What I'm Reading: The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao

Yuppers, my mission to bring back "the novel" in my life continues. I was really pleased to read that Junot Diaz (author of the short story collection, Drowned) won the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for fiction for his debut novel The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. I had read Drowned years and years ago, and quite enjoyed the stories. I haven't actually started reading his new novel, but will do so soonish. The New York Times wrote a glowing review of it months ago. My favorite line from the review:

Junot Díaz’s “Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao” is a wondrous, not-so-brief first novel that is so original it can only be described as Mario Vargas Llosa meets “Star Trek” meets David Foster Wallace meets Kanye West. (Source)

That first sentence, alone, sold me.

What I'm Reading: A New Earth

A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose (Source)

Last night I had a weird bout of insomnia and did some online impulse shopping to help fall asleep (I hate insomnia!). One of things I bought was a new book. I jumped on Oprah's bandwagon yet again, since she's totally my guru to getting my shit in order. I bought A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose by Eckhard Tolle (Oprah's book pick #61). I can't wait. My life/mind is literally as messy as my work space. Do you ever have that feeling that you need to do something but for some reason or another you keep putting it off and putting if off and keep wondering "what if ... ?" I've been feeling that way for the past year, so I'm hoping this book will clue me in.

For those in the know, Oprah's been doing a world wide web class every Monday based on this book. I've not officially checked it out, but I will be sure to download every class (for every chapter) as soon as I get my book.

Check it:
Oprah

My Partner Reads ...

Some of My Books

He reads mainstream war and shoot-em-up novels (think Tom Clancy) that you would find at the airport bookstore. I wonder what that says about me? I know what it says about him.

I just read an amusing article in the New York Times about relationships and literature. I suppose if Mark had shown up at the bar that cold February afternoon with a copy of, say, Remembrance of Things Past (any volume) by Proust, I would've rolled my eyes, drank my beer, and said "see ya!" (even though I love Proust). Although as I recall, I had brought a book that day, and I think it was The Queen of America Goes to Washington City: Sex and Citizenship by Lauren Berlant. I guess that's equally pretentious, but I was reading it for a grad seminar. Mark didn't really notice - nor care. He often rolls his eyes at my books and the inanity of academic writing. Yup. I agree, it's pretty insane and comical. I don't know why we're together, actually. According to the New York Times article, I should've broken up with him at the sight of the Hunt for Red October on his nightstand (can you imagine ... cringe!). Indeed, we did almost break up once, driving in his car, when he confessed he didn't have a 401k or an IRA. The horror! I was extremely livid - not because I saw myself benefiting in any way down the line - hardly - but because any person who couldn't envision financial security for him/herself down the line (when one has the means/resources to do so) obviously has no respect for him/herself. At least that was my hard-line thinking then. He did say in the argument that he had every intention to do so, even before we met. I think the argument pushed him hard. And luckily for our relationship, he started a 401k plan a few days later. Phew!

Anywho - check out the article:
It's Not You, It's Your Books, New York Times (March 30, 2008)

On a related tip, NPR did a pretty interesting program the other day on bibliophiles and social networking. Check it here.

I'm trying to bring back "the novel" back into my life, and I'm pleased to announce that I'm currently reading A Golden Age by Tahmima Anam (and I'm loving it so far).

Speaking of Books ...
The Friends of the Seattle Public Library is hosting their Spring Book Fair in two weeks! Over 200,000 books, music, cds, dvds, etc. will be on sale on April 11 through April 13. Most books are $1.00. Be sure to bring a box or a large tote bag! I went last Fall and it was totally overwhelming. I walked away with a several essay anthologies and back issues of Art Forum - I got there a day late, and I think a lot of what I would've wanted was already sold.

The Book Sale is held in Building #30 at Warren G. Magnuson Park, Seattle.

Totally Priapic

The Big Penis Book (Source)

Leave it to Taschen to publish a book devoted to penises, with the boldly titled The Big Penis Book, to be released in May 2008. I love Taschen! Many of the photos are from the era of feathered hair and mustached beefcake men - I think people call penises from this era "vintage." Warning, you might feel a bit inadequate looking at the photos - or perhaps envious or maybe a little horny (you choose). The Big Penis Book is a lovely compendium of images of a bygone era - images that happen to be of men with - how shall I say - "big guns". I'm obviously intrigued - and I know you are too - and will probably have to grab me a copy at some point.

Here's more of the description of the book:
In this companion volume to The Big Book of Breasts, we explore the centuries-old fascination with the large phallus, a fascination common to men and women alike. This hefty book is profusely illustrated with over 400 historic photos of spectacular male endowments, including rare photos of the legendary John Holmes. The majority of the photographs are from the 1970s, when the sexual revolution first freed photographers to depict the male entirely nude. Photographers include Bob Mizer of Athletic Model Guild, David Hurles of Old Reliable, Colt, Falcon, Sierra Domino, Third World, and Champion Studios, with each of these iconic photographers interviewed or profiled, along with information about each of their models. And if this isn’t enough, the book closes with a special surprise comparable to the Guinness Book of Records’ Norma Stitz featured in The Big Book of Breasts! Can you guess what body part Dian is dissecting next? (Source)

See more of the photos from The Big Penis Book (NSFW).

Check it:
The Big Penis Book on Amazon
The Big Penis Book on Taschen (NSFW)

I Bought Butt

Butt Book Cover (Source)

I just bought it. The Butt Book has been on my wish list for the past year now. The book is a compilation of the last 5 years of Butt, a quarterly magazine "for and about homosexuals." It's pocket size and printed on pink paper. Yes it will fulfill your lascivious curiosities, visual and literary. More than that, it is well put together and very smart. And go figure, it's published in the Netherlands. I love the picture of the acclaimed gay author Edmund White sucking on some guy's toes (below). For some reason, I can't seem to shake it out of my head.


