This month's picks brought to you by my friend and co-worker, Clint
What Should Kester Read? selections
- Fun Home by Alison Bechdel
- Nazi Literature In The Americas by Roberto Bolano
- Oblivion by David Foster Wallace
- A Strong West Wind by Gail Caldwell
- Super Sad True Love Story by Gary Shteyngart
What else is Kester reading?
- The Daily Bible: NIV version (daily devotional)
- Great Expectations by Charles Dickens (Required Reading Revisited book club)
- Living Into Focus by Arthur Boers (Lenten reading)
- Prayers by Peter Washington/editor (daily devotional)
- Welcome To Utopia by Karen Valby (New & Noteworthy book club)
What's Kester reading?
- Bonhoeffer by Eric Metaxas
- The Daily Bible (NIV version)
- Ghosting by Kirby Gann
- Great Expectations by Charles Dickens (Required Reading Revisited book club pick)
- How God Became King by N.T. Wright
- The Jesuit Guide To (Almost) Everything by James Martin
- The Legend of Pradeep Mathew Shehan Karunatilaka
- Living Into Focus by Arthur Boers (Lenten reading)
- Prayers by Peter Washington (editor)
What's Kester reading?
- Bonhoeffer by Eric Metaxas
- The Daily Bible (NIV version)
- Ghosting by Kirby Gann
- Great Expectations by Charles Dickens (Required Reading Revisited book club pick)
- How God Became King by N.T. Wright
- The Jesuit Guide To (Almost) Everything by James Martin
- The Legend of Pradeep Mathew Shehan Karunatilaka
- Living Into Focus by Arthur Boers (Lenten reading)
- Prayers by Peter Washington (editor)
- The Sadness of the Samurai by Victor del Arbol
- The Sisters Brothers by Patrick DeWitt
- Telegraph Avenue by Michael Chabon
What's Kester reading?
- Bonhoeffer by Eric Metaxas
- The Daily Bible (NIV version)
- Great Expectations by Charles Dickens (Required Reading Revisited book club pick)
- How God Became King by N.T. Wright
- The Jesuit Guide To (Almost) Everything by James Martin
- Living Into Focus by Arthur Boers (Lenten reading)
- Prayers by Peter Washington (editor)
- The Sisters Brothers by Patrick DeWitt
What's Kester reading?
- The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach
- Bonhoeffer by Eric Metaxas
- The Daily Bible (NIV version)
- Great Expectations by Charles Dickens (Required Reading Revisited book club pick)
- How God Became King by N.T. Wright
- The Jesuit Guide To (Almost) Everything by James Martin
- Liminal States by Zack Parsons
- Living Into Focus by Arthur Boers (Lenten reading)
- Prayers by Peter Washington (editor)
- When I Was A Child I Read Books by Marilynne Robinson
There was a group that I palled around and did some singing with when I was in college; we were a fairly talented bunch and even got to tour around a little bit; mostly playing small churches and high schools. Lots of times we'd crash at someone's house, but occasionally there was the money for a cheap hotel. We always stayed at the Best Western. And every time we did (mostly because my buddy, Rob, thought it was funny and I liked to make Rob laugh), I'd walk up to the counter at checkout time and say, "You know, this hotel isn't half bad, but I think True Grit is the best western."
The truth is, I lied to all those checkout folks. Because Lonesome Dove may be the best western ever written, and is certainly my personal favorite. So, it was a joy to have my friend Hoyt assign it to me as one of the five What Should Kester Read? picks for March. It is the longest of the books he assigned me, but that isn't the only reason that it's taken me the longest time to read. The fact is, I like to take my time with books that I love, and Lonesome Dove is one I savor.
What is it we want from a western? We want action; gunfights, fist fights, barroom brawls. We want romance; destined, doomed, and otherwise. We want sweeping scenery and epic adventures. We want some humor and some sadness, both tragedy and comedy. We want loyalty and fidelity and friendship. Lonesome Dove has it all and then some. The fights are memorable, the romance has depth, the landscape is long and wide. The humor is consistent, often to take the edge off the sadness. The sadness is as deep as the romance and as wide as the landscape. As my tough old grandpa once said, "Only two stories ever made me cry; Old Yeller and Lonesome Dove." Well, Old Yeller never made me cry, but Lonesome Dove made me bawl like a baby.
Before the novel even begins, Larry McMurtry provides this passage from T.K. Whipple's Study Out The Land:
All America lies at the end of the wilderness road, and our past is not a dead past, but still lives in us.
Our forefathers had civilization inside themselves, the wild outside. We live in the civilization they
created, but within us the wilderness still lingers. What they dreamed, we live, and what they lived, we
dream.
'Nuff said.
