Food in the The New York Times

The Dining section of The New York Times - including their new "superblog" - has been on fire recently. Some selections:

-Food critic Sam Sifton documents a week of his meals. Whew. He then addresses readers' questions - Round One, Round Two, and Round Three.

-Meanwhile, Michael Moss tackles questions on food safety - Round One and Round Two.

-I really loathe cilantro. This week, The Times informed me that it's not my fault.

-And to round things out, a recipe: Chickpea Tagine with Chicken and Apricots, from Mark Bittman. I just made it and it's absolutely delicious.

Long Time, No See: Odds and Ends

I'm still chugging along with Keats - the end is in sight (nearly)! One of the hazards of taking on such a long book, though, is that I don't have much to write about, and I do enjoy updating this blog. Thus, links.

Fancy a literary t-shirt? The Jacket Copy blog at the Los Angeles Times has you covered (reposted from Go Fug Yourself).

J.K. Rowling doesn't rule out the possibility of another Harry Potter book in the future (from The Washington Post).

From the archives at Mental Floss, I recently dug out 4 Must-Read Books for Aspiring Writers. If they were to update it today, perhaps they would add The Secret Miracle: The Novelist's Handbook, a forthcoming book featuring interviews with Michael Chabon, Stephen King, and Amy Tan, among others (from McSweeney's).

Telegraph review of The Lost Battles, which looks like a must-read for those of us who are Italian Renaissance nerds (Team Michelangelo!).

Yesterday I saw The Ghost Writer, which I didn't feel like writing up - particularly as I haven't read the book by Robert Harris on which it was based - but I would recommend. It's the story of a writer (Ewan McGregor) hired to draft the memoirs of a former prime minister (Pierce Brosnan). Political intrigue ensues. And there's lots about the manuscript, so it is rather booky.

And, in non-book news, I am celebrating the return of BBC's Ashes to Ashes, which I am watching via a method that is off the record, on the QT, and strictly hush hush. Ashes to Ashes tells the story of DI Alex Drake (Keeley Hawes, above), who's shot in modern-day London and wakes up in 1980. It's the sequel to the 70s-based Life on Mars, featuring several of the same characters (and an increasing interest in the life and times of LoM's main character, Sam Tyler). Unfortunately, it is not on DVD yet, but keep an eye on BBCAmerica's sci-fi Saturday programming; you never know when it might turn back up. In the meantime, I will once again plug Life on Mars, which is available on DVD. (I'm convinced that, eventually, someone I know will watch it.)

There. Now the blog doesn't feel quite so abandoned - like I did a bit of weeding and maybe touched up the paint.

Catch-all

I'm heading out of town, and thus have made the promised book switch: Keats is on hold for the time being (though I am enjoying it), and I'm looking forward to settling in with Jo Nesbo's The Redbreast tomorrow. Entertainment Weekly compared series protagonist Harry Hole* to The Wire's Jimmy McNulty in their review of Nesbo's latest book. Naturally, I was sold.

A few links to round out the post:

Manly Slang from the 19th Century - Brilliant. And you've always needed another term for your fist, am I right? (Try "bunch of fives.")

Sporcle Quizzes: Literature - It's a time-waster all right, but, man, is it a good one. Who knows, you might even learn something. (All of the subjects are good, I should add, I just linked to literature in an attempt to stay roughly on topic.)

Review of The Genius in all of Us by David Shenk (The New York Times) - You guys, we may all still have time to be geniuses if we work reallyreallyreally hard. Of course, I misread the author's name as Shrek, so I may be out of the running. (In my defense, I read William Steig's Shrek to kiddos twice last week. Excellent, excellent book.)

