Although Michiko Kakutani's Ex-Libris is subtitled 100 Books to Read and Reread, what Kakutani actually does here is divide the book into 100 sections, many of which include multiple books. One section, for instance, is titled "The Works of William Shakespeare" even though the author's work is only discussed in general terms with only one or two of the plays being specifically referenced at all. Other sections are devoted to particular books, usually two or three, from specific authors, and there are even a few sections highlighting entire series such as "The Harry Potter Novels" and "The Lord of the Rings." Consequently, it's difficult to get a true count of how many books are covered in the compilation.
"These magical brick-sized objects - made of paper, ink, glue, thread, cardboard, fabric, or leather - are actually tiny time machines that can transport us back to the past to learn the lessons of history, and forward to idealized or dystopian futures." Michiko Kakutani, Page 14.
The books chosen for Ex-Libris range from well known volumes of classic literature to more obscure novels and authors of recent years, each title generally being granted one or two pages for Kakutani's sales pitch to the reader. The titles also cover a substantial amount of nonfiction, including history, sociology, and political books that Kakutani considers influential or important.
I found many of the selections to be so affectively presented that I immediately added them to my personal TBR list. I even found myself going out to purchase a nice copy of Albert Camus's 1947 novel The Plague after reading about it early on in Ex-Libris because I was so immediately struck by how similar everyone's covid-year experience was to what Camus describes in that seventy-seven-year-old novel. The books added to my list are all over the map; some I had known of but had simply neglected to read for myself, some are more recent titles that I brushed aside because of the inordinate amount of hype they received when published, and others are books and authors I had never heard of before Ex-Libris. Embarrassingly enough, I even found three or four of the books already on my own shelves.
All in all, I added thirty-two books to my TBR - and now I'll see how my good intentions work out in the real world. I also see that I have already read another twenty-one of the books, meaning that I have little or no interest in reading about half of the books Kakutani presents here for consideration. In my estimation, that means that Ex-Libris worked pretty well for me.
But that leads me to what I consider to be a major flaw in Kakutani's overall approach to Ex-Libris. Many of these books, both fiction and nonfiction titles, present very strong political or societal opinions - all of them slanted in one direction. That's not a huge problem for me despite it being evidence that Kakutani does not really want to hear or give time to world views that don't correspond to her own. What is a problem for me is that fifteen of the sections include specific emotional rants about Trump (keep in mind that this book was written during the 2020 election campaign), rants that compare him to Nazi Germany and other dystopian societies over and over again. I think this cheapens the legitimate message of Ex-Libris, and I came to find it all frustrating after a while - even to the brink of almost tossing the book aside for good more than once.
I'm glad I didn't do that because Ex-Libris: 100 Books to Read and Reread is still a good book. However, I know that I'm now less likely to pick up another Kakutani book, and that's kind of a shame.
There are quite a number of books out there by writers and reviewers reviewing their favorite books but I prefer book blogs and video blogs. I did like David Denby's Great Books because its well written and he shared alot about himself in that book.
ReplyDeleteI agree if Michiko Kakutani wanted to write a book about politics then write one but not in a book devoted to books. That's going off topic and not fair to the reader.
I did read the Plague and covid makes one read it in a new light and critics have said that Camus who was part of the French resistance in World War II was speaking about Nazism as the plague that descended on Europe and it can be read in that way too.
I generally like this kind of book, too, and always come away with a few titles that I want to know a lot more about. The best ones, I agree, are those in which the writer/reviewer shares a little about themselves and who they are.
DeleteI was disappointed in Kakutani's approach mainly because it is just so difficult to avoid politics anymore, and I want to decide when that is going to be the topic of anything I read. I don't appreciate sneak attacks like this one.
I've read that the Germany's WWII invasion is "the plague" in Camus's novel, and I think it's kind of brilliant how closely his description resembles something like the literal plague we went through in 2020.
I did review The Plague in Sept 2020. My post is at Reading Matters. It was interesting to read that book when the world was gripped by covid.
ReplyDeleteThanks, I'll do a search on your blog for the review. Can't imagine a better time to have read it then when you did.
DeleteI'm curious to see what she says about which books so I might get it from the library. I checked and they have a copy. She seemed to be at the NYT a long time. Sort of miss her reviews.
