2025 #12 Every Day I Write the Book: Notes on Style (Kumar)

 

Every Day I Write the Book: Notes on Style by Amitava Kumar
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Kumar captures the quirks as well as the slings and arrows of writing in academia through a mish-mosh of anecdotes, short essays, and what feels at times to be scrapbooking (in a good way). The book is divided into nine parts: I) Self-Help; II) Writing A Book: A Brief History; III) Credos; IV) Form; V) Academic Interest; VI) Style; VII) Exercises; VIII) The Groves of Academe and IX) Materials.

Those interested in a writing "guide" can just skip to Appendix A: "Ten Rules of Writing", but as the strikeout text on the book's cover implies, this is not a guide (in the traditional sense) nor a report on style. Instead, it is a memoir (in parts) of a writing life, interspersed with nuggets of widsom, dry humor. Fans of Anne Lamott's Bird by Bird may recognize Kumar's small pencil and folded index card that he carries in his pocket, and indeed many of his recommendations align with Lamott's, albeit with a slightly less sardonic tone.

While one would expect Kumar to be "well-read," he shares his knowledge pragmatically, without pomp, and always with clarity of meaning. We don't just get a vast bibliography shared through an eclectic set of "notes", but actual motivation to read those essays and books. There's an earthiness and honesty in Kumar's voice, that manages to critique academia while still acknowledging his own role within. A few bits felt more self-indulgent than instructive, although sometimes the shortest offerings packed a punch, such as the final note of part III: "Credos remain meaningless abstractions unless put to use." (68). He reminds us that one can read endlessly about writing, but to be a writer, one must... write. And let's face it -- reading about writing provides comfort, as if filling our brains with what we ought to do is a substitute for actually doing it (and is a better alternative to binge-watching television).

Struggling academic writers would be well-advised to keep this book close at hand, as even picking one bit of it at random might help jolt you out of a slump. It can also be read in small doses, rather than cover to cover, and I might even suggest out of order, depending on your need at one moment (although there's a certain joy to the sections Kumar offers, and fun little surprises such as the wit about credos mentioned above).


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FTL2025 3B challenge Every Day I write the BooK-----> Kindred by Octavia Butler

2025 #11 The Between (Due)

 

The Between by Tananarive Due
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

With excellent voicing by Kevin Kenerly, The Between manages to be chilling, touching, and thought-provoking. Hilton James is a bit of an Everyman figure in that he loves his family deeply, works hard, and is loved in return by friends and family. He survived a drowning accident as a small child, and that survival was both magical and tragic. In adulthood, Hilton's wife, the only elected African American judge in Dade County, Florida, becomes a target as she receives threatening and extremely disturbing hate mail. Hilton's dreams began to blur the line between fantasy and reality, and he is torn between the "shoulds" and the "coulds" of living life on two planes of existence.

Due expertly shapes Hilton's character , and we feel incredible tension between Hilton's lived experiences and how they are perceived by those around him. Hilton is an empathetic character, even at his lowest, but there is plenty of compassion for those in his orbit as well.

It would not be fair to say the ending is predictable, because that implies a sort of easy out, and this is not the kind of book where that matters much. It is very much about the journey, but there were moments when I could feel myself growing impatient (much like Hilton!) and wanted to get moving. That said, while the narrative has its slower moments, there are also times where the plot picks up speed and you can hardly put it down. It is truly a wonderful read and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys reading about contemporary issues intertwined with a dose of magical realism and even a bit of thriller.

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2025 #10 Council of the Cursed (Tremayne) - Sister Fidelma #19

 

The Council of the Cursed by Peter Tremayne
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The historical backdrop for this installment is the Council of Autun (in present-day France)-- c. 670-- that was convened under Bishop Leodegarius (Leodegar) to regulate the implementation of Benedictine Rule. The Bishop is a character in the story. Most significantly, a central area of focus was banning the compatres (special companions/spouses) for monks, a practice we know from Fidelma was still accepted in Ireland (Hibernia), although not without challenge. In the historical note, Tremayne defends his interpolation of wives of clerics being sold into slavery, albeit citing much later actions by Popes Leo IX and Urban II.

Some of the characters felt a bit overwritten -- the imperious Abbess Audofleda and Lady Beretrude, especially. Valretrade, on the other hand, often faded into the scenery, which was unfortunate given her role in the story.

However, this particular volume excelled in parsing regional differences not just in beliefs, but also customs, not just between Celtic regions and France, but even Franks vs. Burgunds. King Clotaire (aka King Clothar III) is another historical figure, who Tremayne only gives voice to toward the end, but it is effective.

Returning characters include Abbot Segdae, and from the previous book, Verbas of Peqini, who some may recall did not part company with Fidelma on good terms.

The mystery itself follows a fairly common formula (used several times in the series) wherein Fidelma is called to investigate a murder that seems obvious, but is not in the least (hence, a story). The reveal at the end was blissfully short relative to Fidelma's usual dramatic and drawn out conclusions, and Tremayne seems to be getting more comfortable in allowing the main protagonists (we can include Eadulf, sometimes) to be in harm's way as the series progresses.

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2025 #9 Bones of Echo Lake (James) - Jake Cashen #3

 

Bones of Echo Lake by Declan James
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This had moments that are riveting, and another great performance by Alexander Cendese. By now, in the third installment of the series, James has settled in to some of the recurring characters, so they are less contrived and more dimensional --this particularly applies to Gemma, Jakes's older sister, who still occasionally becomes a caricature, but is definitely more likeable. Anya, on the other hand, is less sympathetic than I would have expected, especially given her role in this particular story.

