Adobe's 100 books in 2008

I am going to aim for reading one hundred books in 2008, and, let's see...in lieu of writing a review for each book, I will write a haiku.

Yes. That seems like a good idea.

1. Castle Waiting, vol 1 by Linda Medley
The princess is gone;
the new tenants unlace knots
and mend fairy tales.

2. The Devil in Music by Kate Ross
Murder complicates
secret notes and fragile masks
with opera, with blood.

3. Juniper, Gentian, and Rosemary by Pamela Dean
Riddles in the dark:
three sisters and the devil
in stars and sonnets.

That is a very good idea! How cool are you?

(#2, Thanks, nancyewhite!)

4. Regarding the Pain of Others by Susan Sontag
Through glass and mirrors
each war photograph is viewed
through weary passion

5. In a Summer Season by Elizabeth Taylor
Last-page disasters
kill troublesome characters,
tie neat little bows.

6. Tea with the Black Dragon by R. A. MacAvoy
Oolong knows these things:
languages, strength, computers,
hot tea, blood, and Zen.

Ooh, yay! Starred! I used to keep a haiku journal. It's surprising how much the limited number of syllables helps you to distill your thoughts. Keep it coming!

(#4, thanks! I agree -- the brevity of the form helps me hack away at my initial tangle of impressions until I reach something solid.)

7. The Devil's Church and Other Stories by Machado de Assis
Mirrors in Rio:
heirs steal waltzes and weddings;
ghosts ring finger bowls.

8. The Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis
Delicious nephew,
"you are a diet of worms."
All the best! --Screwtape

9. The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje
Hana plays hopscotch
through tenses and confessions
across the waste land.

10. Mirror Dance by Lois McMaster Bujold
Test tubes geminate
dreams and demons in your clone,
a brother delayed.

11. Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen
You don't believe me.
Mimeo and memory
and, still, disbelief.

12. Bitter Grounds by Sandra Benitez
Paint-by-numbers plot
and telenovela cheese
in El Salvador.

I. LOVE. THIS. - Your haiku reviews are bringing me great joy!

(#7 nancyewhite -- wow, thanks! These are great fun to write, and I'm glad other people enjoy them as well.)

13. Anita and Me by Meera Syal
Chips and chapati.
Childhood and chrysalis.
Skinheads and sweetness.

14. The Hallowed Hunt by Lois McMaster Bujold
A wolf in the heart
amid brambled histories
and palimpsest ghosts.

15. Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie
Books spread diseases:
pride, deceit, and betrayal--
the good things in life.

How clever are you! Really enjoying reading this.

Adobe,

I am truly lovin' the haikus. That's a new and interesting way to review your books. :)

(Thanks, everyone!)

16. Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain
Pssst! Skip the mussels!
Swear, scar, scrimmage in kitchens;
drink life from the tap.

17. Drinking Coffee Elsewhere by ZZ Packer
The eggs are waiting
for reasons to smash their cells,
reasons to escape.

18. A Book of Witches by Ruth Manning-Sanders
Witches build houses
made from sugar or cedar.
Princes do not knock.

Hey there! The Haikus are cool! I read and really enjoyed the stories in Drinking Coffee Elsewhere. ZZ Packer used to live in my neighborhood in San Francisco. She's a great person to know, very funny and very smart, although that's no surprise, I'm sure, considering her writing.

Love your review haikus! I'll keep coming back, and in the meantime, I have to read some of those books on my shelves that you've already written haikus for, since now I'm doubly curious if we'd note the same things....I'll keep checking back in any case--good reading!

Great Ruth Manning-Sanders haiku!

(Thanks, everyone! #12 rocketjk, I'm glad to hear that Packer is as lovely in person as her stories are.)

19. Memory by Lois McMaster Bujold
The snow flakes away
the bright neural filigree
and a boy's lapsed dreams.

20. In the Ruins by Kate Elliott
And through the craters
to blood-crusted thrones we go.
The skies show the way.

21. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
Nancy loved her horse;
Perry dreamed of Mexico.
Bubbles in the veins.

What an ambitious undertaking. I love these, even though I haven't read many of the books. Screwtape is marvelous, and In Cold Blood made mine turn icy...keep it up!

(#16 laytonwoman3rd -- Thanks! So far, I think the Screwtape one is my favorite as well.)

22. The Children of Green Knowe by L. M. Boston
The spring rain bleeds through
names in the family Bible,
leaving trails of ink.

23. Sailing to Sarantium by Guy Gavriel Kay
Gleaming tesserae:
wheels of light below the dome;
tickets to the race.

24. The Know-It-All by A. J. Jacobs
The child swallowed whole
the cosmos in a capsule,
fish hook of a book.

I always get excited when I see that you've written another post. :) I think that I sent you The Know-It-All through BookMooch (I love that site! so nice to know that my books are going to loving homes).

My favorite was the Screwtape haiku. Probably one of the coolest things ever! It must really work your brain.

