Literary Safari

‘Tis the season of gift book recommendations, and I can’t think of a better one for comic lovers of all ages than Big Fat Little Lit. Edited by Pulitzer-Prize winning comic artist and graphic novelist Art Spiegelman and Francoise Mouly, his wife and New Yorker art director, this is a choice compilation of 30 comic stories by notable authors and illustrators.

Spiegelman and Mouly have already edited three bestselling comic collections – Little Lit: Once Upon a Time, Strange Stories for Strange Kids, and Little Lit: It Was a Dark and Silly Night. [See website.] This collection features their favorites in a full-color paperpack edition.
When I first unwrapped the book from its packaging, I was struck by the cover illustration: “Comics …” “Comics for creatures …” “Comics for creatures of all ages!” The wacky and whimsical plantanimal creatures on the cover remind me of the Yellow Kid touting copies of an exciting hot off the press publication. Trust me, you’ll want to unwrap this delightful one!

There is no dearth of famous names in Big Fat Little Lit: Neil Gaiman, Maurice Sendak, Lemony Snicket, even David Sedaris couldn’t turn down the offer to contribute to this volume. There are retakes on classic fairy tales such as “The Princess and the Pea” and numerous interpretations of the best worst line ever written – “It was a dark and stormy (nay silly!) night.” You’ll even find a Japanese fable in here, by David Mazzucchelli.

One of my favorite stories, by far, is David Sedaris’s “Pretty Ugly” which left me smiling ear to ear. Illustrated by Ian Falconer, it’s a clever and unpredictable tale of beauty turned inside out. (I don’t want to give away anymore than that!)

Trust me, this is a gem of a book – one you’ll want to find a space for on your bookshelf and share … ahem, with creatures of all ages. … Click more for my interview with the artistic duo behind this book. (more…)

For a long time, I’ve wanted to keep a journal of books that I’m reading, that are on my night stand, or in my purse. I have scattered lists in all my notebooks, and consolidation has been a challenge. Here’s my solution!

I’ve added a new category to the blog – Books 2006. This is a list of books I’ve read (or mostly read) this year. A lovely companion piece about the magic of books can be found here. It’s by Debbie Nevins, my managing editor at the Weekly Reader.

Of course, other books that I haven’t yet included in that list will continue coming to mind. The nice thing is that I can keep adding (pretty easily) to this list — and that I won’t feel guilty for not posting a review of each one!

Enjoy!

I’ve been taping the entire series of Iconoclasts, the Suncance Channel series that invites you to “change the way you see celebrity.” In this series, leading innovators and artists who have a mutual admiration for one another spend time together and sit down for a candid conversation about their work, their lives, and their choices … and talk to each other about their inspirations.

There are five other episodes on my DVR that are untouched, but this weekend I finally sat down and watched the most recent one that features Maya Angelou and Dave Chappelle.

“In this episode, comedian Dave Chappelle and poet Maya Angelou spend a day together at her home in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, where they discuss how poetry and comedy can bridge both genders and generations.”

The conversation and camraderie between the 37 year-old Chappelle and 78 year-old Angelou was both inspiring and moving. As I watched Chappelle, fresh from his decision to turn down a $50 million contract with Comedy Central, ask Angelou about her life and get a tour of her African American art collection, I could see in his eyes a sense of overwhelmedness and gratitude. Being in the presence of a legend such as Angelou – someone who not only possesses the gifts of poetry and eloquence, but also spills over with wisdom and joy – must really be something.

Watching it reminded me of my moments with Dada J. P. Vaswani five summers ago – when I got many of the answers I was seeking at the time; answers that were doled out with gracious kindness and empathy … and humility.

At one point in the episode, Angelou said to Chappelle:

“Each of us has the chance to be somebody. It is my my delight that you asked for me so that I could have the pleasure, the joy, the thrill of talking to you … so that I can be somebody.”

Something about that moved me tremendously. At her age, after having met and mingled with major historical figures such as Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr., after achieving legend status not just as a literary giant but also as a political activist, Angelou showed that she approaches life with a spirit of constant learning … and equanimity.

I haven’t read All God’s Children Need Traveling Shoes in a while. That’s one of my favorite books by Angelou, perhaps because it’s about the years she spent in Ghana in the 1960s. This episode made me want to find my copy and reread it.