never? ever?

partie deux!


top ten blasts from the past in 2010

1) bob dylan—abandoned love
you know those songs that elude you for years, and then, boom! instant revelation? yeah, that’s this song in a nutshell. everything is great—the dark gypsy vibe, the lovelorn lyrics, and those harmonies. even better: i was reading as i lay dying when the obsession began, so the song always conjures up hot june days in my attic bedroom and ‘my mother is a fish.’ phenomenal!

2) joni mitchell—just like this train
even though blue is, and always will be, my favorite iteration of joni, court and spark has been pulling a dark horse for some time now. every time this album comes back into my life, it’s with a new favorite song. this time around, lines about being unable to count on anything perfectly mirrored a lot of post-graduation disillusionment i was feeling as an aimless single lady. not that there’s anything wrong with that! i wouldn’t give up my independence for anything—thus far, it’s led to unexpectedly awesome experiences--but it can be totally lonely and frustrating at times.

3) gram parsons—that’s all it took
gram parsons was another that roared back into my life this summer, and to be honest, hasn’t left yet, sparking a full-on alt-country phase. this time, the deeper cuts got the most play; ‘kiss the children’ is another oft-played track. though it’s got some stiff competition, this track has probably become my favorite track…crazy!

4) big star—o my soul
like i said, alt-country: so dominant right now. first birthday act this year consisted of blasting this song and dancing around like crazy. close to six minutes of pure bliss.

5) bob seger—night moves
CRINGE. i know, it’s bad. but so good. when you’re in the middle of the country, with no chance of male…ahem, company in sight, it seems to make all that adolescent frustration seem so…innocuous and far-behind-you. or oh-so-searingly of–the-moment? jury’s still out. either way, this song was summer 2010’s end-of-the-night anthem, even if it was just me listening to it on my ipod alone. no shame. no sex in the country, y’all.

6) otis redding—these arms of mine
this song kills. so much so that i essentially listen only to the a-side of my best of record.

7) DOESN’T MATTER WHO--tonight you belong to me
after (finally) seeing the jerk in its entirety, i can definitively state that i’m head over heels in love with steve martin. also, this song made me want to learn trumpet, just to play the solo. anybody give lessons?

8) wilco—one hundred years from now
imagine that. another gram parsons song--even if it’s a cover. wilco does the near-impossible and one-ups the original, bringing a crunchy power-pop feel to the song. perfect for rolling out of work on a sunny friday afternoon, when all you want to do is put the windows down and ride.

9) she & him—got me
once again, alt-country’s been the magic word of 2010. though some of the songs on volume one were a little contrived (especially the covers, which i wasn’t fond of, even while loving the originals), this song got just the right mix of bygone country without feeling overly schmaltzy. plus, zooey deschanel’s voice is a thing of rare, brassy beauty.

10) t.rex--jeepster

always & forever! t.rex is ten kinds of amazing, but as i was packing to head home for christmas, it really hit home anew.


top ten books of 2010

yeah, it’s pretentious. deal.


1) nabokov—lolita

i kicked off the year by reading lolita, a book that i literally thought was written in the 19th century. being shamefully oblivious to all cultural references, i dove in, and spent the next week fully immersed in the mind of humbert humbert. either he’s an exquisitely persuasive narrator, or i’m the most gullible person alive (which is more probable?)—his rosy view of lolita’s “seduction” had me completely fooled.
that is, until the second half. as humbert embarks on a journey that reminded me a lot of fear and loathing in las vegas, all the romantic notions of his relationship with lolita are stripped away, leaving the reader to see humbert’s actions as they truly are: monstrously horrifying. on the plus side, the book’s second half also provides a wonderful (and poignant) thought: ‘who can say what heartbreaks are caused in a dog by our discontinuing a romp?’

2) azar nafisi—reading liolita in tehran
i like to read thematically: according to the season, or based on what else i’ve been reading. clearly, after reading lolita, i had to reading a book about reading it! (that, and it was next on the shelf).
not only did nazar afisi explode a myriad of stereotypes about muslim women, especially in a repressive place like iran—they’re subservient, don’t have the chance for education, etc. the women in her literature study group were intelligent, charismatic, completely loveable. and nafisi’s account of iranian history, interwoven with four works of western lit—lolita, pride & prejudice, the great gatsby, and daisy miller—was one that shouldn’t soon be forgotten.

3) carson mccullers—the heart is a lonely hunter
i wouldn't say that this book was my favorite southern novel ever (just see #7 for proof), but the ending was oh-so-slaying. the descriptions of classical music were also haunting--it reminded me of how awe-inspiring good music sounds when listened to in a half-awake, half-dream state.