Edmund White Sucks (Source)

Well, we’re happy to serve.
Great. The thing is, when I was in my 20s, I found lots of men in their 40s and 50s to fuck me. And it was very, very exciting. I mean, some of them were extremely powerful guys… Physically and in the world.
Like who?
One of them was head of all artistic programming for a major television channel. He had a very powerful body and he liked to pick me up and hold me upside-down – with my head down – and then he would suck my cock while my feet were sticking straight up. And I would suck his too. He had this incredibly strong body. He could just pick people up and throw them around.

Read the rest of the interview: Edmund White Astonishing Writer Wants to Have Sex With Everybody, Butt (Autumn 2006)

Go Get Yourself Some Butt!

Hot Spramp: Robert Neville

I Am Legend Book Cover by Richard Matheson

Who, you might ask, is Robert Neville? I'll tell you. He's the hunky and utterly compelling protagonist in Richard Matheson's 1954 novella I Am Legend. One of my students thought I'd like the book and passed it along to me the other day; and since then I've been floored by the story. It still shocks me that the novel was written in the 1950s. I won't spoil any of it, but I will say the novella is brilliant; vampires are oddly fun in story; and Robert Neville has endeared me (in my mind he's super hot). You might have noticed the ads of Will Smith's new movie I Am Legend, opening on December 14. You got it - it's based on Matheson's novel. And indeed, Will Smith plays Robert...hot! I can't wait to see it. Check out the trailer below.


"I AM LEGEND" Trailer - Full Version 2 (Source)

Check it:
I Am Legend (Official Movie Site)

Buy it:
I Am Legend (2007) [Book]

What I'm Coveting: Kohei Yoshiyuki: The Park

Kohei Yoshiyuki: The Park [Book Cover] (Source)

I love Kohei Yoshiyuki's voyeuristic photographs, taken primarily in parks of Japanese guys canoodling with guys and girls in the 1970s. The Yossi Milo Gallery in New York City recently exhibited his photographs, and unfortunately, I didn't have the chance to go. BUT, there is a book of his photographs out called Kohei Yoshiyuki: The Park that is out, and that I really want (and that I'm hoping Mark gets me for the holidays). The photographs are so fantastic!

Check it:
Yossi Milo Gallery (for more photographs by Kohei Yoshiyuki)
Sex in the Park, and Its Sneaky Spectators, New York Times (September 23, 2007)

Buy it on Amazon.com:
Kohei Yoshiyuki: The Park

What I’m Reading: Small Wars by An-My Lê

An-My Lê. 29 Palms: Night Operations III. 2003–2004. Gelatin silver print. Collection Lannan Foundation, Santa Fe, NM. (Source: Henry Art Gallery)
The other day I went to the university library only to discover that it was closed. My natural reaction was to head over to the Henry Art Gallery to regroup. I’ve been meaning to check out the new photography exhibit at the Henry called Small Wars by An-My Lê since it opened over a week ago. I didn’t really know what to expect; and I was very pleased that I absolutely loved the photographs. Lê captures compelling the peformativity of war in her two series, Small Wars and 29 Palms. The former depicts images of Vietnam reenactors in Virginia and the latter military training and preparation for war in the Middle East on the 29 Palms military base. The images are deeply affective – emoting a sense of absurdity in the very plasticity of the convoluted term we all hear and throw around so often: war. Yet it is in this realization of the “un-realness” of "the wars" in the images that brings forth the disturbing and haunting aura of the word in any and all its permutations, spectral or not.


Skip to today: I just got a copy of Small Wars by An-My Lê (the book, published by the Aperture Foundation), and I’ve been reliving my experiences seeing the photographs at the Henry. Included in the book that was left out of the exhibit is a series of photographs taken in Vietnam, which serves as the book's opening. The semiotics of the arrangement of the photographs create a powerful narrative of the wars that Lê personally navigates through, in all its fictions and truths.

Note: A slightly modified version of this review is published on Amazon.com as well. jcb

Check it:
An-My Lê: Small Wars, Henry Art Gallery, August 18 – November 4, 2007
Small Wars, An-My Lê (New York: Aperture Foundation, 2005).

Interesting: Birthday Wishes to On the Road

Neal Cassady(L) and Jack Kerouac (R), Book Cover of On the Road, photo by Carolyn Cassady (Source)

Happy 50th Birthday to Jack Kerouac's On the Road! (Man, Kerouac was a hot one!)

For more intellectual fodder, read:

Still Vital, ‘On the Road’ Turns 50, New York Times (August 15, 2007)

Hot Spramps: Classic Eye Candy

Vintage 1950 Beefcake (Source: diswine via YouTube)
Sometimes I get these weird cravings for some classic eye candy. Maybe it's the historian in me. God, YouTube is so fantastic, especially for these sudden urges. I love the post-World War II beefcake phenomenon! I love that this shizz is still around today! I love the fact that many of these beefcakes were supposedly "straight." Just makes you realize how fluid and performative gender and sexuality is (well, and how compelling money is). You can't look away, can you? Fantastic!

For further reading/viewing pleasure (some of my faves):

Beefcake: The Muscle Magazines of America, 1950-1970 (2002)
Beefcake (DVD, 1999)


At Ease: Navy Men of World War II (2004)

Physique: Classic Photographs of Naked Athletes (2004)

Nummy, nummy! Sweet dreams...