Under my hashtag eileenreadsbooks on Facebook, I occasionally place Notes to my acquisitions as the library progresses. Here are selections in reverse chronological order from January 1, 2024 which is when I began inputting them on this blog. To see older book acquisition Notes, go to Facebook and look up the hashtag. Acquisition Notes from April to the Present are HERE.
3/29/24
Leading Filipino scholars came through with latest additions to my library. First, I’m honored and blessed to receive Vicente L. Rafael’s three books, per first image. Vince’s 1993 book, CONTRACTING COLONIALISM, was meaningful to me as a younger poet—and still is relevant—for formulating my poetics approach with “abstract language.” I’m looking forward to his other two books (I never had a chance to read his second, THE PROMISE OF THE FOREIGN, before the wildfires took my copy). And I’m long overdue to read his THE SOVEREIGN TRICKSTER.
The second generous scholar is E. San Juan, Jr. who—per second image—gave me a second copy of SISA’S VENGEANCE when I mistakenly thought I’d lost my first copy. As with his book packages nowadays, Sonny always includes books he’s deaccessioning from his library to my in-progress one. I’m tickled to see that he’s as much a fan of thrillers as I am—the beige-binded book is Scottish novelist Helen MacInnes’ THE SALZBURG CONNECTION. He didn’t give me the Mick Herron book which I’d acquired on my own but it’s a thriller as well involving elderly spies. The NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE book is a 1908 book so I’m grateful for Sonny’s generosity.
The last image is other recent book acquisitions. So with 15,516 books as the target for my library-in-progress, that's 652 books down, 14,862 books to go.
3/23/24
I'm grateful to Todd the book collector for deaccessioning some of the miniature books I'd released through Poems-for-all (RIP, Richard!). Though I'm the author, the wildfires had taken my copies. I hope Todd is happy with the other PFAs I've sent as a trade. I appreciate seeing kindness--we need more in this world. I'm particularly delighted to receive ACHILLES--I'll always miss my first German Shepherd dog, the absolute best!
Along with some other recent acquisitions for the library-in-progress whose target is 15,516 books, these latest hauls, as they say, means 642 books down, 14,872 books to go!
3/22/24
And then... there's the book that made me feel an emotion I haven't felt in decades over reading a book: embarrassment. I was embarrassed to read this ingenious novel YOU by Caroline Kepnes; I didn't even take a photo of the book in over my kitchen table where I read many books (the photo below is a stock photo). I'm not actually sure why I felt embarrassed--maybe the cheesy, and yet authentic, sex scenes? But I kept thinking about it--I'm not surprised the series (and yes I've decided to check out the entire series) got a Netflix deal; as one critic said, "It was creepy but I couldn't put it down." I'm not a fan of horror-ish books but would recommend this to those who are. I also consider the book ingenious because the characters of being a well-rounded reader who works in a bookstore and a creative writing student offered a means to critique various books and pretentious readers in hilarious ways. Nonetheless, the YOU series don't need to join my library; I'll just be happy with the Netflix show and borrowing the series from the library.
Speaking of the personal library-in-progress, added some bits. So with 15,516 books as the target, that's 636 books down, 14,880 books to go. Good afternoon!
3/20/24
With speechless awe as response, I turn to the curatorial convenience of comparison: I’ve read nearly 30 poetry collections so far this year and MT Vallarta’s debut poetry book, WHAT YOU REFUSE TO REMEMBER, is the stand-out for me (along with Terrance Hayes’ LIGHTHEAD). Reading through MT's poems, I felt the evocative power of Evelyn Lau and the knife’s edge of Ai ... though there seems to be more light flickering through her wings (perhaps from the sincerity of those love poems). I’ll be writing more about it but, for now, ye olde shout out to you, MT. Mabuhay!
It's great to add MT’s book to the collection. Along with latest acquisitions seen below, and with 15,516 books as the target for my library-in-progress, that's 632 books down, 14,884 books to go. Have a great day!
