturing of an editor. Relentlessly repetitive imagery, endless superfluous information, charmless language choices—the content just goes on and on.

Which is why it was such a joy to encounter The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes a few weeks ago, with its beautiful economy of language and loving restraint. Anne Tyler’s The Beginner’s Goodbye is another such book—although it wasn’t as revelatory for me as Barnes’s book, the gentle but insistent tidiness of the text wrapped up a direct and pithy story in under 200 pages. It’s not that I have any problem with a longer book, it’s just that some longer books I’ve read lately (Game of Thrones, I’m looking at you) are such exceedingly lengthy forced marches, they are more to be endured than to be read. Every once in a while, I appreciate a book that shows up, says what it has to say, and then bids a fond farewell.

Having said that, here’s a little tidbit from The Beginner’s Goodbye. It’s a scene that comes after Aaron, who is both a widower and an editor, has just been introduced to Louise, a fellow editor with whom he hoped a spark might ignite.  It’s a little wink and a nod to the editorial sensibility (although not an altogether flattering one). Enjoy!

As if you need another reason to love books

Have you seen “The Joy of Books” yet? You haven’t? Then you must—simply must—take a minute to watch this absolutely and whimsically delightful video of a bookstore coming to life at night.

The video was created by husband and wife Sean Ohlenkamp and Lisa Blonder Ohlenkamp and their team of volunteers, with awesome music by Grayson Matthews. If you enjoyed it, the Ohlenkamps are also responsible for “Organizing the Bookscases,” a similar video done on a much smaller scale with a pair of bookcases. Read an interview with Sean Ohlenkamp.

The elements of stylin’

It’s the Elements of Style rap by Columbia grad students Jake Heller and Ben Teitelbaum. What will they think of next?

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Bonus MRP moments

• What’s the most embarrassing typo you can make from “herniated disk”? Yeah, that happened (via Bill Walsh).
• Check out the American Dialect Society’s 2011 Word of the Year nominees, in such categories as “Most Creative,” “Most Unnecessary,” and “Most Euphemistic.” I’m sure it’s not giving anything away to reveal that occupy took the top honors, although I was kind of partial to kardash and mellencamp.

This is not your Betty Crocker cookbook

Please tell me I’m not the only one who thinks the notion of  a cookbook inspired by The Hunger Games is totally bizarre, regardless of how “unofficial” it might be.

From the Amazon page:

“Here’s some advice. Stay alive.” —Haymitch Abernathy

When it comes to The Hunger Games, staying alive means finding food any way possible. Katniss and Gale hunt live game, Peeta’s family survives on the bread they make, and the inhabitants of the Seam work twelve-hour days for a few handfuls of grain—all while the residents of the Capitol gorge themselves on delicacies and desserts to the heart’s desire.

For the first time, you will be able to create delicious recipes from the humble District 12 to the extravagant Capital, including:

• French Bread from the Mellark Family Bakery
• Katniss’s Favorite Lamb Stew with Dried Plums
• Rue’s Roasted Parsnips
• Gale’s Bone-Pickin’ Big Game Soup
• Capitol-Grade Dark Chocolate Cake

If you’re starving for more from Katniss, Peeta, and Gale, this cookbook is sure to whet your appetite!

Creative? Okay, yeah, sure. The recipes are obviously inspired by a careful read of the books. There are little touches like “Notes from Your Sponsor” that would probably appeal to the diehard fan.

But unbelievably creepy? Hell yeah. This is not Eat, Pray, Love, people, in which a cookbook that ties into the story about a woman who spends a year eating and writing about delicious food might make sense. This is, after all, a cookbook inspired by a series called The Hunger Games, in which the main characters spend the majority of the time starving or trying to figure out how not to starve. It’s a series in which food=power is one of the major themes. The word hunger is a big part of the title. Yes, food is a significant part of the story, but I wouldn’t say that’s in a good way.

I mean, what’s next? The Twilight phlebotomy kit?

The Fellowship of the Pez

A collector’s party pack of “Lord of the Rings” Pez dispensers at my local CVS?

Now I think I’ve seen everything.

Been naughty . . . or nice?

I love stumbling across stuff like melaniemross’s Etsy shop and its cache of jewelry that could make a lit lover’s heart sing. There’s everything from the Edgar Allan Poe earrings to the Irish Writers bracelet. And I have a soft spot for the creepy awesomeness of the Truman Capote (and his cat) earrings. (There’s also a whole section of Pantone jewelry for the graphic designer on your list.)

Here are the Flannery O’Connor earrings:

While browsing, I also came across these supercool Flannery O’Connor “Wise Blood” earrings at the shop of DesignsbyAnnette:

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BTW, if Edgar Allan Poe is your bag, check out the full range of funky EAP gear, which is sure to be all the rage once The Raven comes out. Yowzers.

The game is afoot

Film adaptations of literary texts. They can be so gratingly godawful (“And Then She Found Me,” “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” (Swedish version) and “Tales From Earthsea,” I’m looking at you), stretching the fabric of the story too far or altering the nature of the characters until they are unrecognizable. Or altogether introducing characters and plotlines that have no relation whatsoever to the original story.

And yet, other adaptations take as many liberties with the plot line or characters but manage to reveal something fresh and interesting about the story. For me, the BBC’s “Sherlock” (which, yes, we’re just getting around to watching) falls into this category. I love me some some straight up Jeremy Brett-style Conan Doyle, but I am really really enjoying what they’ve done here.

There’s a party goin’ on right here

Well, hello there! Did everyone have an enjoyable National Punctuation Day on Saturday?

Saturday also marked the start of Banned Books Week, and I’m honoring the week by reading Lord of the Flies, a book I haven’t read since I was in high school.  I quizzed Mister MRP (an English teacher) about the value of teaching this book to our high school students nowadays. Among other things, he said it’s an appealing book for teachers because the symbolism is so accessible to students. What do you think? Is there still a place for this book in the current high school curriculum?

I don’t often re-read books because there are so many great ones I can barely find the time to read once, let alone twice. But I was compelled to read Lord of the Flies after reading Stephen King’s foreword to the most recent edition.

“Imagine my surprise (shock might be closer) when, half a century after that visit to the Bookmobile parked in the dusty dooryard of the Methodist Corners School, I downloaded the audio version of Lord of the Flies and heard William Golding articulating, in the charmingly casual introduction to his brilliant reading, exactly what had been troubling me. ‘One day I was sitting one side of the fireplace, and my wife was sitting on the other, and I suddenly said to her, “Wouldn’t it be a good idea to write a story about some boys on an island, showing how they would really behave, being boys and not little saints as they usually are in children’s books.” And she said, “That’s a first-class idea! You write it!” So I went ahead and wrote it.’“

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Bonus MRP moment: September 27 is MRP’s fifth blogoversary! Show some birthday love and please vote for MRP in the Grammar.net Best Grammar Blog of 2011 contest!