(#18 Medellia12 -- oh, hi! I'm actually sending out that book tomorrow to another moocher. And thus the great BookMooch cycle continues! :))

25. Bodas de sangre by Federico Garcia Lorca
The Moon makes house calls
on brides weaving stern new selves,
and the black horse weeps.

26. Komarr by Lois McMaster Bujold
Desert places wait
with thorns and empty spaces
for the rains to come.

27. In the Teeth of the Evidence by Dorothy L. Sayers
Empty dining cars
with bloody Bordeaux glasses
and lost monocles.

I joined BookMooch too, but I have to get my collection of ten books I'm willing to send out together. Nothing too heavy!

Love the haiku -- you are truly accomplished. And your list is interesting.

28. The Eyes of the Amaryllis by Natalie Babbitt
Beneath the white gulls,
the dunes fall into the sea.
Waves foam past footprints.

29. The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan
Housewives drink high-balls
and mop the kitchen again.
Their husbands work late.

30. The Posthumous Memoirs of Bras Cubas by Machado de Assis
The worms whisper odes
to life's long grave of bound limbs,
stiff tongues, muffled hearts.

(With apologies to Messrs. Arnold and Housman)

31. To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf
Love, let us be true.
The waves draw back and begin--
light gleams, goes--again.

32. Fludd by Hilary Mantel
Tin-can alembics
bubble with pale plaster saints
and Welch's grape juice.

33. The Secret History by Donna Tartt
Students wait for fall
in fields where grammars yellow
and dark roses fade.

34. Lord of Emperors by Guy Gavriel Kay
The bloody purple
serves as both mantle and shroud.
The queens mourn by night.

35. Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! by Richard P. Feynman
The clown chalks problems
to be solved with samba bands,
laughter, and questions.

36. Silverwing by Kenneth Oppel
A sky of trials
for blossoming bats, bearing
some thousand faces.

Oh, I read "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!" several years back and loved it. I don't usually enjoy biographies, but he was such a colorful character. Great haiku.

I've copied and pasted your Feynman haiku into Word so I could print it out and stick it in my copy of that book. Excellent!

Yes, your Feynman haiku made me smile too -- I'll post it in my copy, if I ever get it back. Really nice thread.

(#27 laytonwoman3rd -- wow! High praise indeed!)

37. A Civil Campaign by Lois McMaster Bujold
The planet's bon ton
play faro in zero-gee
before the wedding.

38. The Autocrat of the Breakfast Table by Oliver Wendell Holmes
The clatter of forks
and the lecturer drones on:
truth, beauty, butter.

39. The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde
Even the dodos
(Brontë revolves in her grave)
are not quite enough.

#29, book 39 - Yes!!! You didn't like The Eyre Affair either!! That's Adobe, laytonwoman, me... I am in good company :)

As well as the haikus, I like your choice of books: so many I've never heard of before! Awesome thread.

(#30 ChocolateMuse -- great minds think alike!)

40. Busman's Honeymoon by Dorothy L. Sayers
The mercy of bells
rings against the wedding feast
and dawn's muffled wake.

41. Diplomatic Immunity by Lois McMaster Bujold
Empires of cells,
in secret, in utero,
divide and conquer.

42. A Book of Wizards by Ruth Manning-Sanders
Dreaming of djinni,
wizards find great dusty tomes
and lose princesses.

(with apologies to Garcia Lorca)

43. Mistwalker by Denise Lopes Heald
Green I want you green
through the long dusky valleys
of mint and basil.

44. Which Witch? by Eva Ibbotson
Stains offer some spice
to the pale table of life
and the dark cauldrons.

45. The Female Eunuch by Germaine Greer
They found Lucy's hip
in a sun-bleached riverbed
Her voice is still lost.

They just keep getting better!

(#33 laytonwoman3rd -- thanks!)

46. Falling Free by Lois McMaster Bujold
Four-armed Shiva swims
with wrenches and blowtorches
through a sea of stars.

47. Dorothy L. Sayers by Dawson Gaillard
Gotta cram these books
into convenient boxes,
ignoring her life.

48. Fifth Business by Robertson Davies
Sawing saints in half,
our teacher reveals shadows
and guards mysteries.

#43: Davies' Deptford Trilogy is probably next up on my reading pile, after I finish the book(s) I'm working on now. I'm looking forward to it. Very evocative haiku!

(#35 Medellia12 -- So far, the Deptford Trilogy is excellent!)

49. The Black Company by Glen Cook
Drunk with blood and beer,
the minions write histories
without the heroes.

50. Golden Arches East edited by James L. Watson
Inside the spaceship,
schoolgirls cram and housewives dream
over hot French fries.

51. The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken
Snowflakes, matted fur,
small girls with fowling pieces,
and the rise of dusk.

52. Sexing the Cherry by Jeanette Winterson
Grafting myth to life,
the sailors and the sleepers
husband lotus fruit.

53. Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72 by Hunter S. Thompson
Macbeth's witches say
thrones need lies, slogans, liquor,
and much-kissed babies.