3/16/24
It’s amazing—wonderfully amazing!—how these short takes on writing/writing life packs in so much wisdom and does so effortlessly. George Myers Jr.’s FAST TALK WITH WRITERS is a testament to the intelligence and experience of these master writers as well as to George Myers’ own literary depth. Myers is a poet-painter who writes literary non-fiction; FAST TALK presents his conversations with 17 North and South American Writers: Isabel Allende, Margaret Atwood, Russell Banks, Robert Bly, David Citino, Evan S. Connell, Annie Dillard, Carlos Fuentes, Donald Hall, Charles Johnson, Gordon Lish, Reginald McKnight, Joyce Carol Oates, Edouard Roditi, Ronald Sukenick, Eudora Welty, and Paul West. See some pleasing (to me) excerpts in images below. I also appreciate the format as the authors are presented first with a list of their books—you can see a sample with Carlos Fuentes at the Sandy Press site HERE.
I am hoping, actually, that both author and publisher will consider a Volume II of such talks—they’re gems and their scale make them perfect for digital age attention without adversely hurting the meat of the content. I highly recommend this surprisingly pleasurable book, surprising because the topic can just as easily make the reader snore (I implicate myself; as a writer I’m sure I’ve generated quite a few wood-sawing zzzzzzs as I talk about my writing). Instead, FAST TALK makes you smile and that’s a lovely effect.
Meanwhile, it's a pleasure to read while building up a library. I've added three more books to my library-in-progress. With 15,516 books as the target for my library-in-progress, that's 626 books down, 14,890 books to go. Continuing Onward!
3/15/24
I'm so grateful to Carol Dorf for the latest group of books added to my library-in-progress! I'm even more grateful it includes her lovely chap EVERY EVENING DESERVES A TITLE; see images for sample poems. My favorite poem might just be "This is How The Wind Shifts" (I post just its first page) but all the poems bear Carol's pithy and well-put charm and are accompanied by Terri Saul's illustrations. The group of books also include an excellent idea for a miniature journal: a matchbook whose matches are taken out and replaced with blank pages. Had I known Carol was going to send me that whimsical publication, I'd have asked her to handwrite in some of her stellar haikus! Thanks Carol! The miniature books have already been catalogued into the Miniature Book Library area of the general library!
So, with 15,516 books as the target for my library-in-progress, that's 623 books down, 14,893 books to go. Good evening.
3/12/24
It’s actually become physical—this suffering from not being surrounded by books: immense walls held up by immense bookshelves stuffed with what often represents the best in humanity. I feel the itch of what I imagine a missing limb might feel like, insofar as a library is a mental limb. Fortunately, one of my publishers has sent over a few replacements. Thank you, Marsh Hawk Press ( https://marshhawkpress.org )! And for those who’d like to be published by this poetry press, one of the sharpest out there, check the link for the 2024 Marsh Hawk Press Poetry Prizes judged this year by poet-novelist and National Book Awardee John Keene.
So, with 15,516 books as the target for my library-in-progress, that's 615 books down, 14,901 books to go. Good Evening.
3/11/24
There are some people whose lives you feel overlapped with yours. In poetry, Wallace Stevens is among them even though he died about five years before my birth. I was reminded of this upon receiving the copy of his first book, HARMONIUM. I’m obviously rebuilding my fire-burnt and damaged library and while I’d previously owned his Collected Poems, I thought to order a copy of HARMONIUM because, sometimes, I want to read a poetry collection the way the author first presented it. That’s when I realized that the book I’d ordered was someone reprinting/rebinding his book because it had lost its copyright to enter public domain (in this case, relatively recently in 2019). This is the first book that made me consider how being in public domain means being subject to how others can use the work in any way they see fit. Not that I want to overly criticize Lisa Shea (unknown to me) since she says any proceeds from selling the book will be donated to art organizations. But, as a book production, it’s pretty lightweight. This book version startled me—see images—and made me wonder more about what being in public domain can mean. I suppose this is still a better result than for a work to be in public domain but to everyone’s indifference.
