A Confederacy of Dunces
John Kennedy Toole
Published: 1981
Pages: 444

The rise of the internet has had a profound effect on the collective subconscious of our society. These days, we have unprecedented access to a near limitless fount of information and entertainment. And although it has become a somewhat hackneyed expression, the world is quite literally at our fingertips.

But with every blessing comes a curse. The internet is no exception. Along with information and entertainment, we are constantly bombarded by huge amounts of junk data – the result of which is that we have all become increasingly discerning media consumers. We have become smarter, more savvy – but also far more predisposed to boredom.

Perhaps the truest and most telling result of this paradigm shift is the decline of the feature article. Old media’s poster-boy has been all but relegated to subscription-based niche publications – which I imagine are read exclusively by people who wear scarves. But if you haven’t consumed a blueberry bagel in the past twenty-four hours, there’s a fair chance you know what I mean. There is simply no place in today’s fast-paced mediascape for the lengthy diatribes of yore - and as a result, both the feature article and the institutions which traditionally bore them are fading into the ether.

But from the ashes of the old rises the new, and it appears that the web has caused the rise of a new journalistic model – one that favours the frivolous, the whimsical, the superficial and the downright banal.

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the primary vehicle of our current journalistic revolution: the top-ten list.

Borne on the back of the inexorable rise of the blog (but certainly not confined to the amateurish philanderings of the web’s countless, faceless content producers) the top ten list provides an excellent avenue for a writer to quickly and easily present information which may otherwise be too lengthy or complex for the average media consumer. Better yet, the top-ten list caters for the participatory nature of new media – providing one of the readiest ways of fostering an ongoing discussion amongst readers.

My search for quality reading material has taken me from one side of the interwebs to the other. And on my never-ending quest, I’ve stumbled across countless top-ten lists. And while these lists have been as varied and eclectic as the people who put them together, it seems that certain trends exist.

What books people like and identify with can tell you reams about an individual’s character – providing yet another reason why I think that people produce so many damn top-ten lists. Quite simply, they provide an affirmation of the individual through their choice in material possessions. Which, for the record, I am by no means condemning. I personally love the idea of owning a library that is as much a talking point as it is a necessity.

I, for example, would state that my favourite book of all time is almost certainly Catch-22. An entirely unsurprising choice? Perhaps. A testament to my literary naiveté? Probably. But should that detract from the unbridled brilliance that is Catch-22? Definitely not.

Affirmation is certainly what I found while reading this book. The book really resounded with me, feeling as if Mr. Heller penned it exclusively with me in mind. Hence why I’m so attached to the novel. But as it turns out, I’m not alone in rating Heller’s novel as somewhat of a literary masterpiece. A quick trawl of the internet reveals that a great many other people (albeit mostly males) consider Catch-22 as one of their favourite books.

While it seems that there is some unwritten rule that men traditionally like Catch-22, similar patterns exist for women, too - especially when it comes to Jane Austen, who similarly seems to enjoy near-universal popularity.

But the point of this long and meandering introduction is this; in most lists in which people claim to have enjoyed Catch-22 usually feature another comic novel – one that had managed to elude me up until several months ago. The novel I am referring to is none other than John Kennedy Toole’s A Confederacy of Dunces – a book that won the 1981 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the hearts and minds of millions.

Hailed as the one of the funniest novels ever written, I had high expectations for this novel.

Unfortunately, A Confederacy of Dunces isn’t nearly as funny, clever or well-written as Catch-22.

I give it three thinly-veiled poop jokes out of five.

Jordan - TheNile.co.nz

Six hours of book cover design in a minute and a half!

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Jordan – TheNile.co.nz

The Zombie Queen of Newbury High

Amanda Ashby

Pages: 199

Year: 2009

Vampires that sparkle in the sun might be all the fashion in the Young Adult fiction world at the moment, but when you’ve exhausted the Twilight franchise but not your passion for the paranormal, pick up Zombie Queen of Newbury High by Amanda Ashby.

At Newbury High School, Mia Everett happily exists in Fringeland – “doing okay at school, staying off the radar, and watching a little bit too much television”.  That is until Rob Ziggerman, hunky football star and Mr. Popular, asks her out.  But with senior prom rapidly approaching, Buffy the Vampire Slayer obsessed Mia has serious competition for his affections in the form of cheerleader and all round popular perky princess Samantha Griffin.  Mia will do anything to keep from the humiliation of being dumped by Rob.  So when her best friend (and raging hypochondriac) Candice suggests she try a love spell, Mia jumps at the suggestion.  The only problem is Candice’s herbalist is a Chaos Maker and the spell turns the entire senior year into zombies with Mia as their queen – and the first in line to be snacked on when they get hungry for humans.

Thankfully for Mia, the intelligent and introverted new boy in school Chase Miller works for the Department of Paranormal Containment.  Together they set about reversing the spell, saving their classmates’ skin and the senior prom.

Australian born author Amanda Ashby (who now resides in New Zealand) has written a delightfully light and frothy read - her second novel but her first foray into the young adult genre.  Her writing is well paced and fluid and her characters are pitch perfect; she captures the angst of tumultuous teenage emotions in her flawed yet quirky heroine Mia as she tries to right her potion wrongs while battling her conflicting crushes on Rob and Chase.

Moreover, it is extremely witty read with plenty of pithy one liners that had me snorting out loud, proving this book isn’t just for the teens.

Zombie Queen of Newbury High by Amanda Ashby is a fast and fresh young adult take on some enduring and relatable romance themes, with a dose of killer flesh eating zombies thrown in.

Kelly

Back in February, we reported that our stall at Auckland University was forcibly dismantled after a certain university bookstore complained to the student union about our on-campus presence.   This news came as a shock to us, as there was essentially no justification for our ostracism other than to protect the bookstore’s lucrative monopoly over the local student market.