What Should Kester Read? selections
- Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
What else is Kester reading? selections
- The Daily Bible (NIV version)
- Great Expectations by Charles Dickens (Required Reading Revisited book club pick)
- The Jesuit Guide To (Almost) Everything by James Martin
- Living Into Focus by Arthur Boers (Lenten reading)
- Prayers by Peter Washington (editor)
- When I Was A Child I Read Books by Marilynne Robinson
What Should Kester Read? selections
- Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
What else is Kester reading? selections
- The Daily Bible (NIV version)
- The Jesuit Guide To (Almost) Everything by James Martin
- Living Into Focus by Arthur Boers (Lenten reading)
- The Masters of Atlantis by Charles Portis
- Prayers by Peter Washington (editor)
What Should Kester Read? selections
- Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
What else is Kester reading? selections
- The Daily Bible (NIV version)
- The Dragon Slayers by Joyce Denham
- The Jesuit Guide To (Almost) Everything by James Martin
- Living Into Focus by Arthur Boers (Lenten reading)
- The Masters of Atlantis by Charles Portis
- Prayers by Peter Washington (editor)
- Novels and Stories by Shirley Jackson
What Should Kester Read? selections
- Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
What else is Kester reading? selections
- The Daily Bible (NIV version)
- The Dragon Slayers by Joyce Denham
- The Jesuit Guide To (Almost) Everything by James Martin
- Living Into Focus by Arthur Boers (Lenten reading)
- The Masters of Atlantis by Charles Portis
- Prayers by Peter Washington (editor)
- Novels and Stories by Shirley Jackson
- The Sickness Unto Death by Soren Kierkegaard
What Should Kester Read? selections
- Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
What else is Kester reading? selections
- The Daily Bible (NIV version)
- Living Into Focus by Arthur Boers (Lenten reading)
- Prayers by Peter Washington (editor)
- Shirley Jackson: Novels and Stories by Shirley Jackson
It's worth noting that Hoyt's picks have inspired something that only one other month has, thus far (nod to Allan for February); that is, the inspiration to read beyond the assigned books. Stephen King's Danse Macabre convinced me to pick up Shirley Jackson's collected works (something I begin reading today) and The Dog of the South has me committed to reading everything that Portis ever published. It's one thing to come up with 5 great books. It's a whole other thing to pick books so good that they lead you to other books. So, thanks Mr. Hoyt. This has been a real treat.
Undoubtedly, the book that Charles Portis is best known for is one that, indirectly at least, got both John Wayne and Jeff Bridges nominated for Academy Awards. It's a fine book, to be sure, better than either of its film adaptations, but it isn't Portis' best work, not by a long shot.
Having failed, thus far, to read Portis' entire catalog, I can't say, for sure, whether The Dog of the South is his best work, either. But it's a fair bit better than True Grit. And that's saying something.
The Dog of the South is the story of a man whose wife runs off with his friend and his car; a man determined to get the car back and maybe the wife, to boot. To do so, he travels down from Arkansas, through Texas, into Mexico and finally to Belize. Along the way he meets a cast of characters that are true characters indeed. One is Dr. Symes, desperate for a ride now that his bus, The Dog of the South, no longer runs. Their adventures are as madcap as a Hunter S. Thompson story, but with Portis using pathos in place of Thompson's fear and loathing.
Portis has a gift for language and for dialogue and they are in full effect in this book. This is, in fact, the book the Coen brothers should have adapted to film, it would have been a much better fit for their sensibilities (I need Luke Wilson for the lead role, and Brad Leland as Symes). It's hilarity never spills into all out silliness, but it is certainly hilarious. It also has an underlying sadness to it, the sadness of seeking mixed with the hope of finding. It's a road novel and a buddy comedy and an existential crisis all rolled into one. It's not only the best book that I've read this month, it's the best I've read in quite some time. It also ends just about perfectly, something that even the best books struggle to do.
Roy Blount, Jr. once said that "Charles Portis could be Cormac McCarthy if he wanted to, but he'd rather be funny." I'd say he'd rather be Charles Portis; fierce and funny and sympathetic and sorrowful. The Dog of the South is all these things and more. It is, quite simply, a pleasure and a thrill.
What Should Kester Read? selections
- The Dog of the South by Charles Portis
- Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
What else is Kester reading? selections (Lenten reading)
- The Daily Bible (NIV version)
- Living Into Focus by Arthur Boers
- Prayers by Peter Washington (editor)
There's a saying goes, "I'm not from Texas, but I got here as fast as I could." It's not a saying that I can full on endorse, seeing as I was born and raised a Yankee and will always proudly claim that heritage. Still, there is a lot to love about Texas and, as second homes go, one could do worse.
There is much to love about Texas. The food, for one, is amazing. Would you believe that I had never even heard of, let alone tasted, chicken fried steak until I moved to Texas? I've been a vegetarian for over 2 years now, and I still miss chicken fried steak. The music is also excellent. While I've never been a fan of most of what passes for country music on CMT, I have a strong affection for what is called "Texas country"; your Lyle Lovetts and Robert Keens and Townes Van Zandts.
But the thing that I love most about Texas is Texans. They can be a backward bunch, depending on location, but that's certainly not a stereotype that I've seen stick to most of the ones I know; which is to say, Governor Perry is the exception and not the rule. Some of them may share the same swagger and accent, but that's about where the similarities end. In my experience, Texans are a more tender and thoughtful people than our former President might lead you to believe.