Anyway, reading HARMONIUM on its own and for the first time in such a long time it might as well be the first, some takeaways: I couldn’t help but see a difference in a collection like this versus the MFA and award-competition poetry that’s more common today. Stevens’ first book contains more the sense of rawness in a first collection vs today’s polished sameness. I’m actually not privileging one approach over the other—ultimately it’s all up to the poems—but I’ve always appreciated the sense of growth through the occasional unhidden seams in first poetry collections. Many poetry books flatten differences in style, tone, and I suppose quality but quality is overrated in poetry. In HARMONIUM, less than ten poems enthused me but I appreciated the whole of it, in part for presenting a sense of time’s progression. I wondered if the poems are presented chronologically since the poems get better as you delve into the book, better in the way one hopes we all progress with (writing) experience.
Among the poems, my attention was grabbed most by “A High-Toned Old Christian Woman” that may be better known today by its first line-turned-meme: “Poetry is the supreme fiction.” Among other things, the poem made me consider the temporal nature of certain words—his use of “widow” here is jarring to me and yet I assume perhaps not during his time? (In another example, in another poem he uses “negress.”)
All in all, I found it helpful to be reminded of HARMONIUM on its own, though I was at first put off by the context created by Lisa Shea. I acquired this with another book: HO by Jim Behrle. Jim is one of today’s astute observers of contemporary poetry and such made me curious about his own poems, which I look forward to reading. So, with 15,516 books as the target for my library-in-progress, that's 610 books down, 14,906 books to go. Continuing Onward!
Individual Book Notes:
I truly appreciate this book: HOetry by Jim Behrle. Smart, witty, edgy… and romantic poems. Photo-bombed by my beloved Ajax.
3/10/24
Not just a fore edge stamped book but a miniature book (~2 inches) with a three-part fore edge! Quite a special addition to the library-in-progress. With 15,516 books as the library's target, that's 608 books down, 14,908 books to go. It arrives in a special book box. Let's open it together!
3/9/24
You only need to do one thing to be a novelist: write. But if you want to be a published novelist, it can be helpful to understand the world that publishes novels.
(I can say that same thing about poetry. I learned about the poetry publishing world—it’s lessons are what make me generally shy away from award competitions which exemplify its reductiveness. I implicate myself since I sometimes judge those competitions. It’s so difficult not to be a hypocrite in this world.)
So as part of attempting to understand the publishing world of novels, I read BIG FICTION: How Conglomeration Changed the Publishing Industry and American Literature by Dan Sinykin (Columbia University Press, 2023). I’m grateful to this rigorously researched book—I would love for this author or someone else to apply a similarly intelligent appraisal on the world of literary agents. I bet that would be as surprising to many as the revelations (including critiques) that can be applied to novel publishers. There are definitely aesthetic limits to a publishing world that’s become conglomeratized. This is why you don’t need to be a great writer to be a bestselling author, though the implications far exceed sales and are probably more significant (insidious) in terms of the type of reading material given to the public. Ironically, one of the big publishers points out in BIG FICTION that, notwithstanding the book’s value as a precious cultural object, the book represents the first deployment of capitalistic practices viz the printing press. Nuff said: I recommend this book unless you’re happy playing with letters in your writer’s room (granted, that’s not a bad alternative to our times).
Meanwhile, writing back against what I just wrote above, here are the latest additions to my library-in-progress which include Filipino poetry; these are books sent for me to blather about for next issue of The Halo-Halo Review. If you want your poetry book considered, send to me by the end of this month.
With Filipino poetry and other books shown below, with the library’s target of 15,516 books, that's 607 books down, 14,909 books to go. Onward!
3/6/24
I see my desired future. I’m going to run a used bookstore and make books that write themselves… or so I think whenever I read one of Shaun Bythell’s books that basically diarize his experiences directing Scotland’s largest used bookstore, the Bookshop in Wigtown. The title of the one I just finished is hilarious and no doubt crafted with zero apologies to Ishiguro: Remainders of the Day. What also makes Bythell enjoyable reading is the requisite curmudgeonly streak one must have when working in a tilting-at-windmills type of profession, e.g. selling books. As his bio states, “His passion for bookselling is matched only by his sense of despair for its future.” I also like his format of showing daily sales and number of customers—as you can see from sample images below, the picture can be dismal.