Also, if you're in the mood for a BBC period drama, try He Knew He Was Right, based on the novel by Anthony Trollope. It's available to watch now on Netflix. I enjoyed it because it had several interesting storylines, and the main one is quite different from any other period drama I've seen - a husband grows so jealous that it actually drives him mad. Poor Louis Trevelyan, idiotic as he was. I thought he was quite ably played by Oliver Dimsdale, and I was very sympathetic toward his wife Emily (Laura Fraser) as well. Also stars Stephen Campbell Moore (pictured above with Christina Cole)**, David Tennant***, Bill Nighy, and a bunch of actors that might look familiar from other places (I was pleased to see Barbara Flynn from Cracker, she's aces.)

I'm off for a bit - looking forward to coming back with a Redbreast review!


*Let's all pretend it's pronounced differently in Norwegian, shall we?

** I am really starting to love him. He looks born to play the cad, but so far I've always seen him as the nice guy (well, a bit smarmy in The History Boys, but not bad). He makes a lovely nice guy. (See also: Ashes to Ashes, Bright Young Things)

***Yes, you have cracked the mystery of why I sat down to watch this in the first place.

From Esquire: "Roger Ebert: The Essential Man"

Ebert grabs his tray and laptop and taps out a few words before he presses a button and speakers come to life.

"What else can go wrong?" the voice says.

The voice is called Alex, a voice with a generic American accent and a generic tone and no emotion. At first Ebert spoke with a voice called Lawrence, which had an English accent. Ebert liked sounding English, because he is an Anglophile, and his English voice reminded him of those beautiful early summers when he would stop in London with Chaz on their way home after the annual chaos of Cannes. But the voice can be hard to decipher even without an English accent layered on top of it — it is given to eccentric pronunciations, especially of names and places — and so for the time being, Ebert has settled for generic instead.

From Esquire: "Roger Ebert: The Essential Man"

It's really a well-done article about a compelling subject. That Ebert has been able to bear up, and even flourish, creatively, in a situation that would cause many of us to buckle is quite inspiring.

Edited to add: Ebert's response to the article

Thursday Links Roundup

Just a few odds & ends from around the web.

St. Martin's Press announces the first adult Sweet Valley High book (Entertainment Weekly) - Forget Elizabeth (too boring) and Jessica (too irritating) - inquiring minds want to know what happened to Bruce and Lila. (And even Enid!)

Neil Gaiman to write Doctor Who episode (The Guardian)- Yes, please. I've had that in the back of my head ever since I read this blog entry (scroll down), in which Gaiman rewrites Hamlet's "To be or not to be" in the style of the 10th Doctor.

Top 10 Victorian detective stories (The Guardian, again) - Okay, I admit that I'm totally unfamiliar with the work of James McGreet, but I can't pass up a list like this. Also, look at the cover of his book - you can judge a book by its cover when it's a totally awesome cover, right? (I wasn't a huge fan of his #4 choice, The Suspicion of Mr. Whicher, sadly. But you know how I feel about #3.)

And for your non-bookish link: Charlie Brooker's hilarious take on how the news covers snowstorms (reposted from Gawker). (This is neither here nor there, but I think Charlie Brooker looks like a cross between Dominic West and Jared Harris. Anyone else?)

If A Body Catch A Body Comin' Through The Rye

I've finished reading Faceless Killers, but I haven't pulled my thoughts together enough for a review. Instead, I thought I'd offer up some links of interest.

From The Onion: "Bunch of Phonies Mourn J.D. Salinger"

From The Times: "Walking in Holden's Footsteps" (an interactive map of Holden Caulfield's NYC)

And also from The Times: "National Book Critics Finalists Are Announced" (and I've read...one. Flannery by Brad Gooch)

From The New Yorker: "Neil Gaiman's Fantasies" (really interesting article on Gaiman)

And, nothing to do with books, but interesting to me - From Slate: "Why Did Life on Mars Work in the U.K. but Not in the U.S.?" (Spoilers for the U.S. series finale but not the U.K. one - and the U.S. one is so terrible that you shouldn't mind being spoiled.)

