January books in review
Despite my failure to read more than one work of fiction in January, I did manage to read several very good books last month. Here’s my capsule commentary:
Despite Beginner’s Greek by James Collins: An ambitious work, stuffed full of quirky characters and unexpected plot twists. Collins occasionally lets the book get away from him, but overall it’s an insightful and satisfying comedy of manners. I look forward to his next novel.
Schulz and Peanuts: A biography, by David Michaelis: Michaelis reveals the real Charles Schulz hiding in the the nearly 50-year run of Peanuts strips. He compassionately limns, without overanalyzing, this complex, sad, and frustrated artist, and demonstrates why he was the most influential cartoonist of the 20th century.
Shakespeare: The world as stage, by Bill Bryson: Can Bryson write a dull book? He hasn’t yet. You won’t learn much that is new about Shakespeare from this entertaining bio, because there are so few hard facts available about the Bard of Avon. You will gain a fascinating glimpse into Shakespearean scholarship and the Elizabethan age. What will Bryson tackle next?
The Jesus Machine: How James Dobson, Focus on the Family, and Evangelical America Are Winning the Culture War, by Dan Gilgoff: If, on this eve of change, you want to understand the politics of the last 28 years, read this book. To those on the outside of evangelical culture, Dr. Dobson is a little-known child psychologist with a radio show. To those on the inside, he’s a counselor, friend, leader, and unquestioned arbiter of moral and political opinion. Gilgoff understands the Christian Right and its networks of power thoroughly and explains them deftly.
Filed under: authors, books, reading | Tagged: Beginner's Greek, Bill Bryson, books you should read, Christian Right, Dan Gilgoff, David Michaelis, Elizabeth age, Focus on the Family, James Collins, James Dobson, Schulz and Peanuts, Shakespeare, The Jesus Machine
I’m very keen to read the Schultz book.
Are any of these folks coming to the Virginia Festival of the Book?
James Collins will be at the Festival.
The Schulz bio is well worth your time. Everybody takes Peanuts for granted now, and it did outlive its heyday, but it was not only a ground-breaking strip but one of the biggest global entertainment merchandising phenomena of the century. Where Peanuts led, Star Wars followed.
Even more fascinating than that, however, is the character of the man who created and controlled it all for 50 years. An ego the size of the Taj Mahal, concealed inside the nicest and most self-effacing guy you’d ever want to meet.
wow - I have to read the Schulz bio… He defined sarcasm for me. I remember the moment… One of his dailies and I asked my mom what sarcasm meant and she told me - but it was Charlie Brown and Lucy that really explained it…
I read an article in Salon with Michealis, and I was fascinated with the way Lucy’s evolution came about. Something to do with his first wife being sort of bossy?
To date, I’ve mostly been interested in Schulz’s professional history, and the evolution of the strip. I definitely plan to read this in the near future.
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