ReplyDeleteIt's a pretty wide array of book choices, so I'm willing to bet that you'll find at least a few that interest you. I don't recall reading any of her reviews, but then I don't often notice or remember the reviewer's name unless I'm reading a physical copy somewhere.
DeleteBooks like this one are always dangerous to read because they usually end up adding so many more books to my own TBR list. ;D But it's too bad about all the political ranting in this one. That would turn me off.
ReplyDeleteThe emotional ranting was more a distraction than a turn off, but because most of the 15 sections she does it in come early in the book, it really started to get on my nerves. It's not a good thing to catch yourself talking back out loud to a book. lol
DeleteI won't even start a book that smacks of politics. Reading for me is not being in the current world, well, the world of politics anyhow. I am actually reading something I think you might like. Dead Presidents by Brady Carlson. https://www.bradycarlson.com/deadpresidents/
ReplyDeleteI sometimes do read political histories, biographies, or nonfiction books on current events, but I don't like at all an author's politics being force-fed to me when it's not necessary or appropriate. I always end up thinking less of the author regardless of which side of the agenda they are pushing.
DeleteThanks for the recommendation; I'll be sure to take a look at it.
Publishing is a pretty left of center group as a whole. How could it not be when making books freely available (if not free, haha) is integral to the success of the industry? And that viewpoint is clearly not supported by many of those on the right. But I expect you are right that if she had left the politics out of it the book might have been stronger and better stood the test of time.
ReplyDeleteWhen I worked in publishing, people grumbled a lot about Kakutani being negative, but what I think they really meant was that she couldn't be coaxed to review or like books just because we desperately wanted her to. It is probably less true now but it used to be a New York Times review could make a book hugely successful. It can be so frustrating for a publisher when you know a book is worthy but you can't get anyone to care! (the author doesn't like it either and doesn't always believe the publisher cares).
You're definitely right about "the test of time." What she did here already makes the book feel a little dated, and I can't imagine how it will feel in another decade or so. I do get it that the industry is left of center; that comes with the territory as you say., but Kakutani's condescending tone really put me off this time.
DeleteThe publishing industry, especially as regards book publicity, really has changed in the last 25 years or so. I used to read the NYT Book Review and newspaper reviews quite often, but then they seemed to publisher fewer and fewer reviews - and not nearly as many of books that ended up much appealing to me. And then they went behind a paywall that drove me nuts. I suspect that lowered their readership considerably, at least at first.
I probably noted before that I thought I got this book at the book sale but it is not cataloged and not in any shelf I can see, so I will keep hoping it shows up. Sounds like it has some worthwhile parts.
ReplyDeleteI ordered a Kindle Scribe recently and it should come tomorrow. I am pretty excited about it but also leery of setting it and getting used to all the new things it offers. Also excited about trying out Kindle Unlimited for a while.
Tracy, I'm really curious to hear what you think of the Scribe after you've had a bit time to get acquainted with it. Do let me know if you have any questions about it. I'm far from being an expert on everything it can do, but I've learned a good bit via the trial and error approach that might save you some time. My Kindle Unlimited free trial just ended and I've paid for another month. Turns out there's more there than I thought there was from my last hard look at the service a few years ago. Have fun.
DeleteThanks for the offer of help with the Scribe, Sam. We are just getting it set up today and it is a bit overwhelming with all the new things to try. I am sure I will have questions once I try some features out.
DeleteJust let me know. I'll be happy to help as much as I can. It only takes a little getting used to, and there are some pretty good videos over on YouTube. Just make sure that you watch the newest videos because a lot of them were made before the last major software update, and what they say is out of date.
DeleteAs someone who buys far too many books already I don't need encouragement to buy more. LOL! I do love a good non-fiction book about books though, but I have to agree with Kathy that most of my recs these days come from other book blogs, Goodreads, Twitter. And political ranting is never my thing. We should all be entitled to our private opinions on issues without coercion from people no more knowledgeable than ourselves.
ReplyDeleteI do get my TBR adds from all over the place, like you, Cath. Seems that the old traditional sources are not nearly as important to me as they used to be because I tend to get my favorite new books more via blogs and other trusted sources than ever before. And the papers just don't cover books like they used to. Every once in a while, something like this one catches my eye, and I always at least take a quick look. I'm kind of surprised that so many similar books are still being published, actually.
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