Martha's Vineyard's Bookgroup Meeting

A bookgroup composed of two members will be meeting shortly on the Vineyard. This is their annual meeting and the book of choice is The Story of Edgar Sawtelle. Last year's book Eat, Drink, Stink, Love catapulted to superstardom so expect the same with this years choice. Their meetings are few, but their powers are legend in the literary world.

First Stop: Chilangos

Chilangos are what people who are from Mexico City, the "D.F" are called. David Lida has been living in Mexico City for 15 years and although some of First Stop in the New World, Mexico City the Capital of the 21rst Century is more for gringos, a lot of it is interesting to chilangos or tapatios for that matter. Mr.Lida talks about taxicabs, high rents, prostitutes, drug addicts, street kids, Carlos Slim etc. He even talks to some old vedettes and mentions Olga Briskin and Lyn May. Vedettes are female performers who have shows and are always provocative and scantily dressed. Olga Briskin used to come to Guadalajara and in the paper El Informador there would be an ad for her show with her dressed like Elvira, but playing a violin. Very cultured. I had forgotten her presence in this world.

The Constant Reader on Pooh

There is a funny bit in last week's New Yorker in an article on a children's librarian at the NYC Public Library; it talks about Dorothy Parker in a book review column called 'The Constant Reader' reviewing The House at Pooh Corner.

"Pooh's wasn't just a Good Hum and a Hopeful Hum, Parker noted. It was a hummy hum. "And it is that word 'hummy', my darlings," Parker wrote, "that marks the first place in 'the House at Pooh Corner' at which Tonstant Weader fwowed up."

Well my darlings, in case anyone was drawing a line in the sand, for your information, the Chain Weader never fwowed up on poor Pooh Bear! Chain Weader wuvs Pooh bear. Bery much. So there.

Treasure Island Exciting

This was so exciting. I don't think I had ever read it. Now I want to read Kidnapped and Dr.Jekyl and Mr.Hyde. All books should be so well written and exciting. Cross out Salman Rushdie's "Lyrical!" on book jackets and write 'Robert Louis Stevenson says "Exciting!"' and I'll buy it!

I also just read Once Upon a Time in the North which is a short sort of prequel to Philip Pullman's The Dark Materials which I also must say was quite 'Exciting!' ('Exciting!' says Gaye Gentes.)

Rich Man's Diseases

Inspired by that piece in the NYT I bought the Allen Shawn book, Wish I Could be There. Wish I Could Not Have! Self-indulgent to the core. Any interest in his family is put aside to long chapters on brain science and more particularly His Brain. Who cares? It reminds me of that scene in Bertolucci's The Last Emperor where all the palace physicians gather around the little boy emperors' chamber pot to peer in intently. Well, Allen, I'm not peering in with them. Sorry.

The Unrest Cure

I read a very funny short story by Saki today called The Unrest Cure. His stories are extremely short, like 6 pages each. In the start of the story Clovis is on the train in a railway carriage with a 'solid, sedate individual' with a very stodgy and prim suitcase, who 'one could have gauged fairly accurately by the temperment and mental outlook of the traveling bag's owner. But he seemed unwilling to leave anything to the imagination of a casual observer, and his talk grew presently personal and introspective'. OK so I know it was written in 1911, but does this sound like the conversations you often are forced to hear on the train, only on people's cellphones? How prescient.

My Summer Reading Plans

Substitute brunette for blonde and Proust for Joyce and you get the picture.....