Monday, April 26, 2010

The Lottery by Shirley Jackson. Popular Library 445-00300-125. This is a book of short stories. The most famous is "The Lottery." I think I either saw a film version of this story or read it when I was in High School. It is quite shocking the first time you read it. Many of the other stories feature a character named Jim Harris (or something like that.) This is a reference to a popular English ballad "The Daemon Lover." Most of the stories are quite short, with a few being only two or three pages. Most have tricky, surprise endings. This book was purchased at Powell's a few years ago for 95 cents. It is a cheap paper back probably printed in the 1970s. The book "Night in Funland" also had a story by Shirley Jackson.

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Fear Of Flying by Erica Jong. Signet 451 J6139. Novel. This the story of Isadora Wing, a young woman trying to determine who she is and what she wants. She is a feminist or at least is searching for what that means. The novel describes many of her sexual adventures and coins the term zipless f*ck. Well written and easy to read, the novel contains many references to literature and psychology.
This book was purchased on February 7, 1978 at the Varsity Book Exchange for one dollar.