4) james joyce--dubliners
though i began dubliners last summer, a completely insane fall semester delayed my completion of it. so did the way i read it—this annotated edition recommended reading it straight through with no notes, to get a raw impression, then rereading with notes to get historical & biographical context. it should be noted that this was an excellent, if time-consuming, approach to the text.
to me, dubliners has the appeal of a movie like paris, je t’aime—though the stories in dubliners aren’t quite as interwoven, they provide a varied and accurate (if heartbreakingly bleak) portrait of early 20th-century life in ireland. plus, many of the characters reappear in ulysses—which just so happens to be at the top of my to-read list!
even if you find the entirety of the book to be too much for you, i strongly suggest reading ‘the dead’—the book’s final story is a triumph, an early synthesis of the talent joyce would later use in ulysses and finnegan’s wake. i just learned that john huston directed a film adaptation of the story—can’t wait to see it!

5) the man who loved books too much: the true story of a thief, a detective, and a world of literary obsession
this book was a fascinating look into the world of first-edition and rare books, and the lengths some people will travel to own a piece of literary history. though i honestly can’t remember much of the story (early-onset alzheimer’s, what up?), i recall being astounded by the value people place on the written word. almost all of the books stolen are easily accessible today. it seems kind of sad that collectors prize the rarity of the book more than the work itself—then again, they probably did love the work, and i certainly understand the impulse to own something that captivates me.

6) t.r. pearson—a short history of a small place
there’s a woman in town who works at the library. a friend introduced me, saying that she was writing a novel, and loved wacky stories about small town life. so, i suggested this book. her response? ‘i can’t read that book anymore—i’m afraid i’d lift from it.’
meeting a person who loved, let alone knew, t.r. pearson’s work, was amazing—it gave me hope that more people will read & love this book, because it deserves to be cherished. a short history of a small place is like an episode of andy griffith on acid; the narrator, only a child, relays each hilariously chaotic episode with a knowing snark that far surpasses his youth. this book is the perfect porch-sitting, beer-drinking, summertime read.
even better: pearson is from the old north state and shouts out nearly every township in central north carolina. it even includes a story of a jaguar-driving, cheating wife, set in (you guessed it!) burlington. so good.
bonus karma points: while in charleston, i was searching for a copy of this to give my dad. taylor books had a copy, which forever endeared them to my heart.

7) faulkner—the sound & the fury
so, this is cheating. the sound and the fury ranks #2(3?) on my all-time favorite books (only behind my all-time favorite overblown, melodramatic work, hamlet, and perhaps moby-dick). still, a reread counts, i think. every time i read the compson family’s slow implosion and disintegration, it kills me anew.

8) ann pancake—strange as this weather has been
it’s a fact of life in west virginia, one that’s not complicated or difficult to learn: coal runs this state. and while it might be patently obvious, it’s certainly not a reality that’s loved (or even accepted) by the majority of the state’s residents. ann pancake, who got her mfa at unc (!), illustrates the tribulations of a coalfield family’s fight against mountaintop removal mining in a novel that left me equally breathless, despondent, and outraged. though it’s fiction, the message pancake delivers is not far from the truth.

the story of the see family is presented in a style similar to as i lay dying; each member chronicles the many challenges life in west virginia presents--from the specter of mountaintop removal to teen pregnancy, and dead-end careers at regionally ubiquitous chains like dairy queen and dollar general. it’s not a light-hearted book, but it’s one that needs to be read by west virginians and all those who cherish its natural beauty.

9) jean-dominique bauby--the diving bell & the butterfly
this was a book that everyone, EVERYONE, has recommended over the years. and, much like the movie the aviator, i knew that i would enjoy it, but resisted for the longest time. finally, at the end of summer, i caved. and i’ll be one of those obnoxious people recommending it from now on.
the book is as improbably light as its title suggests—in the midst of a health crisis that would topple a person of lesser strength, jean-dominique bauby is in turns sardonic, funny, pensive and whimsical. sometimes it was hard to imagine i was reading the autobiography of a man who was literally locked inside his non-functioning body—that such life could exude from a man who couldn’t move or make noise is astounding. though bauby died essentially upon the book’s release, his memoir is a reminder that no matter the circumstances, the human spirit really can transcend anything. (and the movie is very good also!)

10) alex shoumatoff--capital of hope
clearly, any book about brazil is up my alley. even if it was dry at times, alex shoumatoff’s account of the history and founding of the capital city of brasília was immensely enlightening. i’m not a big architecture person, but oscar niemeyer’s city design, which makes a large population almost invisible, is a feat in itself (similar to canberra, australia). combined with shoumatoff’s knowledge of the natural world, the book is travel lit of the most intelligent order.
plus, how sweet is this cover art?

and one to grow on:

11) paul johnson—a history of the american people
a history of the u.s., written by a british dude? i probably should’ve gone with zinn, but i saw this at the local library and felt the sudden, insistent urge to get my act together and learn my american history! it’s not bad, either—though i was always that history major, who only read novels, i find johnson’s narrative to be pretty compelling. for the most part, he’s not high-faluting, and most importantly (especially for a 1,000+ page book) concise! he treats american history through short episodes, which is crucial in keeping my limited attention span. though it’s slow going thus far, i think johnson will better my knowledge of the nation’s past, piece by (ever-so-small) piece.