jh is one of the masters.

suerte on your trip to costa rica. that’s where it all started for me.

Read In search of Small Gods last summer while on the boat off Honduras and it was an experience! They way he looks at the world is truly unique and i usually only like

Right now listening to : Dispatch Album :Who Are We Living For_
Reading : The Ticos: Culture and Social Change in Costa Rica ( my next trip!)

For that you get the full layout. Here are Julie’s picks ladies and gentlemen:

Reading:

The Hive by Camilo Jose Cela: “Banned for many years by the Franco regime….” I’m only 20 or so pages in and am wondering if this novel builds into some cohesive narrative, but I almost don’t care. I’m fascinated by the way Cela presents characters: they’re sketches in the truest sense, totally visual. Even if the characters don’t converge in anything more than a scene in which no conflict is developed or resolved, I think I’ll be okay with that. And of course, the simultaneous connection and disconnection of the characters clearly reflects preoccupations of Cela’s historical moment. .

Anything I can get my hands on by Daniel Alarcon: I don’t usually read (or enjoy) fiction, but I was convinced that giving the genre a try again after years of fasting was worth it. Alarcon is a skillful writer, but he’s also just a fascinating person, so I’ve tried to track down anything I can find that he’s written to learn more about him– how his experiences have informed his writing. Currently reading his essay, “American Labasha” in an old issue of The Virginia Quarterly Review.
Puerto Rico: Arte e Identidad: Reading this for some background/context for an article I’m working on about the Puerto Rican artist Carlos Mercado.

Listening:

Buika: African immigrant/expat living in Mallorca. Swear that she sounds like some unexpected but totally convincing blend of Tina Turner, Roberta Flack, Lila Downs, and Susana Baca, all rolled into one.

Other:

Gustavo Ott: Venezuelan playwright. I saw him speak a few months back and am still thinking about him. Much like Alarcon, his personal identity is so complex and fascinating. And like Alarcon, his work reflects an astute understanding and total dominance of the subject, no matter who and what it is and where it’s located. Try to put this guy into a genre or category. You can’t.

“Ruined”: A play by Lynn Nottage I saw staged in Manhattan last month– it’s about race, gender, war, rape, power. I’ve never been in an audience that reacted so viscerally and transparently to a work– it was extraordinary.

So many books to check out too. What a great idea David…thanks…

Might have to buy this one! Thanks Michelle!

As for me –
Reading: I just started The Great Railway Bazaar. It’s my first Theroux.
Listening – Lately I’ve been rediscovering Tom Waits and listening to alot of Damian Rice and Bright Eyes. I swear I’m not depressed, sad music actually makes me happy.

As for me…

Reading: Wild Stories: The Best of Men’s Journal
Listening: Just discovered my James Brown collection after it had been missing for a year. (It was in the glove compartment of my mom’s car.)

Listening: Daily Show audio

We have a lot in common. I love Reading Lolita in Tehran ~ I can’t get enough of books like that. Have you read Three Cups of Tea?

Bon Iver is also in my CD player. He actually grew up in the same town as I did (graduated from the rival high school). I knew him way back in the day when he played with his high school friends in a band called Mount Vernon. His voice is as beautiful today as it was then.