One of my favorite Texans is my good friend, Christopher Hoyt, of What Should Kester Read?: March Edition fame. He's full of vim and vigor, to be sure, but he's also proof that water don't have to run still to run deep. He and I have formed a sort of mutual admiration society and I figure if I get to liking him much more I'll have to have my mom adopt him or go ahead and adopt him myself. For two guys who don't share much in common in the way of looks or history, I am often struck by our sympatico.
One of our common loves is of a great story and of great storytellers. And there's no teller of tales like a Texan, for a Texan's tales tell taller than most. It was Chris who introduced me to the writings of Frank Dobie and Chris who assigned me two Texans for this month's reading list. One of them is an old favorite, Larry McMurtry. The other was new to me, Noah Smithwick.
Smithwick's Evolution of A State: Recollections of Old Texas Days gives a history of 19th century Texas through the eyes of one who lived then and there. Moving to Texas in 1825 in response to the colonization act, Smithwick remained there for some time before living out his final days in California. Many of these final days were spent dictating his story to his daughter, and it reads just that way. Smithwick's Recollections give the feeling of sitting in a room with a weathered old Texan as he reminisces about yesteryear.
Which is great, except when it isn't. First the great, which, for the most part, this book is. If Smithwick tells true (and other documentation seems to support that he does) than he was around for many of the major events in the early history of the state and knew many of the major players as well. To hear Texas history told by a man who knew Jim Bowie and Stephen F. Austin is to hear Texas history told right. Even the familiar stories feel new. And there are plenty of new stories as well.
Which means that there are also plenty of stories that maybe didn't need telling. Which is the "when it isn't" part of the book. Sometimes Smithwick's stories read like "Texas Tales, Tall and True" and other times they read like the pointless ramblings of a fading old man. Oftentimes, I was engrossed in the story, but, just as oftentimes, I was skimming ahead to the next one.
In the end, the reward of listening is that the great stories get through, if one is willing to be patient. They certainly do in Evolution of a State; patience is, more often than not, rewarded.
So, whether you are a proud Texan or just "got here as fast as you could," if you like a good history or just a good story, whether you skim over the slow parts or measure out every word, I can highly recommend Noah Smithwick's Recollections of Old Texas Days as time well spent.
If there's one thing you learn working in a bookstore it's that, more often than you might think, you actually can judge a book by it's cover. It looks like bad sci-fi/fantasy? It probably is. It features a champagne glass, high heels and a shopping bag? I hope you liked the Sex and the City movie. And, of course, romance fiction always looks like romance fiction.
But, sometimes, there are books that are far better than the cover would lead you to believe. Curtis Sittenfeld's Prep springs immediately to mind (in fact, all of her books are better than her covers); a book that looks like the worst kind of YA and yet proves to be a subtle and complex story about a girl's school; less for Gossip Girl fans and more for the Perks of Being a Wallflower crowd.
My friend Christopher Hoyt, who is responsible for this month's What Should Kester Read? selections, had pointed me toward Drew Magary's The Postmortal before, but I wasn't interested. If the cover was any indication, this was going to be a bad Christopher Moore ripoff, and I don't even enjoy Christopher Moore. The fact that Magary writes for Maxim and had penned a previous book titled Men With Balls certainly didn't increase my interest. I mention these things because they are the sort of thing that might make my blog readers less interested as well (those that aren't 13-15 year old boys). I mention these things because they prove the old maxim (hey-oh!); you can't judge a book by its author bio. Or by its cover.
The Postmortal begins in the "not too distant future" of 2019 and spans over 60 years time, ending in 2079. The narrator, John, is one of millions of people around the globe who have received "the cure." What cure, you ask? The cure for aging. Not the cure for death; you can still be hit by a car or get cancer, but, should you avoid those sorts of things, you can, theoretically, live until the end of the world. John's life spans 60 years as the book's timeline does, but he spends those 60 years at the ripe old age of 29.
This could easily have been either a one note wonder of a book or gone in the direction of the increasingly bizarre. Instead, Magary shows keen insight into what we as individuals and as a society might become, for better and for worse, if we could live to be 1000 instead of 100. Sometimes the better is funny or tender, sometimes the worse is pure evil. The questions Magary asks are the right ones and the answers are a strange combination of surprising and obvious; I found myself being consistently stunned at Magary's imagined repercussions of "the cure" and then thinking, "of course that's what would happen" (cycle marriages, sadly, would clearly happen).
Which is not to say that the book doesn't have its clunky moments, one, in particular, that I can't tell you about because it's sort of a spoiler. The ending is, in fact, sort of a dud. But the major plot twists aren't what keep this book moving so much as the world itself and the way it behaves post-mortality. The big moments don't matter as much as the series of smaller ones in between. This is the kind of story you keep thinking about after you've put it down, needing to talk out the all too real implications of this fantastical scenario.
Which was why Hoyt assigned it to me in the first place. "Finally!" he said, when I saw him today, "I have somebody to talk about this with." There need to be more somebodies talking about this book. Pick it up and you can be one of them. Maybe you, me and Hoyt can start a book club. At the very least, he can buy us both a beer and pick our brains.
