novelist, essayist, teacher
Every morning I spend a little time reading before I begin the real work of the day, which is writing. I choose the books I read in this time slot for inspirational value, either spiritual or psychological or artistic. This morning I finished The Summer of the Great-Grandmother, by Madeleine L’Engle, which is the second of the “Crosswicks Journal” series, was chosen for a mixture of the three, and it does not disappoint.
Madeleine L’Engle
The Stubborn Season, published by Harper Collins Canada
Because I am a little neurotic and insecure and oscillate between wanting to be left alone to write and wanting people to remember I exist — in short, you know, a WRITER — I have a Google alert set up. Sometimes it brings me wonderful things, as it did this morning when I was alerted to a truly splendid review by Nikki Brewer of my first novel, THE STUBBORN SEASON, and you can read it by clicking here.
There’s an interesting piece about literary criticism in the Aug. 15, 2012 New York Times, written by literary critic Dwight Garner, called “A Critic’s Case for Critics Who Are Actually Critical.” It’s a fun article to read, peppered as it is with just the sorts of anecdotes that make us want to read critical snark to begin with. Consider:
Oh, Penguin, you’ve found my soft spot. Books, books, beautiful books, as alluring on the outside as you are on the inside.
Take a gander at these beauties:
The Major Works of Dickens in the new Penguin Classics boxed set
Penguin has come out with special edition classics, with stunning covers created by acclaimed designer Coralie Bickford-Smith. Their web page says, “Penguin Classics presents beautiful hardcover editions of the world’s favorite books. Featuring gorgeous patterns stamped on linen cases, colored endpapers, and ribbon markers, these are rich and sumptuous volumes that continue what will be one of the most coveted sets of books ever produced.”
I am humbled and grateful for the wonderful review Alan Cuymn gave OUR DAILY BREAD in the Globe & Mail. I have enormous respect for Cuymn’s work; to get such a positive review from him leaves me breathless.
He says:
Where is hell, exactly?
Up the mountain, where it has always been. The road there takes your children first.
Our Daily Bread, by Lauren B. Davis, is all about that road. Signs blare from the beginnings of many chapters, sermon excerpts from the Church of Christ Returning. But it’s not all fire and brimstone. Much of the scenery looks hauntingly familiar, and that’s the power of a literary novel detailing, almost lovingly, every good intention.
The site “My Book Addiction” has posted an interview with yours truly, a review of OUR DAILY BREAD — and they’re doing a giveaway! They’re offering 4 print copies of Our Daily Bread. The Giveaway runs from today September 29,until October 6, 2011. Good luck! Let me know if you manage to snag a copy!
Cover, "Our Daily Bread"
I am so grateful for the support I’ve received for my new novel, Our Daily Bread. Thomas E. Kennedy, author of The Copenhagen Quartet, Duff Brenna, author of Too Cool, The Book of Maime and The Holy Book of the Beard (among others), and Dexter Palmer, author of The Dream of Perpetual Motion, have all donated blurbs, as has the wonderful Canadian author, Jane Urquhart. Jane says,
“Our Daily Bread is a compelling narrative set in a closely observed, sometimes dark, but ultimately life-enhancing landscape. Lauren B. Davis’ vivid prose and empathetically developed characters will remain in the reader’s mind long after the final chapter has been read. “
—Jane Urquhart, prize winning author of Away and The Stone Carvers
I haven’t posted any book reviews recently, so I thought today I’d share with you a couple of books I read recently and particularly liked:
Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones
MISTER PIP by Lloyd Jones: I adored this book. Devoured it. Jones understands character like few other writers. MISTER PIP is narrated by Matilda, a young girl living on a copper-rich tropical island, torn apart by war. All the whites have fled, save for Mr. Watts, an odd old duck in a filthy linen suit who sometimes sports a red clown’s nose. He is married to a mad local woman whom his pulls about in a wagon. With the sound of artillery in the distance, Mr. Watts cleans out the ruined schoolhouse and begins reading Dickens’ classic GREAT EXPECTATIONS to his students (Matilda among them). Drunken militias lurk in the forests wielding machetes, fire and horror, and yet Mr. Watts continues reading, continues building a wall of words against the impending terrors.
This book is part of The Art of series, put out by the excellent Graywolf Press. Each book in the series examines, I am told on the back of the book, “a singular, but often assumed or neglected, issue facing the contemporary writer of fiction, nonfiction or poetry. The Art of series is meant to restore the art of criticism while illuminating the art of writing.” If this book is an example of the rest of the series.. bravo!
The Hidden Power of the Gospels by Alexander Shaia, Ph.D.
I believe Alexander Shaia may have written a book which will change the way people look at the gospels entirely, and I’m not just talking about Christians. The gospels, Shaia posits, are not to be taken literally but rather they create a “Great Map of Transformation” universally relevant, regardless of background or viewpoint, even to those claiming no faith at all. I found this book well written, terrifically researched, full of scholarship and thought-provoking, innovative ideas. In fact, dare I say, it has utterly altered my own perception of the gospels, and the way in which I will approach them. Shaia has made them personal and applicable to my own spiritual journey.