Unlike the other two that have a niche area of interest at their core (wrestling for no. 1, and hunting for no. 2), this one feels a bit more like an old-fashioned mystery (in a good way) -- human remains are unearthed and we have a town with lots of secrets to hide. This one involved introducing considerable backstory and James does it fairly well, although it did get a bit tiresome trying to keep track of the victim's various "involvements." But throw in some juicy scandal and there's a great story.

As for the culprit? I was sure I had it figured out from the get-go, but let's just say I was very, very close. And that's good -- I don't like to be right in this case (and the actual murderer was plausible, as opposed to bringing in a bunch of material right at the end to justify it). I'm looking forward to Red Sky Hill up next.

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2025 #8 The Egg and Other Stories (Weir)

 

The Egg and Other Stories by Andy Weir
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This quirky little collection of stories is entertaining and occasionally unexpectedly emotional, and every once in a while, groan-inducing (of the "response to a dad joke" variety). It would be hard to pin down a theme, and those who know Weir for his sci-fi will appreciate stories like the titular "The Egg," "Bored World" and perhaps "anti-Anthoxiant." I won't call out too many of the others because several rely on the somewhat-clichéd-but-you-will-still-smile PLOT TWIST! endings. But the humor in Project Hail Mary is here, and if you've got an hour of laundry to do and a bathroom to clean, this is a great listen to make the time less dreary.

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2025 #7: The Discarded Image (Lewis)

 

The Discarded Image: An Introduction to Medieval and Renaissance Literature by C.S. Lewis
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The subtitle of this book is misleading in some respects. If you are not already well-versed in literature (not just medieval and Renaissance lit, but Hellenic antiquity as well), you might find yourself frustrated by Lewis's consistent references to items he believes should make up a core knowledge. That said, there is so much to be gained here and one should avoid distraction by getting too bogged down in the individual references. To do so is to miss the proverbial forest for the trees. Ultimately Lewis is building a case for a medieval model, and his epilogue addresses the complex and layered meaning behind that word. Ultimately he proposes more of a model-process: "The new Model will not be set up without evidence, but the evidence will turn up when the inner need for it becomes sufficiently great." (222-23).

Somehow, Lewis manages to bring us from talk of angels and daemons (not always demons), to an investment in the exercises of the human soul, such as Intellectus and Ratio:

"We are enjoying intellectus when we 'just see' a self-evident truth. We are exercising ratio when we proceed step-by-step to prove a truth which is not self-evident. A cognitive life in which all truth can be simply 'seen' would be the life of an intelligentia, an angel." (157).

It cannot be forgotten that Lewis was a literary scholar, a theologian, a poet, and himself a writer of science-fiction and fantasy. One gets the sense when reading Lewis, particularly in this book, that none of these are actually distinctively parsed for him. His acknowledgement and study of tropes seems to play out in real time, with statements that could be one or more layers of his intellectual onion. He critiques how we consider the past--as a 'costume play.' "This superficial (and often inaccurate) characterisation of different ages," he writes, " helps far more than we suspect towards ur later and subtler discriminations between them." (183). Indeed, I often remind my students (and myself) that history is more about patterns and tropes than pigeonholing figures, events, and art into narratively defined styles and genres.

The sum of the micro-literature reviews, the subtle 'digression' about digressions, and the encyclopaedic tone (something Lewis manages as an art), is an over-arching treatise on our human condition as it relates to literature (and art as a whole):

"Literature exists to teach what is useful, to honour what deserves honour, to appreciate what is delightful. The useful, honourable, delightful things are superior to it: it exists for their sake; its own use, honour, or delightfulness is derivative from theirs. In that sense the art is humble even when the artists are proud..." (214)

This book could be read in multiple ways. Perhaps when I have more time for curiosity, unhampered by the obligations of a career, I will sit again with this book and look up every treasure that Lewis cites. I will see the details of the collective contributions toward the medieval Model, and I suspect I will be richer for it. Lewis is not without his detractors, notably Philip Pullman (an author whose books I love), and others who have critiqued some of his works as sexist, and depictions in Narnia, in particular, as racist. Not having read any of those books since I was a child, I'm not equipped to comment on that at present, but I keep it in mind as I read Lewis's non-fiction works.

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Follow the Leader Challenge 2A ---> Enacting Musical Time by Marius Kozak

2025 #6: Dancing with Demons - Sister Fidelma #18 (Tremayne)

 

Dancing with Demons by Peter Tremayne
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This particular installment of the Sister Fidelma series digs into the tensions between the "old ways" and the "New Faith" with much more detail than the previous books. While occasionally tedious to hear it explained via audiobook, the additional context adds a complexity and richness to the world of Fidelma that is more than just Druids vs. Christians. The plot, however, is very slow, and the reveal (in typical Fidelma fashion) takes almost 40 minutes in the audiobook. The motive itself does provide some twists and turns, but the answer to "whodunnit" was so complex and full of weird afterthoughts that I wasn't that interested in the end. This is often the case when there's an "obvious" murderer at the outset -- in this case Dubh Duin, chieftain of the clan Cinél Cairpre, who cannot unfortunately provide any defense or otherwise since he seems to have taken his own life after seemingly killing the High King Suchnussach in his bedroom. All is, as you might guess, not what it seems. This is the situation in which Fidelma finds herself.

Happily, in terms of character development, we start to see an increase in Fidelma's self-awareness, particularly of her treatment of Eadulf, who also seems to be coming more into his own.

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Series About Series Challenge 2025 no. 2 February