In WAYR?, I note what I’m reading and comment...you note what you are reading and comment. Occasionally I may add a section or a link related to books.
Now reading:
Black Gods of the Asphalt: Religion, Hip-Hop, and Street Basketball by Onaje X. O. Woodbine-The ethnographies in this book are painful, painful, painful. The academic jargon is kept to a minimum. Will be giving a full review of this book in the coming days. ¾ of the way done...only because I had to put the book down a few times.
The American Language: An Inquiry Into the Development of English in the United States by H.L. Mencken- I have been chuckling all week at Mencken’s highly entertaining and excruciatingly well-documented first chapter “The Two Streams of English.” Not even America’s “Founding Fathers” are spared criticism of their usage of English from literary critics across the pond (after all, it is-or was-their language. I am now very interested in reading the first edition to see what changes Mencken made for this 4th edition.
A pity that Mencken is now known to be quite the racist and anti-Semite...I always enjoy reading him and feel a little guilty about it.
My Name Is Red by Orhan Pamuk- Just began this novel and I am already enjoying it. I hate to use a word like “embroidery” to describe the first 20 pages of this novel but it’s the only apt description and, I suspect, that’s by Pamuk’s own design. If this writing is this beautiful in English, it must mean that the translation is good and that it’s even better in the Turkish. The scene where the moment of death (and being murdered) is captured is very moving.
The Elements of Journalism by Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenthal- More of a book of journalism ethics and morals than anything else. I agree with some arguments (i.e. the relationship between citizens and journalism in a democracy) and disagree with others (I have no problem with “niche” audiences and political preferences in journalism as long as the facts are correct and I halfway know the political spin/angle that the facts/arguments are coming from). 1/3 of the way through.
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Just wondering if there is an author that you feel guilty about reading and enjoying, much as I feel about H.L. Mencken and if there is such an author, why do you feel that way?