Teeming with Excitement! If A Girl Can Be So...

As you all know I am a big fan of India writer Amitav Ghosh. His first novel The Glass Palace is never too far from my thoughts, and though I've tried delving into one of his other subsequent novels, The Circle of Reason, Ghosh's enormous imagination engulfed me to the point where I was exhausted by the language dealing with phrenology and had to stop. Recently, while listening to my favorite Internet radio site, NPR, I came across an interview Ghosh did for his latest book (drum roll please...) Sea of Poppies!.

I could spend forever just listening to him recount the process of writing this expansive novel, and you can too over here at NPR's All Things Considered Book Review with Amitav Ghosh. I don't quite know the gist of the novel, but NPR's introductory description "Imagine if Charles Dickens had signed on for a voyage with the Pequod" is enough for me. But if you're at all interested in the ties among India, Britain, and China during the opium trade in the 1800s then this novel promises to be a great read. An excerpt from 'Poppies' is also provided at the bottom of the NPR interview.

Okay, I'm heading out to Barnes & Noble to curl up with my copy and an apple crisp pouch. So good! Happy reading!

Nic

Election Fever, Literary Style

We Did It! Assuming all reader of this blog supported our President-Elect Barack Obama in the election (and if you didn’t I have no qualms telling you to leave now), this is certainly one of the best weeks in our lives. Being a complete bookworm, I immediately consulted Amazon to see what I should be reading up on as we usher in this new era of American History. This is what I came up with:

[Unbought and Unbossed, Shirley Chisholm]

Ms. Chisholm is a true black American icon. She was the first black woman elected to the U.S. Congress and the first black person to run for president of the U.S. Obama’s win surely owes this woman some credit.

[The Audacity of Hope. Barack Obama]

Yes our dear leader penned books even before he took control of the ’08 election. Hope is a huge part of Obama’s plans for our country, so I’d love to get a crack at where the head man’s head is at.

[The West Wing: Complete Series]

I hope that you’ve heard that Obama isn’t wasting any time tooling up for the inauguration. He’s already hired former Clinton staffer Rahm Emmanuel as the Chief of Staff for the new administration. Interestingly, Rahm inspired a character on the politi-drama The West Wing.

Yes We Did! Visit the new administration’s webpage at www.change.gov.

--Whitney

Uptown Literatti Shows Love to the First Family

We congratulate President Barack Obama on a monumental campaign that he led with diligence, compassion, and humility. Let us all make this a catalyst toward continuing in the direction of our dreams!

And should any of you be in D.C on January 20th, please join UL and friends as we stand should to shoulder with fellow Obama supporters at the Inauguration of our 44th President of the United States!