CBeebies Bedtime Story

I don't have children, and thus have no excuse for watching CBeebies bedtime stories - but I have, and they are just lovely. On the programs, which run about 4-8 minutes long, some of my very very favorite British actors read children's stories. It's that simple, but it's quite charming. Anyone who's seen BBCAmerica's Sci-Fi Saturday should be familiar with some of the actors: Doctor Who and Robin Hood are both well represented. A selection of links below (all go to YouTube). Recommended for when you need a bit of a cheerer-upper - there's really nothing more comforting than a bedtime story, is there? Probably best for children, but adults can watch, too. I promise.

David Tennant reads Emily Brown and the Elephant Emergency

John Simm reads Bones and the Pigeon Race

Richard Armitage reads I'm Not Going Out There

John Barrowman reads Blot and Og's Monster Party

A Round of Applause for David Tennant

First off: this post has nothing to do with books (although I will mention a library later, see above). I'm bending the rules a bit for the sheer pleasure of writing about something I really enjoy: Doctor Who.

A little background, since I'm well aware that Doctor Who appears to be just about the geekiest thing out there, being not just a sci-fi show, but a cult sci-fi show. The Doctor is a Time Lord, who travels through time and space with a companion, has lots of adventures, and battles loads of dread beasties. He is also able to regenerate when he is dying, which is a convenient way to let a series of actors play the role. Doctor Who has been on since the 1960s, but the modern era began in 2005, when Christopher Eccleston took on the role of The Doctor*. Eccleston played The Doctor for one year, then David Tennant took over.

Tennant, who plays the 10th incarnation of the Doctor, is ending his run on Saturday. Doctor Who can be an uneven show, I'll admit**, but Tennant has been pretty uniformly brilliant, and I'm going to miss his Doctor terribly. So, as a bit of a salute to him, I'm going to do a spoiler-free rundown of my top five favorite episodes, in chronological order. So, without further ado:

The Christmas Invasion (Season 2): Tennant's first episode proper, and he spends almost the entire time in his jammies while London is under attack.

Why? In this episode, The Doctor is figuring out what sort of man (well, Time Lord, I suppose) he is. It turns out he's brave, righteously angry, manic, funny, and, to a point, merciful. In short, he's (to borrow Eccleston's favorite word) fantastic.

Human Nature/Family of Blood (Season 3): The Doctor and Martha are at an English boys' school in 1913 in this two-parter which slowly unfolds into one of the show's most heartbreaking stories.

Why? I just rewatched these two episodes (yes, I'm cheating a bit) last night, and they're every bit as great as I remembered. It also reminded me that you really want to know as little as possible about these episodes before watching. So why are they great? The end. And Baines's fairly terrifying scarecrow demonstration. Oblique enough?

Blink (Season 3): Resourceful Sally Sparrow (Carey Mulligan) must solve the mystery of her friend's disappearance by piecing together clues The Doctor has left for her.

Why? Definitely one of the scariest episodes - you'll never look at statues the same way. Plus, Carey Mulligan is the Next Big Thing, and you can say you knew her when.

Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead (Season 4): The Doctor and Donna (my favorite of the companions!) stumble upon a mysteriously deserted library, and discover the secret that lies in the shadows.

Why? "Hey...who turned out the lights?" is about the scariest thing I've ever heard. Also, I love the relationship between The Doctor and River Song (played by Alex Kingston, pictured above).

Midnight (Season 4): The Doctor hops on a bus tour that quickly takes an alarming turn.

Why? [Edited months later because I just rewatched this episode and I'm able to offer some more specific thoughts.] Knock knock. This one is so simple in its essentials that it could be an episode of The Twilight Zone. The monster is very effective - chilling, really - and Tennant gives a very vulnerable performance.

Honorable Mentions: The Girl in the Fireplace (Season 2), Army of Ghosts/Doomsday (Season 2), The Runaway Bride (Season 3), Utopia/The Sound of Drums/Last of the Time Lords (Season 3), and pretty much all of Season 4 (minus The Doctor's Daughter, which I didn't care for) and the subsequent specials.

