The Great Slanty Read-A-Thon

Just in case you weren't aware I'm kind of illiterate when it comes to actual books, but with a new year and a new President that hopes for change, I decided to make a little change as well and set a hopefully somewhat attainable goal of finishing at least one book in the year of 2009.

Now I what you're going to say and I completely agree with you - I might be setting the bar a little high and pushing the boundaries of what's humanly possible.

But I'm Asian and that's what we do.

We overachieve.

Now like every good Asian American who sets a goal, I'm not going into this blind - I have a plan.

I figure with 256 pages to my book, that comes out to around 21 pages per month which is about 5 pages per week. I know I probably won't read every day, so that means some weeks I'll have to make up some time in one sitting. Since I'm usually a slow reader with most books (like actually mouthing out the words slow) and I'm also a little A.D.D., I'm thinking that I'm going to need something to keep me in my chair long enough to sit there and read -- which would be good alcoholic beverages. But that also poses a problem.

Since I'll probably be a little too buzzed as I'm reading (because I just don't know when to say stop) - I just may not remember everything I read which then means I'm going to have to re-read what I just read - which is really doubling the time - so that really means I can't get behind because I'm never going to finish this book (just like my 2008 in review which btw I'm taking another week to do because the week and the weekend just got away from me).

If that doesn't sound like a plan anymore - you're right. But I figure I have to start somewhere.

You might be asking the question of how I decided to choose the book I did (which would be the one pictured above) for my Slanty Read-A-Thon.

I actually picked up this book over a year or ago for the following simple reasons:

1. It had a shiny black cover.
2. The cover had pictures of food.
3. It was an Asian American author.
4. A few of the chapter names are "Pringles", "Toll House Cookies", and "Green Sticky Rice Cakes".

I know, not a lot going on in my decision process as far as anyone with a MFA is concerned, but since I'm book illiterate, you really shouldn't be that surprised.

So there you have it. Even though I haven't actually opened the book since I first got it except to see how many pages were in it, I still have to go shopping for good reading alcohol, and I've been delaying this post for about two weeks - it's now in stone - I've committed to finishing "the book" (and I just might be posting on my "progress" in the future).

And if you're book illiterate like myself - or even if you're not (you people who read a book a week) - feel free to join in on the Slanty Read-A-Thon. Pick an Asian or Asian American author that you've maybe been wanting to read for a year (or maybe two) and see if it feels good to crack it open and give it a try - because it's not like there's a timetable :)

Bookish: Asian American Art: A History, 1850-1970

I caught this down over at AsianWeek and while I'm not a regular art goer (can I even say that?) it's definitely important that someone is making sure that other's know about the history of Asian Americans and their contribution to the art world. Here's the product description from Amazon:

Asian American Art: A History, 1850-1970 is the first comprehensive study of the lives and artistic production of artists of Asian ancestry active in the United States before 1970. The publication features original essays by ten leading scholars, biographies of more than 150 artists, and over 400 reproductions of artwork, ephemera, and images of the artists.

Aside from a few artists such as Dong Kingman, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Isamu Noguchi, and Yun Gee, artists of Asian ancestry have received inadequate historical attention, even though many of them received wide critical acclaim during their productive years. This pioneering work recovers the extraordinarily impressive artistic production of numerous Asian Americans, and offers richly informed interpretations of a long-neglected art history. To unravel the complexity of Asian American art expression and its vital place in American art, the texts consider aesthetics, the social structures of art production and criticism, and national and international historical contexts.

Without a doubt, Asian American Art will profoundly influence our understanding of the history of art in America and the Asian American experience for years to come.

Chalk this up to another book I need to put on a list (maybe this will out as an audio book with a DVD).