Top Ten Tuesday- New York, New York

This week The Broke and the Bookish ask us to list our top ten from a particular setting- I'm going with New York. I've only been once, a few years ago, but really loved it. I went during the late winter with my mother-in-law and we crammed an impressive amount of things to do in our three or four days there; I'd like to go back during the spring and take my time, going to some of the less-touristy places. Whether you love it or hate it, New York City really is a character in and of itself.

1. Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann

2. Underworld by Don DeLillo

3. The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger

4. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon

5. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

6. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer

7. Night Film by Marisha Pessl

8.  The Russian Debutante's Handbook by Gary Shteyngart

9.  A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan

10. Tell the Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Brunt

I'm absolutely missing some great ones- suggestions? Where's your list set? 

Top Ten Tuesday- Underwater Hotels, Morocco, and the Central Valley

First off, a huge thanks to Kristin at Designer Blogs for my new look. Long overdue!

This week The Broke and the Bookish are asking us where we would like to see more books set. I know there are books that take place in each of the places below (especially those in their own language), I just don't know them.

1. Normal, blue-collar, workplace environments- I've frequently thought about writing a book about a group of people who work at, say, a grocery store or hair salon. The dynamics would be interesting to explore.

[source]

2. California's Central Valley- Obviously I'm a bit biased here, since that's where I grew up, but who doesn't get excited when they see their hometown mentioned in a book? It's such a different world from what people normally think when they consider California- it's more of a midwest feel.

3. Southern California (not including Los Angeles or the beach areas)- I hate that people assume that when you say you live in Southern California you're just a hop, skip, and a jump away from palm trees and the Pacific. It's not all fun in the sun, let me tell you that.

4. The Desert- Whenever I drive to Vegas I'm always intrigued by the tiny little towns (or even just random trailers) out in the middle of absolutely nowhere. There's something mysterious about desert life and the people that choose to seclude themselves in the heat and sand. 

5. Scandinavia- Other than The Millenium series, I'd like to find some great book set in Norway, Sweden, or Finland. Sometimes I think that because Scandinavia seems to have their shit together the rest of the world forgets about them.

[Source; Blue Lagoon Geothermal Pools, Iceland]

6. Iceland- I've heard it's amazing, but know very little besides the whole "Iceland is green and Greenland is icy" thing. I know they have some great geothermal pools and unique music, but that's about it. 

7. Dubai- I find the excessive riches of the city-state fascinating, in terms of what they do... and don't do with their wealth. 

8. An Underwater Hotel- How do they get down there? Do people ever spaz out? What happens if there's an earthquake/volcanic eruption/tsunamis? 

[source; El Minzah Hotel, Tangier]

9. Morocco- Something about Morocco seems a little rough, a little mysterious, and a little mystical. I would definitely read some quality Moroccan magical realism. 

10. Restaurants: I spent a few summers working in restaurants during college and know first-hand what can go on between the staff and customers. Now that I've learned to appreciate food and become interested in the actual management required of opening a new place, I'd love to see a well-written book look at it from both the food and personnel sides.

Know any great books set in the above locales? What setting would you like to see more of?

Every Little Thing You Do is Magic

["Danza Folklorica"- Frederico Fuentes]

I’m a realistic person to a fault, at times. As a child cartoons irritated me because animals don’t in fact talk and children do age over time (those damn effing babies on the Rugrats). As an adult my realistic tendencies have been a blessing and a curse. My savings account has a decent cushion in it because I have a realistic perception of the economy and life’s abilities to throw financial curve balls. I try to set realistic plans in terms of the students I teach and what I expect of others. My tendency for realism calls for contingency plans and Plan Bs (and Cs and Ds). I am a prepared woman. Unfortunately, realism tends to prevent optimism and often leads to irrationality (my poor husband), but that’s another post for another day.

Given my inclination for what is real, it’s a wonder that I’ve developed such a love for magical realism. For those of you who haven’t been in my English class this week or who need to brush up on your literary terms, magical realism refers to a realistic story that is interspersed with occasional magical elements that are generally accepted by the characters as being normal (using the term to define the term- tsk tsk). Magical realism is a genre that requires readers to merge, and acknowledge, the two realities within a text, temporarily suspending belief. I’ll spare you the rest of the lecture and the quotes from all the professors I forced upon my students, but if you’re interested I do have a PowerPoint and the clip from Pushing Daisies that we watched today… Anyway, magical realism allows anything from simple mind reading to telekinesis to paranormal activity to occur in an otherwise “normal” story.  