All that writing, and I didn't even tell you how every season finale is somehow devastating, or how John Simm rocks my socks off as The Master (that platinum dye job!). Anyway, next season Matt Smith will take over the role of The Doctor (though odds are he will actually show up in Saturday night's finale, The End of Time: Part Two). Fingers crossed that he's as good as his predecessor, who is going to be a tough act to follow. Tennant is filming an American pilot, Rex is Not Your Lawyer, and I'm optimistic that it makes it to air (though I wish he could use his natural Scottish accent, as I assume he will not).

Links for your enjoyment:

Alan Sepinwall on Doctor Wh0: Alan Sepinwall is one of the finest tv columnists out there, and it is always worthwhile to get his take.

Television Without Pity Doctor Who Recaps: Jacob's recaps are long and philosophical and frequently over my head, but really, really good.


*I'll fully admit I know next to nothing about any pre-Eccleston stories.
**Though when it's good, boy, is it good; when it's bad, it's campy - which can be fun, too.

From NPR: Neil Gaiman Asks: Heard Any Good Books Lately?

First off: I wrote 50,000 words in 30 days. How 'bout them apples?

Due to this semi-crazed November pastime and Thanksgiving, however, I've been pretty remiss about posting. I am about midway through Drood, which I adore, and presumably will be reading faster with my new-found spare time.

I didn't want to wait any longer to post, though, so luckily my mom came through with this link:

Neil Gaiman Asks: Heard Any Good Books Lately? (from NPR)

It's a story by Gaiman about audiobooks, including an interview audiobook reader extraordinaire David Sedaris. Speaking as an owner of the David Sedaris audio box set, I say: nifty. Also, just for the record, Gaiman wrote one of my absolute favorite books of last year, The Graveyard Book. I'm not sure if I've mentioned it before, but it's brilliant. When it was awarded the Newbery Medal, I was all kinds of psyched.

So, there you go. Now back to Drood!

NaNoWriMo

I'm nearly finished with Bright Young People, and I'm enjoying it pretty thoroughly. One section I found particularly striking was entitled "The Books Brian Never Wrote," concerning the literary non-career of Bright Young Person Brian Howard. Brian planned to write a novel. Then, a German diary. That was scrapped for a philosophical meditation, which in turn was replaced with an idea for another novel. He did manage to produce a book of poetry, which was followed by...nothing. Brian, who at first explained away his lack of productivity (his genius needed to "mature slowly," he reasoned), became concerned. As author D.J. Taylor explains:

By this time, ominously enough, the neurosis about not writing anything had reached such a pitch that it began to produce pieces of writing about not writing. "About Writing," a sketch from this period, finds a nonwriter called "Russell" explaining to a friend that he has just downed a glass of brandy "because of the terror of trying to write." Everything, Russell gravely explains, from money, the consciousness of not keeping up one's position as a clever young man and the necessity of not disappointing one's father, is driving him to write a book. [...] "A novel! Heavens. A novel is a story. I can't make up a story. I can't live other people's lives. I can't live my own." And so incriminatingly on.

I suspect many of us, like Brian, have ideas for books in our heads that we would write if only the stars would properly align. Lucky for us, next month is National Novel Writing Month (link goes to the official website), commonly known as NaNoWriMo. Here's how it works: Sign up to participate at the website. Then, write 50,000 words in the month of November (about 1,666 words a day). If you can do that, you "win."

Easier said than done is a bit of an understatement here. I am a terribly slow writer, and I've never written any fiction longer than about 7,000 words. Nevertheless, I signed up. I'm hoping that a deadline imposed by someone other than myself will encourage me to buckle down and write. Not necessarily write anything good, mind you (apparently if you try to edit, you'll never make it). I think it will be fun. Good, old-fashioned, potentially crazy-making fun.