Bythell’s book is borrowed from the local library so is not an addition to my library-in-progress. But with the help of some library sales and review copies, I’ve added six more. Entonces, with 15,516 books as the target for the library I'm building, that's 590 books down, 14,926 books to go. Oooooh: which shall be my Acquisition #600?! A threshold to celebrate—I look forward to it. Onward!
Individual Book Notes (3/5/24):
The Dire State of Creative Fiction (vs. genre fiction) can be explained by the juxtaposition of these two books. INSURRECTION had placed Gina Apostol on the cover of Publisher’s Weekly when it was released, and deservedly so. Just 5 years later, I pick up a clean and signed copy for $3.00 (a 67% reduction in its initial retail price). Meanwhile, what makes up those bestseller lists are depressing. But let’s just write ambitiously instead of writing down to the publishing bottom line… she says optimistically. Because.
3/2/24
The Del Prado Miniature Books are a thing in the miniature book world. I’m lucky to have a complete set. But now John and Tabitha of H & O Antiquarian ( https://www.hnobookshop.com ) have developed foreedge images against these 2 x 2.5-inch books and I have three of the first five they’ve produced! I’m delighted because I love fore-edge painted books ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fore-edge_painting ) but can’t afford most of them which run into the thousands of dollars. These aren’t painted but they’re fore-edge and they help stave off my hunger until I win the Lotto and start getting fore-edge painted books! Plus they’re just damn cute!
I include miniature books in my library-in-progress. So with 15,516 books as the target for the library I'm building, that's 584 books down, 14,932 books to go. Good Afternoon!
3/1/24
Word. I really love it when I discover that a Facebook friend is actually a superb writer. Today, I am talking about Ed Go whose book DELETED SCENES FROM THE ANTOBIOGRAPHY OF ED GO AS TOLD BY NAPOLEON ID is witty, vibrantly written, hilarious, and just sharp sharp sharp! It’s a slim 40-page book but it’s elicited more laughs per page than any other book I can recall in recent memory. Check out the 2 samples below from a book that also validates small presses.
As well, it’s a timely read for me because of its technique. For many weeks now I’ve been considering eliminating quote marks in my novel-in-progress CONVERSATION WITH ECHO. It’s because there are a lot of thoughts in my novel, which depicts thoughts in italics, and it’s just unwieldy, formatting-wise, to deal with italics and quote marks. It’s not a new strategy and my most recent read of it (before Ed) is Elaine Castillo who eliminated quote marks in her novel AMERICA IS NOT THE HEART which I’d also reviewed for how the approach might work for my novel.
Ed does the same thing, but he also does something intriguing: he uses M-dashes to indicate statements. That’d be too unwieldy, I think, for my novel but I am filing it away for future possibilities. For whatever reason, I’ve also always adored the M-dash. Anyway, do check out Ed’s book—it will be a lit feast regardless of the collection’s brevity. Bonus: you might lose a pound or two laughing.
Meanwhile, here’s latest book acquisitions. I’m actually not trying to replicate my prior library but recent buys include books I’d owned before by May Sarton and Jean Rhys. I’m not a huge fan of Sarton’s poetry but I adore her journals. As for Jean Rhys, any poet interested in the ineffable should read—memorize!—her writings. So with 15,516 books as the target for the library I'm building, that's 581 books down, 14,935 books to go. Good morning!
2/28/24
In my prior post, I talk about how to consider poems in novels if the novel’s good but the poem is not. I’ve actually thought about this issue since last summer when I wrote my forthcoming novel (THE BALIKBAYAN ARTIST). In that novel, I’d presented an old poem—I didn’t consider it great but included it because it was relevant to the plot. Still, in the back of my mind, I’d remained bothered because I wondered whether I should insert a “better” poem (but didn’t have one). I stuck with my decision just because I thought I may not be the best judge of that poem—I may not be enthusiastic about it but, hey, it was nominated (my first nomination) for the Pushcart Prize.
More recently, I finished Paul Auster’s novel BAUMGARTNER and saw that he’d inserted a poem entitled “Lexicon” (which I put in the images below). I wondered if Auster had concerns about it, similar to mine for my novel, because he’d presented the poem as "not the greatest" and written by a young poet. In my novel, I’d also presented my poem as by a beginning poet, which would explain any weakness to the poem. (And AJ Odasso, a commenter in my prior post, says AJ’s done the same with the character of a young, experimenting poet.)