 

I’ll admit, for loving the genre so much I haven’t read nearly enough of its books. Right now we’re reading Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel Garcia Marquez in class, but I’ve also read his most famous novel, One Hundred Years of Solitude. Isabel Allende’s House of the Spirits was the first magical realism novel I read, back in high school, and since then I’ve read a few more of Allende’s works. Toni Morrison’s books incorporate magical realism, as does Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children. I’m also a huge fan of Carlos Ruiz Zafon, who I am going to see read in a few weeks. While this is definitely not a comprehensive sampling, it has been enough to make me realize how much I enjoy reading these books.

I think my appreciation comes from the fact that in order to pull off magical realism an author has to be quite talented. Enough layers and details have to be established in the realistic portion of the text to support the magical elements, a surely difficult task. An author has to create a careful balance that ensures the right amount of whimsy without crossing the line into cheesiness. While not a book, the perfect example of this is the “so-good-it’s-bad” Sarah Michelle Gellar movie Simply Irresistible, where she takes cooking advice from a magical talking crab. A good writer makes their audience recognize and accept the magical elements of the story, allowing them to seamlessly merge into the ones that are realistic.

Back to the term whimsy. Not counting Harry Potter, I don’t generally care for the fantasy genre, or novels that center around magic, but there is something about the whimsical that attracts me. To me whimsical is the movie Amelie, it’s the tree that grows inside Skylight bookstore, it’s little kids dressed up running around their backyards with homemade capes and puppets (for the five kids left in the world that aren’t glued to an imagination-robbing device for hours a day). It’s a feeling that gives you the notion of unusual possibilities existing in this world that can often seem mundane and cynical. Magical realism may not always be pretty or positive, but it opens tiny little trap doors that allow you to escape from the ordinary. And then the door closes and you’re back to reality- and so on and so forth. 

Professor Luis Leal does describes the genre best when he says, "If you can explain it, then it's not magical realism."

Top Ten Tuesday- Where You At?

This week's Top Ten Tuesday from The Broke and Bookish involves setting, an element I find very interesting. In some novels, the setting is everything- it's a character in and of itself. Yet, on the other hand, a good story with quality characters and writing doesn't necessarily require an elaborate locale. And I appreciate that setting can be broad, as in "on a tropical island" or something extremely specific, like "the living room at 1513 Manchester Avenue in Santa Cruz." It can be literal and it can be metaphorical. It can be dazzling or it can be more mundane as a drive across the desert. That being said, here are ten of my favorite settings:

1. Arcadia by Lauren Groff- I just finished this novel (which I loved) and was mesmerized by the hippie commune a majority of the story was set on. The setting stood for so much and went through so many transitions throughout the decades in which the novel spans. 

2. The Lost Girls by Jennifer Baggett- I've mentioned this travel memoir a few times before- three girls abandon their city lives and travel the world for a year. They go places like Thailand, New Zealand, and Kenya. It may not be the best book, but the setting makes up for the lack of juicy details.

3. The Harry Potter series by JK Rowling- After reading the series you can't help but to want to visit Hogwarts. A friend and I have joked about picking up and flying to Florida for two days just to go to the theme park- you never know....

4. Wild by Cheryl Strayed- I wrote about this memoir a few weeks ago, but must reiterate how amazing the Pacific Crest Trail is. I spent a few days in Yosemite and Tahoe this summer, both of which are on it and hope to one day see more.

5. When the Killing's Done by TC Boyle- There are two juxtaposing settings in this novel- the rural Channel Islands and the urban jungle of Los Angeles. 

6. The Selected Works of TS Spivet by Reif Larsen- It's been awhile since I've mentioned my beloved little TS! The settings in this book range from the family's secluded Montana home to life on the railroad to the Smithsonian and Washington DC. The fact that you're getting these places from the eyes of a brilliant kid makes them even better.

7. Indian Killer by Sherman Alexie- This novel takes place in Seattle, a city that, for some reason, I'm determined to visit. It just seems so clean... and healthy. 

8. State of Wonder by Ann Patchett- Most of this awesome novel takes place in the rainforests of the Amazon, where the dangers parallel the astounding beauty. 

9. Mr. Pip by Lloyd Jones- This novel is set on a tropical island that is secluded from the rest of the world. The only white man in the village decides to read the kids Great Expectations as their world starts crumbling as a result of local violence. 

10. The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon- Four words: Cemetery of Forgotten Books.