So if you have an idea for the Great American Novel in your head - or even the Great American YA Fantasy Novel - why not sign up? Remember Brian Howard: the book is never going to write itself. Might as well give it a try.

Roger Ebert: "Books do furnish a life"

Roger Ebert is one of my favorite film critics. I remember being 10 or 11, coming home from my early Saturday morning horseback riding lesson and flipping on Siskel and Ebert. A few years later, I got an a 1987 edition of his movie yearbook from Goodwill. I used to skim through the reviews, mostly of movies I'd never seen or sometimes even heard of, particularly looking for the no-star reviews. Ebert really excels in his skewering of the worst: his review of North is a great example. I often disagree with him, but I love the way he writes.

Ebert is also a lover of books. His recent blog post on his book collection is great. He has 3000 or 4000 books, he estimates. Amazing. Suddenly, even with the boxes of books I have at my parents' house, I feel like a minimalist.

An Exercise in Opening Lines

So, here's the thing: I'm reading Bleak House, as I mentioned in the previous post. It's great, but over 800 pages long, so I don't expect to finish particularly soon. However, I want to keep updating this blog, so I've been thinking of what else I could post about (considering I haven't found any good links recently).

I was thinking about Dickens, and how several of his books have memorable opening lines. Then I thought about the importance of opening lines in general, and how the decision to read a novel may hinge on just that handful of words. So, in lieu of providing proper recommendations, I thought I'd share some of the opening lines from books on my shelves. Perhaps something will catch your eye.

"In later years, holding forth to an interviewer or to an audience of aging fans at a comic book convention, Sam Clay liked to declare, apropos of his and Joe Kavalier's greatest creation, that back when he was a boy, sealed and hog-tied inside the airtight vessel known as Brooklyn, New York, he had been haunted by dreams of Harry Houdini." - The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon

"'The Signora had no business to do it,' said Miss Bartlett, 'no business at all. She promised us south rooms with a view close together, instead of which here are north rooms, looking into a courtyard, and a long way apart. Oh, Lucy!'" - A Room with a View by E.M. Forster

"It was a nice day. All the days had been nice. There had been rather more than seven of them so far, and rain hadn't been invented yet. But the clouds massing east of Eden suggested that the first thunderstorm was on its way, and it was going to be a big one." - Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett

"I was on 'Oprah' a while ago, talking about how I used to love too much. Did you see it? The other guests were men who continue to love too much. Those men were in a place I used to be, and I felt sorry for them. I was the guest who went from loving too much to being loved too much. Everybody loves me. I'm the most important person in the lives of almost everyone I know and a good number of people I've never even met. I don't say this casually; I'm just pointing out my qualification." - "Parade" from Barrel Fever by David Sedaris

That's it for now. Back to Jarndyce v. Jarndyce for me!

Storytime with Dominic West

Are you sitting comfortably? Dominic West (above center, in a scene from The Wire) would like to read you a story. Well, excerpts from stories - but from Pride and Prejudice and High Fidelity, so none too shabby. Of course, it's set up to promote some coffee I've never heard of.* But still! I think being read to is quite delightful, and all the better if it's Mr. West using his naturally lovely accent (although I found that I grew rather fond of his Baltimore accent as well).

Enjoy here: Carte Noire Readers

Now that I've given myself an opening, it's all I can do to keep from going off on a tangent about The Wire and and my love/disgust (hate is far too strong here) relationship with West's character Jimmy McNulty. I think my endorsement of the show is about as redundant at this point as my earlier praise of John Adams, but for the record: yes, it's extraordinarily well done; West is only one part of a talented ensemble and the writing is unparalleled in television. And, to bring things around to the proper topic, it's based in part on a book! (Homicide, by Wire auteur David Simon, which is as absorbing and troubling as the show.)

Not too bad of a tangent now, was it?

*And yet I strangely feel compelled to buy it now....