While we received a heartening reaction from our customers, we are displeased to report that a near flawless rerun of the Auckland Uni situation occurred late last week – this time at AUT.   Once again, the student union bowed to the wishes of the university bookstore and had our stall removed.

As saddening as this news might be, we have not been deterred by these minor setbacks. Our textbook campaign has already been a resounding success, with more and more people discovering the speed and ease which comes with buying textbooks online.  Please stay tuned for further correspondence from us in the not-too-distant future as the textbook season winds down.  In the meantime, be assured that we will persist against in our quest to provide an inexpensive alternative to the university bookstore, regardless of their anti-competitive practices.

To celebrate Dr. Seuss’ birthday, here’s a clip of Jesse Jackson reading from Green Eggs and Ham. Did you know that the book came about due to a bit of a wager? Publisher Bennet Cerf bet the good doctor $50 that he couldn’t write an entire book using less than fifty words – and Ol’ Seussy proved him wrong!

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• An antique dealer wearing a $5,000 pair of sunglasses walks into a library carrying a stolen Shakespeare folio worth $6 million. And then things get weird.

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Jordan – TheNile.co.nz

As you might have heard, we are currently running an on-campus campaign across the nation to celebrate O-week.  And while our promotion has so far been a great success, there has been a shocking revelation over at Auckland University.

It seems our presence on campus has irked those in charge of a certain campus bookstore.  So much so that the General Manager yesterday saw fit to storm over to our stall, abuse our staff and tear up our promotional material.

Our only crime: offering an inexpensive alternative to their bookstore.

To make things perfectly clear, we followed all the necessary guidelines and received permission from all the necessary parties before setting up our stall.  Our presence was (and still is) perfectly justified.  This, however, did little to placate the General Manager.  He continued his tirade, this time directly to the representatives of the student body.  The result of which was that our staff were bluntly asked to leave and our stall quietly dismantled.

To see the campus bookstore acting in such an unprofessional and irrational manner is more than disheartening.  But what is sadder is that the university has resorted to such uncivil tactics in order to protect the cosy monopoly that their cohorts currently enjoy over the student textbook market.  You see, the on-campus bookstore is generally assumed to be the only place where students can purchase their required texts.  This, however, couldn’t be farther from the truth.  Online retailers (e.g. Yours Truly) can often offer textbooks much cheaper than our bricks’n’mortar competitors.  But the campus bookstore doesn’t want their customers to know this.

In any event, the secret is out.

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Jordan – TheNile.co.nz

Universities around the nation are celebrating their annual orientation weeks.  And to help spread the good word of TheNile.co.nz, we are pleased to announce that we’ve launched a huge on-campus promotional campaign.  Over the next few weeks, we’ll have staff at five universities across New Zealand introducing students to the benefits of buying their texts online.  So if you see us, make sure you come over and say ‘hi’!

Tired of long lines and high prices at the university bookstore?

Jump the queue and buy your textbooks online!

With a huge range, great prices and fast shipping, it’s easy to see why more students are turning to TheNile.co.nz for their tertiary texts.

But did you know that we’ve recently implemented some innovative improvements to make your buying experience quicker, easier and all-round better? If not, we have some news…

Our Textbook Centre has been revamped! You can now navigate through our many millions of listings via category, popularity or keyword – making it simpler to find and buy your titles than ever before.

But that’s not all!

If you’ve got used textbooks lying around, you’ll be delighted to hear that TheNile.co.nz is offering you yet another way to save. Our new Textbook Buyback program means that you can convert last semester’s books into either store credit or cold, hard cash. If this interests you, please head on over to our official Buyback page for further information and details.

So, if you or anyone you know is struggling under the weight of textbooks this season, make sure to remember that your favourite online bookstore is here to fulfill your broader learning needs.

Save yourself time, effort and money this semester. Buy online with TheNile.co.nz!

The Well and the Mine
Gin Phillips
Year: 2009
Pages: 288

In 1930s America, everyone is suffering through the effects of The Great Depression.  Coal mining towns like Carbon Hill, Alabama are no exception.  And from this bleak and austere setting comes a surprisingly gentle story about poverty and racism in Gin Phillips’ debut novel The Well and the Mine.

The Moore family are surviving the Depression a little better than most, with a small area of farmland and livestock to subsidise the harsh living Albert ekes out in the coal mines.  They are a well respected family, known for their generosity even in the toughest of times, never turning away a neighbour or friend needing assistance.

So it is with great surprise and a certain amount of disbelief that nine year old Tess Moore witnesses a woman steal through the darkness, pull the cover off her family’s well and drop a bundled up baby in.  At first no one believes her.  How could a mother do such a reprehensible thing?  And why did she choose the Moore’s well?

Plagued by nightmares of the baby in the well, Tess along with older sister Vergie, set out to find the woman responsible.

Suffusing the main story are the trials the family individually faces.  For Albert it’s a growing challenge to his sense of justice as he labours alongside Black men in the mines every day but above ground faces a world divided along race lines.  For Leta, it’s the daily grind of maintaining a home and providing for her family, often at her own expense. Vergie experiences an emerging sense of wanting more from her life than simply marrying and having babies as is expected.  And for Jack, the youngest child, he just wants to emulate the strength and pride of his father.

The story is told through the five alternating voices of the Moore family, each with distinctive tones.  It’s not a fast paced novel but is instead a tender and quiet sort of read, one that stays in your thoughts even after you have put the book down.  I found myself often in the days since I finished it thinking back on Carbon Hill and wondering how Tess and the tireless Leta in particular were fairing.  It’s fair to say I adored The Well and the Mine by Gin Phillips, and its temperate approach to some very gritty and unrelenting themes.

-    Kelly