Thousand Words

Occasionally I take a short detour from the standard bookish content of this blog. (That’s foreshadowing; I’m about to take such a detour.)

 

Ordinarily, the Kentucky Derby is the first Saturday in May, but in this mixed-up, COVID 19, 2020, it was postponed until this, the first Saturday in September.

 

The Kentucky Derby is known as “The most exciting two minutes in Sports” which is a bit of a misnomer. Three horses have run the race in less than two minutes, and one of them didn’t even win. In 1973, the great Secretariat set the standing record of 1:59.4, just ahead of Sham who was also under two minutes. In 2001, Monarchos finished at 1:59.97.

 

Before I get to this year’s Derby, I want to talk about the Kentucky Oaks – the ladies’ (fillies) version of the Kentucky Derby. Fillies can run in the Derby, but usually don’t. Only three fillies have won the Derby: Winning Colors, Genuine Risk, and Regret. This year, the filly Swiss Skydiver qualified for the Derby, but her owner and trainer opted for the Oaks, which is run the day before the Derby. The Kentucky Oaks is for three-year-old fillies (filly is a female 3 and under, at age 4 they are fully mature and are known as mares). The Oaks will probably come down to a two-horse race between Swiss Skydiver and Gamine. I expect Gamine to jump to the early lead, but Swiss Skydiver will be content to stay close behind, saving her speed for the end, when she pulls ahead in the homestretch for the win.

 

The Kentucky Derby doesn’t look like much of a contest. Tiz the Law will be the heavy favorite. If he wins, the talk of Triple Crown will begin. Tiz the Law already won the Belmont Stakes, and will then have to win the Preakness to claim the Triple Crown. The only horses that seem to have any chance against Tiz the Law are Honour A.P. and Authentic. Coincidentally, these three have post positions 16, 17, and 18, out of 18. This far outside positions mean they have a bit more ground to cover, but they also have a clear shot to the lead. They have slightly different styles. Honor A.P. likes to stay off the lead and close late. Authentic likes to take the lead from the very start, whereas Tiz the Law, stays off the pace for the first half, then takes the lead to pull away from the field the second half. I think it’s Tiz the Law’s race. However, there’s no money in picking the favorite. There is a long shot I like: Thousand Words (love the name), son of Pioneer of the Nile, grandson of Empire Maker, best trainer in the business Bob Baffert, and very capable jockey Geroux Flourent. With the exception of one bad showing a couple races ago, he has been improving each time out. I still doubt he can catch Tiz the Law, but the favorite usually doesn’t win the Derby, so I’m gonna take a chance on Thousand Words.

 

And since Thousand Words is worth a picture, here he is winning the Robert B. Lewis Stakes in February.

 

And to keep to the bookish topic of this blog, there is a poetry to thoroughbred racing. Consider these splendid names: Swiss Skydiver, Tempers Rising, Dream Marie (Oaks); and Finnick the Fierce, Storm the Court, Thousand Words, Winning Impression (Derby)

 

For all time beautiful names there are: Unbridled’s Song, Distorted Humor, Quality Road, Winning Colors….and the BEST EVER Sunday Silence.

 

Riders up!

 

R.I.P. - A spook inspired reading challenge

R.I.P. XV

 

An annual reading challenge brought to you by She Reads Novels. It’s pretty low-key regarding rules, and such, so why not join in?

 

For R.I.P this year, I intend to read three scary tales:

 

The House of the Borderland by William Hope Hodgson

 

Something Wicked this way Comes by Ray Bradbury

 

The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (a Sherlock Holmes novel)

 

R.I.P. XIV

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Ragtime by E. L. Doctorow (novel #156)

…is injustice, once suffered, a mirror universe, with laws of logic and principles of reason the opposite of civilization’s?

 

Ragtime is historical fiction, set mostly in New York at the turn of the 20^thCentury [1902 – 1912].

One hundred Negroes a year were lynched. One hundred miners were buried alive. One hundred children were mutilated. There seemed to be quotas for these things. There seemed to be quotas for death by starvation.

It tells the tale of an upper middle class family, identified only as Father, Mother, Mother’s younger brother, the Boy, and Grandfather. The story centers around The Family, but the main character is Coalhouse Walker Jr., a successful African-American jazz musician. 

 

Doctorow also includes numerous historical persons, such as Harry Houdini, J. P. Morgan, Henry Ford, Evelyn Nesbitt, Emma Goldman, Booker T. Washington, and many more. 

 

Their lives are intricately intertwined, most fatefully those of The Family and Coalhouse. 

 

Coalhouse is a masterful musician. When he played for the family…

There seemed to be no other possibilities for life than those delineated by the music.

He is successful, independent, courteous, and responsible, until he suffers a hateful injustice at the hands of ignorant men, who resent his success and perceived arrogance.

Apparently it did not occur to him to ingratiate himself in the fashion of his race.

Coalhouse tries every legal avenue possible, but when all fail, he exacts justice on his own terms. His actions have far-ranging affect, including consequences for The Family. Father, is a decent man…

He did not believe in aristocracy except of the individual effort and vision.

