Life Itself by Roger Ebert

My brother Chris and I grew up on Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel. We were young when we started watching, I would guess ten and fourteen. And in hindsight the fact that two children were watching Sneak Previews so religiously at such an early age really solidifies what nerds we were. But we both grew into true film, music, and book lovers. I suppose the show gave us an early education on criticism, and it also turned us into very young snobs. I can remember very clearly rolling our eyes at a neighbor who came over to tell my mom how much she loved the movie Porky's. Now, we were far too young to see that movie, but we knew that it got two “thumbs down” and deserved an eye roll of the highest order. We were tiny snobs.

As I got older though, I learned something else from Roger Ebert. It’s okay to like a not-so-good movie. You know, if I want to see Blue Crush at the theater…twice, I can own it and hold my head high (ish). [...Yikes.] After all, if Roger Ebert could give “thumbs up” to Into the Blue (I think he had a little crush on Jessica Alba), I could give myself permission to like Blue Crush.

Roger Ebert’s memoir Life Itself made our 2011 best of the year list,  and I just re-read the last chapter entitled, “Go Gently.” That chapter alone, those four pages, are worth the price of the book. What a life; Ebert wrote like a man on fire the last several years, and he just got better and better. Inspired.

 I know it is coming, and I do not fear it, because I believe there is nothing on the other side of death to fear. – Roger Ebert from Life Itself.  

Good and Cheap (Books)! Day 3

Both of the regular followers of our little blog know that I'm a fan of the Canadians. I also love Russia. I can't get enough of that country in my books. Maybe it's the red military uniform thing--Mounties, Stalin, what's the difference? (Email Gianna with complaints. She likes the attention.) So, when I heard that the new John Boyne novel from Other Press was set during the time of the Soviet Revolution, I lunged for a copy.

John Boyne, you may recall, is best known for writing The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. He also wrote a terrific World War I novel called The Absolutist. This new book is called The House of Special Purpose and, as I said, takes place in Russia around the time of the revolution. The story kicks off with octogenarian Georgy Jachmenev taking his wife Zoya back to St. Petersburg for the first time since they fled the country decades earlier. The trip triggers Georgy's memories of his youth. He was a poor villager thrust into Tsar Nicolas II's royal guard after saving a Grand Duke from an attempted assassination. For his bravery, Georgy is given the job of personal bodyguard to the heir to the throne, Alexei Romanov. In the Winter Palace, Georgy learns the family's secrets, meets and becomes friends with the Romanov sisters (including Anastasia, about whom there was speculation for decades after the Communists came to power), and observes the royal family's interactions with Rasputin.

The Winter Palace

Russia at the turn of the 20th century was a powder keg of class warfare and tradition butting against modernity. Even while Nicolas II was hoping to help his country modernize, he recognized the precarious position he'd inherited and the threats to his family that hovered from all sides. The House of Special Purpose blends history and fiction into an accessible narrative appropriate for both young adult and adult readers. And who doesn't love a story set in the palaces of the richest family in the world, where Easter is celebrated with Faberge eggs? Who doesn't love the stories about Rasputin and the Tsarina? Or Anastasia? Or the people's revolution? Or World War I? John Boyne has written a winter fairy tale.

Good and Cheap (Books)! Day 2

If the Fifty Shades insanity is proof of anything, it's that a little titillation makes for exciting reading. Also, the world is full of pervs. You know who you are. Which reminds me--Gianna, do you still have the Fifty Shades fridge poetry I made you? Care to share a poem with us in your next post? It is National Poetry Month, after all. Gauntlet is thrown, LaMorte.

Where was I?

Ah. Bawdy books. How about a bawdy book that's well written and full of upstairs/downstairs period drama too? Ladies (and gentlemen), I give you History of a Pleasure Seeker by Richard Mason. Protagonist Piet Barol likes the finer things in life. When his mother dies, he talks his way into a position in a wealthy family's home in Amsterdam as a tutor. His pupil, the wealthy owner's son, is troubled with OCD, but is a gifted pianist. The house is home to sisters, a mother, and other servants, and all of them appreciate Piet's "gifts." The guy is rather good looking, and he's charming, and he's a scoundrel and fraud. He's imminently more attractive than any of the homeless guys and convicts that Gianna suggests as potential mates for me. There are some risque antics here, but Richard Mason is also a talented writer and his story moves fluidly. His characters are intriguing and real tensions outside of the boudoir add to the story. This is a book guaranteed to satisfy your reading groups and offers discussion topics like love, class, wealth, and power.

Also, Richard Mason himself is ogle-worthy...

And he has a British accent....

(My women's studies professors from college are checking to see if they can void my degree right about now.)

Good and Cheap (Books)! Day One

Every day this month, we are going to dedicate ourselves to recommending a quality book that you can purchase for under $20. “What, do we have to pay for this service?” you ask. No, no you don’t. It all comes free with this low quality blog. Every single day when you click on our blog you will know that we’ve thought long and hard about which books we truly believe you can get the most bang from your buck(s) this spring. We promise that for each book we choose we will confer with each other, debate heartily, and weigh the pros and cons of each of our choices. We want what’s best for you. Now, on the off chance we don’t have enough time, energy, or knowledge to put that kind of effort in to our choices, we will probably just swivel around in our desk chair and the first paperback you see is what we’re going to recommend. But wouldn’t it be great if we at least put some effort in? We can all dream, I guess, but for now it’s just a crap shoot.

I am going to kick the month off with a one of our favorite titles from last year that is now available in paperback with a brand new cover. You were waiting for paperback weren’t you? Cheapskate, you must work in the book business!

Me? I would never
creep you out!

Stay Awake by Dan Chaon is a collection of uh-unsettling stories. When was the last time you read a really good story about a parasitic twin for example? A long time, right? Wait no more; the title story is fantastically haunting. One of my favorite stories is “I Wake Up,” about a boy who is sent to live with a foster family after his mother is sent to prison. The family has lost their own teenage son and as he grows up (having slept in the dead son’s bed, by the way) we see he is slowly losing his grip. "Bees" is about a father whose life begins to spiral out of control with the onset of his child’s night terrors; the father can no longer repress the memories of his secret first wife and child that he abandoned so long ago.

Do you like Gillian Flynn or Joyce Carol Oates? Do you like Victor LaValle or Daniel Woodrell? Do you like Liz or Gianna? Well then you must trust me, Dan Chaon is an artist, and for $15 it’s a steal. Oh, yeah, you can just steal it. Thief.