ABOUT THAT KNOPF PROJECT

When in the course of human events it becomes necessary to upbraid oneself for failing to keep pace with one’s self-imposed and otherwise unnecessary reading project, a decent and proper reader-cum-blogger is required to bring forth those reasons which heretofore have prevented him from keeping said pace and declare those reasons before the world.

Which means, well, that I’m behind. Behind on the Knopf Project, that is, having failed thus far in my quest to read and critique or write about books I’ve read (intelligently, one hopes) on this blog.

How did it happen? To tell the truth, this is how:

BECAUSE KNOPF PUBLISHES TOO MANY GOD-DAMN BOOKS FOR ME TO KEEP PACE WITH.

OK, the vent is over. To be sure, this isn’t Knopf’s fault. They’re out to (1) publish well-written, well-argued, and well-constructed books so (2) people like me buy them (hopefully) and read them (hopefully, but ultimately not “really” their concern). To be further sure, it’s my fault. I created the Knopf Project. I gave myself an unreasonable, and perhaps even unobtainable, goal. I cried “piffle!” to the suggestion from a helpful Knopfmensch when she suggested that it IS an awful lot to be reading.

“Hey, no problemo - I practically read like Johnny 5! Input! More input! INPUT INPUT INPUT! WOO-WOO-WOO!!” was the cry heard inside my noggin.

And to be uber-uber sure, I regret that I don’t regret it one bit.

So, since I’m fairly sure I at least have the attention of maybe a few of you (who is reading this blog from Alaska?), I thought it only fair to provide an update on my progress. And since I never “really” defined the terms of my reading schedule, I’ve decided that it means I’m reading every (and hopefully blogging about) every book published by Knopf from September to December, paperbacks, cookbooks, collected journals and diaries, or collections of essays, and at least one or two titles that I’ll simply have to veto for personal reasons (i.e. “A 1,000 page biography of Spencer Tracy is just obscene!” [however, I’ve not given up on that book just yet]). I’m not promising that they’ll all be reviewed by December. And I reserve the right to bitch and moan further and maybe even boycott my own damn project for a week or so. Well then, without further adieu:


BOOKS READ:

The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes

Ghost on the Throne by James Romm

Hemingway’s Boat by Paul Hendrickson

The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka (reviewed here)

What Work Is by Philip Levine (to be fair, “technically” re-published/ re-printed by Knopf after Levine’s recent selection as the new “Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress”)


BOOKS IN PROGRESS:

The Cat’s Table by Michael Ondaatje

Kindertotenwald by Franz Wright

Last Man in Tower by Aravind Adiga

Dark Market by Misha Glenny


BOOKS PURCHASED:

Political Evil by Alan Wolfe

South of the Sun by Lynne Cox

Ghosts by Daylight by Janine Di Giovanni

Sorry by Zoran Drvenkar

Luck and Circumstance by Michael Lindsay-Hogg

The Stranger’s Child by Alan Hollinghurst


Detours Taken:

Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami (to be fair, this was a warm-up for the forthcoming 950+ page tome, 1Q84, due out in two weeks.)

Why Poetry Matters by David Orr

The Cut by George Pelecanos


So, with that, back to reading, crapheads. Look for reviews of “Ghost on the Throne” and “The Sense of An Ending” this week.