Books!

Mmmm, Fragrant: The dangers of the distillation season

March 9, 2010 { Books & Learning, Hobbies and Projects }

With the early arrival of “magnolia season” here in town, I’m looking ahead to the year’s bounty in terms of things I can heat up a lot and force oil out of. Yep, it’s almost time to take the big ol’ Portuguese alembic copper pot still off of the shelf.

The great hurdle with distilling your own essential oils is obtaining knowledge.

This is unfortunate, because mistakes are not always benign in this craft and I could sure use a strong guiding hand. Distilling the wrong kind of cedar can make your lungs bleed. Being a doofus about your condenser setup can get you exploded.

My Picks: Best Books I read in 2009

January 7, 2010 { Books & Learning }
The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter (Oprah's Book Club)

My favorite books in new literature, old literature, non-fiction, and “something else.” Also, I can’t escape mentioning the stinkers of the year. Here are my top (and not top) books of 2009.

Book Review: “Ficciones” by Jorge Luis Borges

March 5, 2010 { Book Reviews }
Ficciones (English Translation)

It took me nearly a year to complete Borge’s collection of short stories called Ficciones. This compilation, cited often as the best introduction to the Argentinian writer’s oeuvre, has about 20 stories, written in the mid-20th century, that range between fantasy and satire, psychological thriller and eerie psychosis.

Borges thrives in describing off-kilter dream states. He explores sacred geometries—labyrinths, rhombuses—through which his characters move toward heroic or anti-heroic transformation. Weird stuff. Captivating, strange, difficult.

What Should I Read?

Can't think of what to read next? Consider one of these picks: I liked them!

Fiction

Nonfiction

Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded: August 27, 1883 (P.S.)

"Krakatoa" by Simon Winchester
Reviewed Aug 03, 2009

4.5 stars

Book Projects for 2010

In 2009, I made a goal to get through Herodotus’ Histories, several Shakespeare works, and some French literature. Not to mention a focus on reading more non-fiction, especially science. See how successful I was, see my plans for 2010, and share your own reading projects and plans for the new year.


From the Archive

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami
Reviewed Aug 11, 2008

Murakami’s complex metaphysical tale of self-reflection, betrayal, connections and synchronicity resonates with the weight of the Japanese psyche and twines over itself with skillful precision, but still leaves a stain of emptiness in its wake.
What we have is a series of elements: a wayward cat, a dull-as-dishwater–and inert–unemployed protagonist, an absconded wife, a brutal politician-economist-power-mad-brother-in-law, [...]


Wonderful games with Caslon