So he tries to help Coalhouse, and yet…

It seemed to be his [Coalhouse’s] fault, somehow, because he was Negro and it was the kind of problem that would only adhere to a Negro. His monumental negritude sat in front of them like a centerpiece on the table.

Still Father tries to do the right thing, but…

Father wondered at this moment if their lives might no longer be under their control.

In spite of obvious comparison to recent events, the timing of my read of Ragtime was purely coincidental, though certainly made more poignant. It is not a fun or easy read. I thought Doctorow did a masterful job of weaving all the stories into one culmination. The historical characters gave reality to the setting and plausibility to the plot. While the terrible consequence of one injustice left unanswered is the main point, the range of characters made a powerful rendering of the American experience in the early 19^thcentury. I’ll definitely read more by E. L. Doctorow.

 

My rating: 4 1/2 of 5 stars

 

 

This novel satisfies square O5, Classic of the Americas in the 2020 Classic Bingo Challenge.

 

Other excerpts:

 

America was a great farting country.

 

They [European aristocracy] had been marrying one another for so many centuries that they had bred into themselves just the qualities, ignorance and idiocy, they could least afford.

 

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Are You a Cow by Sandra Boynton - Guest Book Review by my Grandson Titus

Titus says, Are You a Cow is a second-person, self-help book in poetic form. He confesses he was less compelled by the existential exploration of self, than he was by the colorful pictures of only slightly anthropomorphized animals. He’s not a big fan of over-anthropomorphizication – but who is? Regarding the narrative, he felt that although the major premise was logically sound, it is for the most part superfluous. He has never seriously pondered himself being a cow, frog, dog, duck, etc., much less a hippopotamus. Which brings him to his second, though lesser complaint: Boynton’s over-used trope of the hippopotamus that she seems to slip into every book. Titus thinks hippos are fun, but can easily be overdone.

 

None of which is to imply Titus did not like the book. He feels that Boynton’s poetry is neo-classical, her outlook is positive, her message sincere, and her conclusion unassailable.

You are you, and that is great!

 

Titus gives it 3 ½ Stars

 

 

 

Click HERE for more book reviews by my Grandsons and Granddaughters.

The Stranger by Albert Camus (novel #155)

"I have never been able really to regret anything in all my life." ~ Meursault, The Stranger

I had no idea what to expect from The Stranger. I knew it was a thesis to some extent for Camus’ philosophy of absurdism, but that had very little meaning for me. Blissfully ignorant I began.

Blissful didn’t last long. It begins with the main character, Meursault, learning of his mother’s death and departing for her funeral. Set in Algeria, mid 1940s, it details a few days, and then a year or so in the life of French Algerian Meursault.

The reader begins to see Meursault is a man without great passion or emotion. He goes through some of the motions of mourning, but doesn’t really seem to mourn. It isn’t as though he had a bad relationship with his mother, he professes to have loved her and to have got along. He is just indifferent to her passing.

This blasé attitude is the mark of Meursault. The day after the funeral he begins, or perhaps renews, a relationship with a girl from work, goes to the beach, goes to a comic film, and shows no sign of mourning. When his girl, Marie, asks him to marry her, he flippantly agrees, but later when she asks if he loves her, he responds, "I suppose I don’t" – but he’s still willing to marry her. It doesn’t mean anything to him.

Meursault’s aloof attitude toward life culminates when he kills an Arab. The first fatal shot is probably self-defense, but after pausing…

…I fired four more shots into the inert body, on which they left no visible trace. And each successive shot was another loud, fateful rap on the door of my undoing.

Meursault is arrested and tried. The most damning evidence being his indifference to his mother’s death, and indifference to everything.

Meursault is Camus’ embodiment of absurdism – the futility of seeking meaning or value from life. As such, I thought Meursault and the novel do a fair job of portraying absurdism, but do nothing to convince me of its merits; in fact, quite the opposite.

I pondered the title, and I suppose Meursault is the stranger – a stranger from humanity. I can’t say I enjoyed it, but I did find it interesting and well written. I’ll read more by Camus, but certainly with a predisposition next time.

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This novel satisfies square G5, Classic Science or Philosophy (Absurdism) in the 2020 Classic Bingo Challenge, and Classic in Translation (from French) for the Back to the Classics Challenge 2020.

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Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens (novel #154)

Dreams are the bright creatures of poem and legend, who sport on earth in the night season, and melt away in the first beam of the sun, which lights grim care and stern reality on their daily pilgrimage through the world.

 

Nicholas Nickleby could easily have been titled: A Tale of Two Nicklebys [Nicholas and his uncle Ralph], but this would probably have necessitated a different title for a later Dickens’ masterpiece, so it is best to leave it as CD intended.

 

It begins with old Godfrey Nickleby, who leaves small fortunes to his two sons, Ralph and younger brother Nicholas. Ralph becomes a shrewd businessman, and Nicholas a gentleman farmer. Ralph succeeds, and Nicholas fails. Failure brings an early demise and Nicholas senior leaves his widow, grown son Nicholas, and teen daughter Kate, nearly penniless.