54. The Harp and the Shadow by Alejo Carpentier
Our friend Columbus
craves sanctity for his quest,
despite Las Casas.

55. The Manticore by Robertson Davies
A stone in the mouth
locked away like a young prince
in a high tower.

56. Whiteout by Sage Walker
Tall water glasses
and the sound of railroad whales
dying beneath ice.

57. In the Skin of a Lion by Michael Ondaatje
Like moths to a lamp,
they press against the language,
tongues of flame and song.

58. A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle
The knots of red thread
around each pale monograph
and empty syringe.

59. The Reluctant Widow by Georgette Heyer
Braining that widow
was civic duty, not crime.
Where is his medal?

60. The Sign of Four by Arthur Conan Doyle
Blow-darts and needles:
kept in cases, marked by blood,
dipped in solutions.

RE #27 I've done it again with your contribution on Fifth Business, which I've just started.

(#40 laytonwoman3rd -- I rrrreally liked that book, and so I hope you enjoy it too!)

61. World of Wonders by Robertson Davies
Drying masks harden
around clockwork and card tricks
as the master sleeps.

62. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle
Seeds, stones, and scandals
surround stepfathers with snakes
and secrets undone.

63. The Secret of Platform 13 by Eva Ibbotson
Raised like cuckoo eggs,
misplaced princes might prefer
nests to strange, cold thrones.

64. Petty Treason by Madeleine E. Robins
Every oath and vow
shreds beneath the little knives
she locked in a box.

65. Year of the Griffin by Diana Wynne Jones
Blackboards and bird beaks,
book-bags, dwarves, dormitories,
and that jerk Derkholm.

66. The Circus of Dr. Lao by Charles G. Finney
A one-joke pony:
awe comes to Arizona;
it sneers in answer.

Well, you're certainly well on your way to your goal...sixtysix by mid-May.

& i echo everyone else on the haiku idea. The Holmes ones are lovely.

#41 Yes, I thoroughly enjoyed Fifth Business, and I think I must re-read it. I intend to go on with the trilogy. Robertson Davies is a find. Thanks to my Canadian friends (you know who you are!) for the recommendation.

(#43 ElSee -- thanks! I look forward to crushing my goal.)

67. The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle
Exploding through air,
the searchers struggle and fall.
The spray obscures all.

68. Island of the Aunts by Eva Ibbotson
Sweet-and-sour stripes:
kidnappings, bruises, cold rooms,
small ducks, krakens, grace.

69. Rite of Passage by Alexei Panshin
The girl's pea pod floats
from the shores of Empire
to Rousseau's far banks

70. In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez
Each day a marker
on the road, a grave passed by,
a memory borne.

71. Straight Man by Richard Russo
Necrophilia
and ducks are the cornerstones
of the whole canon.

72. A Tangled Web by L. M. Montgomery
A stew of bathos:
unhappy heirs, sad lovers,
and one dead kitten.

>46 Adobe:: Yay! Straight Man is one of my favorite books. I pull it out and flip through it whenever academia becomes too much to handle. :-p

73. The Return of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle
Holmes learned baritsu
in muddy tea-house gardens
in his Meiji youth.

74. Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie
The family snapshots,
like God's own puzzle pieces,
fit and fall apart.

75. Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey
A world without men
would be lovely and wordless,
safe from metaphor.

76. Terra Incognita by Sara Wheeler
The trails of seal-pups;
the fault-lines of flagged nations;
the edges of Earth.

77. Star Wars: Heir to the Empire by Timothy Zahn
I am eight years old.
Jedi are in their heaven;
all's right with the world.

78. The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle
His sleeves marked by blood,
Holmes throws open the windows
and snuffs out grim myths.

This is awesome Adobe! Oh my goodness ... good luck getting to 100! Looks like you are well on your way!

Carolyn

Haven't heard from you in much too long, Adobe. Hope all is well.

I have missed your posts, too, Adobe. Take care.

Me three! I've been missing your insights and hoping you're okay as well. All the best.

(Trumpets, cymbals, and divers alarums!)

79. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz
Ink in the margins--
Kaneda glosses the text
--blood in the cane fields

80. The Golem's Eye by Jonathan Stroud
That uneasy choice
between joyless villainy
and dull heroics.

81. Murther and Walking Spirits by Robertson Davies
The projector choked
on laugh tracks, scotch-tape splices,
and the missing reel.

82. Silent in the Grave by Deanna Raybourn
A family portrait
painted with honey and egg,
devoured by flies.

83. What's So Funny? by Donald E. Westlake
Checkmates domino
as the flying kings advance
through a hail of darts.

84. The Valley of Fear by Arthur Conan Doyle
A commonplace book
of clippings, novels, cases!
New wine! Old bottles!

Oh, welcome back, Adobe. It's been too long. Hope you fared OK with the hurricanes, and whatever else life has been tossing in your direction lately. At least it seems you've been reading. I picked up Murther and Walking Spirits at my second hand book store recently. Should I plunge in?