Opening Sentence of the Day: Fish With What You Find

On another day it's a muskrat or a mink or a squirrel or a possum, or even once a feral pet ferret in Michigan's upper peninsula.

-- from "Roadkill and the Fly Tyer," the first chapter in Fish with What You Find by Jim Gilsdorf.

This is a collection of articles about fly fishing and fly tying. I do neither, but it still appeals to me, maybe because of the cool illustrations of the flies.

A Few More Pages hosts Book Beginnings every Friday.  The event is open for the entire week.

2011 Challenge: The Birth Year Reading Challenge

THE CHALLENGE

I enjoyed the Birth Year Reading Challenge hosted by Hotchpot Cafe. The idea is to read books published in the year of your birth. There is no set number of books to read, but you earn a "candle" for each book and there are pretty terrific prizes.

THE YEAR: 1966

Then came 1966, a remarkable year altogether: a Jewish child was born in Spain for the first time in 374 years, Ronald Reagan was elected boss of California, Indira Gandhi was elected boss of India, the Soviets landed a Luna spacecraft on the moon, John Lennon opined dryly that the Beatles were more popular than Jesus, Haile Selassie visited Jamaica, the Grateful Dead moved to a house on Haight Street, the Americans landed a Surveyor spacecraft on the moon, Montgomery Cliff died, the Beatles released Revolver, "Star Trek" was first televised, Namibia declared independence, Jimmy Hendrix changed his name to Jimi, LSD was declared illegal, Catholics began to eat meat on Fridays, Barbados declared independence, the Americans bombed Hanoi, Walt Disney died, Kwanzaa was invented, Tom Stoppard wrote Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, Arlo Guthrie wrote "Alice's Restaurant," Hewlett-Packard introduced its first computer, Buster Keaton died, Guyana declared its independence, Malaysia and Indonesia declared peace, taekwando was invented, Lesotho declared independence, Thich Nhat Hanh visited America, [and] Bill Evans opened a long run at the Village Vanguard jazz club . . .

-- The Grail: A Year Ambling & Shambling Through an Oregon Vinyard in Pursuit of the Best Pinot Noir Wine in the Whole Wild World by Brian Doyle (leading up to the point that 1966 was also the first year that pinor noir vines were planted in Oregon, giving birth to Oregon's wine industry).

THE BOOKS

There may be several books on my TBR shelf that were published in 1966, but without going through them all, it is hard to guess which ones. The possibilities I knew of were:

I, the King by Frances Parkinson-Keyes (I'm a big FPK fan)

The Comedians by Graham Greene (on my TBR shelf)

The Anti-Death League by Kinglsey Amis (which is on the Anthony Burgess list)

REVIEWS = CANDLES

The Anti-Death League by Kinglsey Amis, reviewed here.

LAST YEAR

I did better in 2010 and got two candles for reading:

Indian Summer by John Knowles (reviewed here)
The Valley of the Dolls by Jacqueline Susann (reviewed here)

NOTE: Updated on January 2, 2012.

Opening Sentence of the Day: The Anti-Death League

A girl and an older woman were walking along a metaled pathway.

--  The Anti-Death League by Kinglsey Amis.

Kingsley Amis is one of my favorite authors. I wanted to read this one in particular because it is on Anthony Burgess's list of his favorite 99 novels.

Also, it was published in 1966, so it counts as one of my books for Hotchpot Cafe's Birth Year Reading Challenge. It may be my only candle, unless I get around to The Comedians by Graham Greene.

Teaser Tuesday: Voodoo Vintners

In the wine world, the self-important Robert Parker, with his comb-over and air of gravitas, has come to represent fustiness and, worse, buffoonery.  The new wine celebrities are young, idealistic, and borderline certifiable.

-- Voodoo Vintners: Oregon's Astonishing Biodynamic Winegrowers by Katherine Cole. She doesn't pussyfoot around.

I've been interested in learning more about biodynamic winegrowers, especially local ones, ever since I read Rowan Jacobsen chapter on biodynamic wine making in California in American Terroir: Savoring the Flavors of Our Woods, Waters, and Fields, reviewed here.

OSU Press sent this to me and it is definitely a great reminder of what terrific books they turn out.

Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by Should Be Reading, where you can find the official rules for this weekly event.

Food Freedom is on Facebook and twitter. Click on the chicken for more information.

Mailbox Monday

Thanks for joining me for Mailbox Monday! MM was created by Marcia at A girl and her books (fka The Printed Page), who graciously hosted it for a long, long time, before turning it into a touring meme (details here).

Serena at Savvy Verse & Wit is hosting in October.  Please go by and visit her wonderful blog. 

Thanks to a stop by my favorite Second Glance bookstore, I have a big stack of new (to me) books, most of them on one or another of my book lists:

The Mandelbaum Gate by Muriel Spark (on the Burgess list)



The Transit of Venus by Shirley Hazzard (winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award and on the BOMC's Well-Stocked Bookcase list)



Dog Soldiers by Robert Stone (winner of the National Book Award and on the All-TIME Top 100 list)



Monsieur: Or, The Prince of Darkness by Lawrence Durrell (the first book of The Avignon quintet and winner of the James Tait Black Memorial Prize)



Bitter Lemons by Lawrence Durrell (not on a list, but I loved the cover)



The Best of Friends by Joanna Trollope (not on a list, but I am on a Joanna Trollope jag)