I’m not one to dive much into politics on this blog, there are too many political blogs to count if you’re looking for your politics fix. However, given that it is an election year and this next election will very much decide the new (or same) course the country will take, I can’t help but chime in now and then. And when the issue is libraries and books, you can bet I’ll have something to say.

News reports continue to surface about the past of the McCain presidential VP nominee Sarah Palin. Most of the reports are disturbing, to say the least. The latest sent a shiver down my spine as I read this article on CNN’s Time website that Palin wanted certain books banned from the library when she was mayor of a small Alaskan town:

Stein says that as mayor, Palin continued to inject religious beliefs into her policy at times. "She asked the library how she could go about banning books," he says, because some voters thought they had inappropriate language in them. "The librarian was aghast." That woman, Mary Ellen Baker, couldn’t be reached for comment, but news reports from the time show that Palin had threatened to fire Baker for not giving "full support" to the mayor.

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When American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald died on December 21, 1940, he had seen incredible success as a novelist and short story writer, but had failed to leave a mark on the movie scene in Hollywood. He wrote several screenplays, mostly in an effort to try to pull himself out of financial troubles (read more here).

Fast forward to 2008 and Fitzgerald is still trying to make it big in Hollywood – or, at least, his estate is. According to this article from Publishers Weekly, his estate is trying to turn some of his famous novels and even a few short stories into movies:

In December, audiences will see Brad Pitt and Cate Winslett appear in the David Fincher-helmed adaptation of the author’s little-known short story, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button." And, with Hollywood options on several other Fitzgerald properties, there may soon be a swell of material about, and by, the romantic and doomed Jazz Age writer.

But it keeps getting better:

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Back in March I wrote this post about  a new law in Indiana that would require retailers to register with the state if they (the retailers) sold material that was considered "sexually explicit." Registering meant that retailers would have to pay a $250 registration fee and provide detail to the state about the types of sexually explicit material to be sold.

Well, in a clear victory for freedom of speech/expression, a judge shot the law down pretty quickly. Here’s a snippet from this Publishers Weekly article:

Judge Sarah Evans Baker (who also struck down, in 1984, an anti-pornography law) said in her ruling that the law has too vast a reach "as written." She elaborated: "A romance novel sold at a drugstore, a magazine offering sex advice in a grocery store checkout line, an R-rated DVD sold by a video rental shop, a collection of old Playboy magazines sold by a widow at a garage sale–all incidents of unquestionably lawful, non-obscene, non-pornographic material being sold to adults–would appear to necessitate registration under the statute." Ultimately, Judge Baker said that "such a vague mandate will be unduly burdensome" and "will have a chilling effect on expression."

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Last week I finished reading Harry, Revised by blogger Mark Sarvas (from The Elegant Variation). Since I made a big deal about receiving the book on my front doorstep in this previous post, I thought it’s only fair that I write a few words about the novel.

First, I must say that in the beginning Harry Rent (the protagonist) is a very unlikeable character. Who goes to a diner and hits on Molly the waitress on the day of their dead wife’s funeral? Much of the stuff Harry does in the beginning of the novel is quite selfish and he comes off as very uncaring. Even when he tries to be a "good guy" by helping out the very overweight and unattractive Lucille (another waitress at the diner), he’s doing it merely to impress Molly. Of course, the reality of his plan is much different than what he conjures up in his overactive imagination.

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A little over a year ago I wrote a post about plot vs. character-based fiction (read it here). I basically made the point that "literary fiction" is more character-based, whereas genre (mainstream) fiction is more plot based.

But recently, I was doing a little wikisurfing and I came across this Wikipedia entry for literary fiction. While Wikipedia is not the definitive source of information for any topic, it does give a pretty good overview of what literary fiction is. Aside from what I mentioned above, literary fiction generally has these "properties" that define it as "literary":

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I was thrilled today when I came home from work and found a package from Amazon waiting for me (any day I’m able to add to my library is a good day). I am even more excited about today’s package because I got my copy of Harry, Revised (aff link) – the breakout novel of Mark Sarvas, who as you might recall from this previous post, is the very popular blogger from The Elegant Variation.

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If you’re a literary blogger that writes harsh reviews of other author’s books, and you get your own book published, be prepared the same type of literary-lashing to come back and haunt you. This happened to Mark Sarvas, of The Elegant Variation – a blog I read quite frequently.

Mr. Sarvas recently published his debut novel Harry, Revised (aff link), and according to an article from the Seattle Times, the novel did not receive a warm reception by all:

His tour trailed in the wake of a New York Times review that took several pointed jabs into the guts of "Harry": "Hang-ups about class seem to be both a theme of ‘Harry, Revised’ and a motive for its composition, with Sarvas writing about ‘old money’ in a fashion indicating that he’s never met anyone in possession of it," said reviewer Troy Patterson.

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Well? Can you guess? According to a Reuters article posted on Yahoo!, the Bible is the favorite book among Americans. Given the deep Christian roots in this country, that really doesn’t surprise me. But what about second place, if you believe the poll that the article was based on, it’s "Gone With The Win". Personally, I have never read the latter and only sections of the former.

Getting back to the bible, however, it has implications that go far beyond religion. Many themes and archetypes of characters can be found in the bible. For example, when a character goes from greatness to almost nothing, it is generally alluding to the fall of man (think of Adam and Eve). Or when a character sacrifices him/herself in some way to save others (Jesus anyone?). The list can go on in the number of different ways the bible has influenced Western literature over the centuries.

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Today it was announced that rocker Bob Dylan won an honorary Pulitzer Prize. As a longtime Dylan fan, I was very happy to hear this prestigious award bestowed on one of my favorite musicians. Back in September I wrote this post about Dylan and the influence literature had over him and his music.

According to an article from Yahoo! News, Bob Dylan was chosen for this award because of his:

…"profound impact on popular music and American culture, marked by lyrical compositions of extraordinary poetic power."

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As many of you know, I’m really interested in the intersection of literature and technology. This is a large subject that includes everything from ebooks, to the way the internet (ie. blogs) is shaping the way we think about literature.

There’s no doubt that previous sources of information of suffered as a result; mainly, print newspapers and the dwindling number of Books sections in news publications around the US. Whether or not this is directly related to the rise of blogs and other electronic media is up for debate. Personally, I think the electronic world of the internet has taken a large bite out of the world of print. People realize that there are more views and opinions than the few "elite" who get their essays published in nationally distributed papers and magazines.

This whole debate between print and digital formats is understandable. Literary critics, theorists and other academics have largely remained  creatures of the print world. Whereas the internet is showing that even your average, everyday, armchair critic can have a powerful voice in the literary community. But why must they fight?  Why can’t we combine that academic prowess of the old-school critics with the far-reaching, more popular online format?

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