Fierce Readers - This column offers a peek at the nightstands of your fellow academic law librarians. What are we reading when we’re not poring over the Federal Register?
Last issue, I asked for recommendations on the theme “books to movies.” Karen Selden, Catalog Librarian at the University of Colorado Law School, was kind enough to send two recommendations. Here’s just one of them, for The Whistling Season, by Ivan Doig:
[E]veryone in my group loved the characters (I could just see all of them perfectly in my mind’s eye), and I especially loved the phrases. A trapper’s son was always wearing a hat made from “a major animal”; an energetic 2nd grader is described as being “... on his magic carpet of innocent confusion” (having a degree in elementary education and having taught kids at that age, I confess that hits the nail on the head for most 2nd graders!). And those are just a couple that come to my mind right now. The main character is also studying Latin, so the passages about language development may be of interest to librarians and lawyers alike.
Karen, I picked up a copy at my local library and, like you, was struck with Doig’s pithy, Twain-like wit - describing an enthusiastic response to the announcement of a spelling bee, “this was a student body that would rather have a contest than the right number of toes.” In a movie version, I’d cast Renee Zellweger as tiny, tenacious Rose Llewellyn - one part steadfast, gritty Ruby Thewes (Cold Mountain), one part fragile, kooky Betty Sizemore (Nurse Betty). How about if we share the co-producer credit?
For this installment, here’s a timely topic for those going to the AALL annual meeting: Short story collections for travel. Whether just on your daily commute, or for a longer journey, short fiction can whisk you away from the here and now - the crowded bus, the noisy airport lobby, the cramped airline seat - while transforming and revealing the ordinary details of everyday life in a new light. You have a book’s worth of entertainment that won’t be spoiled by the constant interruptions inherent in travel: once your flight is called or the drinks cart passes by, you can dive right into the next story.
A couple of weeks ago, I read Human Resources, by Josh Goldfaden, and loved its quirky, poignant humor and sudden calamities. My favorite was “The King of the Ferns,” an odd little tale narrated in part by a houseplant. For my trip to AALL, I think I'll bring along Unaccustomed Earth, the new collection by Pulitzer winner Jhumpa Lahiri, whose limpid and incisive narratives capture the double edge of the immigrant success story.
So how about you - What short fiction collection would you recommend for journeys, short or long? Send your responses to iwang@law.berkeley.edu and stay tuned!