danielshankcruz

Books Acquired Recently

Acker, Kathy. Bodies of Work. London: Serpent’s Tail, 1997. —. Don Quixote. New York: Grove, 1986. I love Kathy Acker, and have been meaning to read Don Quixote for quite a while now. I picked up Bodies of Work, a collection of her non-fiction, because it was only a dollar. It is in terrible shape;Continue reading “Books Acquired Recently”

Thoughts on the U.S.A.-Honduras Match

I attended the U.S.A.-Honduras World Cup qualifier in Sandy, Utah last night. Although I’ve been a dedicated soccer fan for over twenty years, this was my first opportunity to attend a professional match, and it was a fantastic experience! I will attend another one as soon as possible. Here are some thoughts and observations aboutContinue reading “Thoughts on the U.S.A.-Honduras Match”

My Latest Book Review

I just had a book review of Penelope Scambly Schott’s Lillie was a goddess, Lillie was a whore published in Your Impossible Voice, a new online literary journal. The first issue won’t officially be up until August, but the site is already publishing a few pieces as teasers. It looks like it will be anContinue reading “My Latest Book Review”

Good Writing on Reading Digitally and its Consequences

I’m a bit behind on my PMLA reading, and I was reading the January 2013 (128.1) issue this morning, which includes an excellent suite of essays on “Reading in the Digital Age.” I’ve written here about these issues before, especially about my concern that we retain less and our brains get less exercise when weContinue reading “Good Writing on Reading Digitally and its Consequences”

Books Acquired Recently: More Canadian Mennonites Edition

D’anna, Lynnette. fool’s bells. Toronto: Insomniac, 1999. D’anna is the pen name of Lynnette Dueck, a Canadian writer of Mennonite origin. A friend who knows that I am interested in the intersection between sexuality and literature recommended D’anna/Dueck’s work to me; apparently it is quite explicit, which is a rarity in Mennonite literature. I mayContinue reading “Books Acquired Recently: More Canadian Mennonites Edition”

Two Portrayals of Soccer Fandom

I am currently reading John King’s 1996 novel The Football Factory about soccer fan culture and its causes in 1980s/early-1990s England. I also just read Sarah Lyall’s recent New York Times article about attending English soccer matches, which I found via one of my favorite soccer websites, When Saturday Comes. The contrast between the twoContinue reading “Two Portrayals of Soccer Fandom”

Books Acquired Recently: Mostly Mennonite/Mostly Canadian Edition

I’ve been thinking and writing about Mennonite literature a lot lately, and this latest round of book-buying includes some of the earliest novels published in the field. It also includes one of the more recent works of Mennonite fiction and a book by someone with a Mennonite-sounding name (Kroetsch), though to my knowledge he hasContinue reading “Books Acquired Recently: Mostly Mennonite/Mostly Canadian Edition”

Random Friday Thoughts

I taught my final class of the school year on Wednesday, and for the past two days have just been relaxing and letting my mind wander. It hasn’t hit me on a visceral level yet that I don’t have to teach another class until late August, but my brain is already going on all sortsContinue reading “Random Friday Thoughts”

Reflections on One Year of Blogging and My Book Addiction

This week was the one-year anniversary of this blog, and it feels appropriate to mark the occasion with a post about it. First, here is a post from one of my favorite blogs, A Little Blog of Books and Other Stuff, about lessons learned from blogging. I particularly agree with numbers 3-5. Second, this isContinue reading “Reflections on One Year of Blogging and My Book Addiction”

The Office Series Finale

The Office series finale last night did a good job of ending the show. I’ve always felt that Steve Carell’s final episode should have also been the show’s final episode, but since it was not, last night’s episode did about as good of a job of ending the show as was possible. Yes, it wasContinue reading “The Office Series Finale”