Half Broke Horses
It’s been a while, Illiterate! My apologies for not keeping up with these posts recently. But I’m back with another review about a wonderful book I’ve just finished called “Half Broke Horses,” by Jeannette Walls, 2009. This novel, as the cover mentions, is a “true life novel.” Why not non-fiction? Why not biography? Because, it’s a story about a gritty western woman told by her granddaughter through collective family histories, memories and stories. Walls traces the life of her grandmother, Lily Casey, a witty, quick-mouthed, daring woman of the West throughout Casey’s life in the 1900’s. Walls writes in first person and gives her ...Read more
A Lady's Life in the Rocky Mountains
I was rummaging through a box of books at a yard sale and came across a little gem. I picked up the book because of its title and brought it home expecting it might end up being another boring, drawn-out, old-English tale about traveling in ‘style’ during the 1870’s. For some readers, it might be that way. Bird’s style is not for everyone. “A Lady’s Life in the Rocky Mountains,” is a compilation of letters written by Isabella Bird in 1973. Bird, an English woman traveling in the American West, departs San Francisco and heads East to Wyoming and then on to Colorado. Her ultimate goal: ...Read more
Lights Out Book Review
I went searching for novels written by local authors. As I perused the single bookshelf, considering the options, my eyes landed on the funky, cartoonistic cover of Lights Out by Arvada local Bradley Jarvis (2009). Jarvis describes himself on the back cover as “a writer, scientist, educator, and engineer [who] for fun, tries to predict the future of humanity.” Awesome. I picked it up, brought it home, and a few days later here I am. Initially, I expected some kind of amateur attempt at creating a mysterious sci-fi novel about the end of the world....Read more
The Bean Trees
It’s been a while since you’ve thought about Barbara Kingsolver, hasn’t it? In hopes of reviving oldies but goodies from novelists we know and love, I decided to reach back to Kingsolver’s past to talk about a piece of her early writings. Her first novel, “The Bean Trees,” (1988) is a glimpse of a much longer story. It follows the meandering life of Taylor “Missy” Greer as she heads west, picking up an unexpected companion along the way. Kingsolver maneuvers gracefully through many social assumptions and stereotypes, confronting topics such as Native American Res life, illegal immigration, adoption, single parenting, and rape. It’s a ver...Read more
Prose Blog: Emily's Intro
Greetings Illiterate, I’m so happy to be back with you! Who I am::: I’m Emily, and many years ago I helped start Illiterate along with Adam, Sander, Joe and a bunch of other folks. I’ll be picking up the prose blog book review where Simone left off and I am really excited about it! For the past while I’ve been living up (way up) in the mountains but now I’m back and thrilled to be reconnecting to the Mag. I’m interested in fiction, nonfiction, poetry, hybrid forms, nature writing, travel writing, the list goes on. Why I’m here::: I want to revitalize the prose portion of Illiterate! Here’s my idea: I’m going to start by writing book r...Read more
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
"It is a truth universally acknowledged that a zombie in possession of brains must be in want of more brains." Thus starts "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies," a ridiculously delicious reworking of Jane Austin's classic (and often derided) masterwork by Seth Grahame-Smith. A zombie plague has struck pastoral England and heroine Elizabeth Bennet must pursue her romantic entanglements with Mr. Darcy while slashing and stabbing the undead at Netherfield, Longbourn and Gretna Green. This is the perfect read for Austinophiles, as it offers hilarious new perspective on the beloved classic. It's also the perfect read for Austinophobes, who find the tome on Victorian courtship boring and lackin...Read more
Nabokov was born again. And then died.
Most everyone worth their weight in words has read Vladimir Nabakov's 'Lolita.' Some are titillated by the first section of the book, when Humbert Humbert reveals his past, discovers Lolita and "pursues" a love affair with her. Some are bored by the second section, the long and dull road trip, images blurring together with no apparent character or story development. And some are shocked by the final part of the book, the bizarre noir shoot-out between two old men, surreal in its awkwardness. Probably most readers appreciate Nabakov's complex multi-lingual double entendres and invented vocabulary, to the extent that we're aware of them. And a few rea...Read more
The Vampire PI is Back!
In the last issue of illiterate I interviewed Denver author Mario Acevedo about his series, which features Chicano vampire detective Felix Gomez fighting aliens, nyphomaniacs, evil vampires, vampire killers, and porn kingpins. Now he's moved on to Zombies, apparently, (it only seems logical) and will be signing his new book, Jailbait Zombie, at Tattered Cover tonight at 7:30 at the Colfax location. I haven't read it yet, but I'l really psyched to do so because well, he made an animated Lego trailer, and um, I find animated Lego trailers impossible to resist. You should seriously click on that link. I'm also excited to read Jailbait Zombie because Mr. Acevedo is a killer wri...Read more
Wolf Totem
Glancing back over my blog posts in recent weeks, I realize I may sound like an idiot- all the books I've recommended are fluff in one form or another. Good sometimes, but the intellect also needs a book to sink its teeth into (yes, some minds have teeth, sharp ones). So I've got something out there for the eggheads among us: Wolf Totem by Jiang Rong, winner of the Man Asian Literary Prize in 2007, awarded to books by Asian authors not yet translated into English. This book about a young Chinese intellectual being sent to Outer Mongolia for "reeducation" during China's Cultural Revolution is as much about environmentalism and spirituality as it is a...Read more
Dewey Decimal System of Love
For those of you curmudgeons who don't know what the Dewey Decimal System is, it's how you find books at any library. The little numbers on the spine of a non-fiction book correspond to subjects, and they're the same in every library in America. For those of you bibliophiles who know and love the Dewey Decimal System, please read The Dewey Decimal System of Love by Josephnie Carr . Imagine a virginal librarian (tortoise shell rims included) who at the ripe age of 40 discovers the sensual world. Each chapter starts with a Dewey number, e.g., "For Questions about Sexual Dysfunction go to 613.90" and details the main character's embarrassing, hilarious, literar...Read more