 

In short…well in short, I can use the author’s own words…

In short, the poor Nicklebys were social and happy; while the rich Nickleby was alone and miserable.

 

Poor Ralph. He was in position to be such a comfort to his brother’s family, but he misses the blessing of being a blessing. Instead, he does the least possible for them and uses Nicholas and Kate deceitfully.

 

But there is a glimmer of hope for the old scrooge, as he is touched by Kate’s genuine goodness.

And yet I almost like the girl, or should if she had been less proudly and squeamishly brought up. If the boy were drowned or hanged, and the mother dead, this house should be her home. I wish they were, with all my soul. 

 …and in that one glimpse of a better nature, born as it was in selfish thoughts, the rich man felt himself friendless, childless, and alone. Gold, for the instant, lost its lustre in his eyes, for there were countless treasures of the heart which it could never purchase.

 

But...

But, there is one broad sky over all the world, and whether it be blue or cloudy, the same heaven beyond…

 

And Heaven it seems, keeps accounts.

I really enjoyed Nicholas Nickleby. It is Dickens’ third novel, and I found it quite evocative of Dickens’ later and best known tale. Ralph is much like that most infamous miser Scrooge, Ralph’s clerk Newman Noggs is reminiscent of Bob Cratchit, Kate may be compared to Scrooge’s nephew Fred, and there is even a Tiny Tim like character in Smike. Overall, a wonderful tale. Have you read Nicholas Nickleby? Did the characters remind you of A Christmas Carol?

 

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

 

This novel satisfies square B5, Classic of Europe in the 2020 Classic Bingo Challenge, and 19^thCentury Classic in the Back to the Classics Challenge 2020

 

One last excerpt:

In short, charity must have its romance, as the novelist or playwright must have his. A thief in fustian is a vulgar character, scarcely to be thought of by persons of refinement; but dress him in green velvet, with a high-crowned hat, and change the scene of his operations, from a thickly-peopled city, to a mountain road, and you shall find in him the very soul of poetry and adventure.

 

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How I Read Book Tag

How I Read Book Tag

I still have a way to go with my current read, and I haven’t done a book tag in a while, so it’s a good time for this. I saw this posted by Zezee at Zezee with Books.

 

DO YOU HAVE A CERTAIN PLACE AT HOME FOR READING?

Yes, when at home I read almost exclusively in the library – that sounds so Victorian and ostentatious. It’s really just a bedroom, used as a home office, but truly more of a library.

 

CAN YOU JUST STOP READING OR DO YOU HAVE TO STOP AFTER A CHAPTER/ A CERTAIN NUMBER OF PAGES?

I can stop anywhere, though I prefer to stop at the end of a chapter. Some authors have rather long chapters though so I don’t let that stop me from stopping. My current read is Nicholas Nickleby. Dickens has nice sensibly sized chapters.

 

BOOKMARK OR RANDOM PIECE OF PAPER?

Both and neither. Both because when I read a treebook, I have a few “official” bookmarks, but I’ve used a letter, scrap of paper, whatever is handy if I can’t find my bookmarks. I once discovered a $10 bill in a book I hadn’t read in years. Neither because I mostly read eBooks, and my reader automatically picks up where I left off. 

 

MULTITASKING: MUSIC OR TV WHILE READING?

No TV, but I do like instrumental music while I’m reading. I usually listen to movie soundtracks or occasionally classical. Nothing with vocals though. That would be distracting.

 

DO YOU EAT OR DRINK WHILE READING?

Sometimes, a glass of red wine, and extra sharp cheddar cheese. 

 

READING AT HOME OR EVERYWHERE?

Mostly at home, but I take my book if I know I’m going to be waiting in a Doctor’s office, DMV, or something like that. They don’t really like me to have wine and cheese though.

 

ONE BOOK AT A TIME OR SEVERAL AT ONCE?

Technically it’s several at once, but I think of it more as one at a time. I rarely read more than one work of fiction at a time. I also read the Bible every day, and a devotional, but I think of that more as a spiritual practice than reading. 

 

READING OUT LOUD OR SILENTLY IN YOUR HEAD?

Silently, except when reading together with my wife.

 

DO YOU READ AHEAD OR EVEN SKIP PAGES?

Goodness NO! Do people do this? How do they live with themselves?

 

BREAKING THE SPINE OR KEEPING IT LIKE NEW?

Keep it like new. I read from a tablet, but I buy a hardcover of every novel I read to keep in my trophy case. I’ve got a few first editions, and a few autographed, so condition is important. 

 

DO YOU WRITE IN YOUR BOOKS?

Not in novels or most fiction. I highlight, and make notes in non-fiction.

 

WHOM DO YOU TAG?

Like Zezee, whom I got this from…I don’t like to tag people, but I’d be happy to see others respond. Leave a comment here, so that I know you did, and I’ll be sure to check out your answers. 

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