Faulkner, William. Requiem for a Nun. 1951. New York: Vintage, 2011. I am teaching Faulkner’s Sanctuary in an independent study this semester, and bought its sequel Requiem to read as part of my preparation. Reading Faulkner is a guilty pleasure–his writing is beautiful, and he is an essential figure in the development of American literature, butContinue reading “Books Acquired Recently”
Category Archives: Literature
Books Acquired Recently
Castillo, Ana. The Mixquiahuala Letters. Tempe: Bilingual, 1986. This is Castillo’s first novel, and wow have I missed out waiting this long to acquire and read it! I began reading the book this afternoon as soon as I unwrapped it from its shipping envelope (as C.S. Lewis writes in Surprised by Joy, there is really nothing likeContinue reading “Books Acquired Recently”
Ana Castillo’s Loverboys
Ana Castillo’s short story collection Loverboys is one of the most beautiful books I have ever read. It’s so smooth, it feels like someone is talking to me and in doing so enchanting me instead of me actively reading. I feel like I’m in a dream while reading it to the point that I sometimes lose senseContinue reading “Ana Castillo’s Loverboys”
Books Acquired Recently
Castillo, Ana. Loverboys. New York: Norton, 1996. —. My Father Was a Toltec and Selected Poems 1973-1988. 1995. New York: Anchor, 2004. Ana Castillo is an author that I really enjoy, especially her novel The Guardians, which I’ve taught several times. She is the writer-in-residence this semester at my college, so I thought I wouldContinue reading “Books Acquired Recently”
Chuck Palahniuk’s Invisible Monsters Remix
Chuck Palahniuk’s Invisible Monsters Remix is a fantastic printed object that deserves space in the canon of American postmodern fiction. It is the 1999 version of Invisible Monsters in its original intended form, which asks the reader to jump back and forth throughout the volume, kind of like a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure book from the 1980s. ForContinue reading “Chuck Palahniuk’s Invisible Monsters Remix”
Book Acquired Recently: Fifty Shades of Grey
James, E L. Fifty Shades of Grey. 2011. New York: Vintage, 2012. I bought this book because a student of mine wants to write an essay about it and its popularity. I have heard that it is written horribly and would not read it on my own, but will do so for professional reasons. I feel aContinue reading “Book Acquired Recently: Fifty Shades of Grey”
Books Acquired Recently
Delany, Samuel R. The Einstein Intersection. New York: Ace, 1967. I bought this and Anne Sexton’s book for $1.00 each at Savers Thrift Store in Salt Lake City, whose book section was recommended to me by a student. I already have the current Wesleyan University Press edition of this novel, but I collect different printingsContinue reading “Books Acquired Recently”
Books Acquired Recently
Palahniuk, Chuck. Invisible Monsters Remix. New York: Norton, 2012. I am teaching the first edition (1999) of this novel in my Introduction to Literature course this coming semester, which gave me an excuse to buy the Remix (it is essential research!), a version of the novel in its original form along with commentary by Palahniuk.Continue reading “Books Acquired Recently”
Thoughts on the Weekly Reader
The news that Scholastic is shutting down its Weekly Reader elementary school newspaper (read more about it here: http://schoolsofthought.blogs.cnn.com/2012/07/25/the-last-weekly-reader/?hpt=hp_bn13) signifies the loss of another piece of my childhood. We would read through it each week in class for several years of my elementary school career (I want to say third grade and fourth grade, andContinue reading “Thoughts on the Weekly Reader”
Some Thoughts on Edgar Allan Poe
Yesterday a friend of mine posted this hilarious cartoon on Facebook: http://i.imgur.com/rlEZr.png. Any time you can combine Edgar Allan Poe and “Bohemian Rhapsody,” you have to do it. I’ve been thinking about the cartoon and chuckling all day, which in turn got me thinking about Poe in general, and how he keeps inserting himself intoContinue reading “Some Thoughts on Edgar Allan Poe”
Daniel Shank Cruz 