And I realize that, with poems being so fluid and responses so subjective, it’s actually not a bad idea for a novelist to present poems with contexts if not caveats that would warrant any weakness to the poems… unless you, as the novelist-poet, truly believed in the greatness of the poem being featured. But I think many poets second-guess the quality of the poems they write, even if they allow for their publication—I long ago ceased wondering whether any poem I write is good before sending it out for publication; I figured that if the poem was good it’d get an acceptance and if not it’d get a rejection.
Anyway, on a related topic, BAUMGARTNER is the first Auster novel I’ve read in years—over a decade. I’m not sure why I stopped reading him when I’m such a fan. I grew up with his NEW YORK TRILOGY, among other novels, which I once was passionate about. I’m glad I picked up BAUMGARTNER from my local library—it is fantastic writing with what must be by now a trademark fabulous ending and, because I knew his earlier works, a novel that to me also shows his graceful maturity as a writer. Auster has literarily aged like the best of fine wine. I’m looking forward to my next current read of him: 4321 which I also already envy for merely being 879 pages. I’m glad to return to his writings to solidify how I suspect he’ll always be one of my favorite and inspirational contemporary writers. He’s also a wonderful poet whose poems inspired me to write new poems.
I likely will add these Auster novels—and probably his older ones for sentimental reasons—to the new library I’m building. For now, the last image shows my latest additions to the library, including works by Facebook friends Brian Marley and Ed Go (thanks guys! I look forward to reading them). So with 15,516 books as the target for the library I'm building, that's 577 books down, 14,939 books to go. Good Afternoon!
2/26/24
One result of self-consciously building a library from scratch is you can notice when exactly you buy books in duplicate because you’d forgotten the titles already existed in your To-Be-Read shelves. In my case, I acquired about 550 books before I ended up buying my first duplicate. That's an interesting statistic to me because I consider my memory poor--I wouldn't have been surprised to start buying duplicates after a mere 100 unread books. (I actually bought one Knausgaard title twice but choose not to consider it duplicative since each book was by a different publisher.)
2/21/24
2/13/24
January 27
My 510th addition to the library is pretty special. I just added an 1847 book to the miniature book collection which, along with my 2-3 inch book from 1853 represent the mid-1800s well. They both also have some unique aspects to them. First, the 1853 New Testament apparently had been carried by soldier as he fought in the U.S. Civil War (1861-1865), as shown by an enclosed note by a Mrs. C.J. Ward, niece to Nathaniel Lynde of Company H, 73 Battalion. I find it moving to have touched something that had been treasured in such circumstances over 1.5 centuries ago…
The other book and latest add, an 1847 Little Robinson Crusoe (shown here with a miniature bookmark), is interesting in part due to some recent developments. It was acquired with the library stamp of Rochester Public Library to which the book had been donated. It’s the first miniature book I’ve seen with a library stamp—I imagine most donated miniature books are not library stamped since miniature books are defined as not more than 3-4 inches in size.
And so with with 15,516 books as the target for the library I'm building, that's 510 books down, 15,006 books to go. Good Afternoon!
January 25
With the help of friends, my library grew this week with books that ranged from teensy to massive. Thanks Beau for the limited edition THE COLLECTOR AND THE COLLECTED as regards miniature books. And Maraming Salamat Leny for the huge and signed 2-volume edition of TWENTIETH CENTURY FILIPINO ARTISTS. So with 15,516 books as the target for the library I'm building, that's 509 books down, 15,007 books to go. Good evening.
January 20
One can’t write good books without reading. So, the library grows with recent acquisitions. With 15,516 books as the target for the library I'm building, that's 503 books down, 15,013 books to go. Good evening.
January 5
Arduous week. But at least the arduity has to do with bringing out two of my own books. Meanwhile, thank you, friends. With some gifts, I further bolstered the library I’m building. With 15,516 books as my target for the new library, that's 497 books down, 15,019 books to go. Good evening.
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