Literary Lushes

Heading into another cold, soggy Oregon winter weekend, my thoughts have turned to hooch. I'm planning to snuggle up in front of the fireplace with a warm Hubby, a cold martini, and a good book. Ever since I posted my review of Martin Amis's Money, I've been mulling over the notion of books about booze. Not books that are officially about alcoholic beverages, but books by drinkers about drinkers. Maybe because I've become a lightweight myself, I sometimes enjoy a good sodden literary romp -- like Money. The Martin Amis apple did not fall far from the Kingsley Amis tree. Amis, père is my all-time favorite literary lush. Lucky Jim's drunken "Merrie English" speech is hilarious. And his description of a hangover as a huge raw egg rolling around inside his skull has stayed with me my whole drinking life. Amis's other books are similarly alcohol-centered. His Booker Prize winner, The Old Devils, involves a group of older friends who spend most days drinking. The inn keeper hero of The Green Man devotes a lot of energy in hiding the quantity of booze he puts away. Amis even has a dipsomaniacal collection of short pieces called Everyday Drinking. But the Amis clan does not have a lock on libation literature. There must be others. Please share your suggestions. And I'll keep pondering. Jim Harrison springs to mind. Others?

Review: Water the Bamboo

“Water the Bamboo is a metaphor for success,” writes Greg Bell, a former lawyer, now a “speaker, trainer and facilitator” who works with companies and organizations to improve communication and relationships.

The bamboo analogy is based on the idea that giant timber bamboo takes three years of nurturing without any sign of growth before it peeps out of the ground, but once it starts, it grows to incredible heights in only 90 days.  Bell ties his “21 Strategies for Extraordinary Results in Your Profession or Team” to this central theme of bamboo farming in order to show that “overnight success” really takes years of focus and effort to achieve.  Bell does a good job of using the bamboo metaphor with a light but consistent hand – neither straining nor muddying it.

Given the premise, it is no surprise that Water the Bamboo is not a quick-fix, self-help book. Like the best of its genre, it emphasizes values, integrity, and long-term diligence over slick tricks and fancy packaging. Bell’s “strategies” include working from core values, setting effective goals, tending relationships, and developing self-discipline. Seven Habits enthusiasts will appreciate much of Bell’s approach.

Bell goes beyond outlining the concepts by suggesting practical exercises to implement his strategies. He recommends keeping a journal in conjunction with reading the book, and using the journal to complete the exercises in each chapter. Other hands-on suggestions include forming a “Bamboo Circle” – “a group that meets on a regular basis who listens and brainstorms solutions and strategies, and generally supports and helps each other be accountable.”

Bell’s enthusiasm and good will shine through in his upbeat writing style. No dense passages of leaden prose slow the quick tempo of the book. If anything, it moves a little too fast in parts. A few more real world stories – apocryphal or biographical – would slow things down enough to let more sink in. Likewise, Bell could do more in places to tie some of his more minor strategies to the larger, overriding principals behind the major strategies. For example, including more reminders of how core values should guide the other strategies would give more cohesion to the book as a whole.

But these are minor quibbles with what is, overall, a solid and helpful book. A lot could be gained by reading it through once, then going back and completing the practical exercises, then keeping it around for reference. After all, it takes a long time to grow bamboo – but the payoff is spectacular.

Opening Sentence of the Day: The Quotable Ronald Reagan

"This book had its beginnings in January 1993, although I did not realize it at the time." -- The Quotable Ronald Reagan by Peter Hannaford (Ed.) Not a gripping opening sentence. I wonder if I should consider the first sentence of the actual book, or the first sentence of introductions. If someone else wrote an introduction for a book, that's easy -- do not count that as the opening sentence. But if the author wrote an introduction contemporaneously with the book (not added in a later edition), then I think that counts for the opening sentence. Which means that some, like this one, are not going to be real sizzlers.

Opening Sentence of the Day: Water the Bamboo

"Water the Bamboo is a metaphor for success."

-- Water the Bamboo by Greg Bell

There are the 2009 Books!

Finally! There is finally a book over there on the right side because I finally finished a book in 2009. Not that I set out to start off 2009 with the incredibly grim All Quiet on the Western Front. I actually started the year reading Sometimes a Great Notion and The Mists of Avalon, both very long and slow (SAGN in an intense, involved, good way; TMOA in an overwrought, fantasy/romance kind of way). I still have both of them to finish before their covers will pop up on my 2009 list. All Quiet is the second book I finished this year. I finished Water the Bamboo by Greg Bell two days ago, but there is some kind of gremlin in my LibraryThing widget that prevents the cover from appearing.