sdunlap's blog

The Mechanics Institute Library has a deep and extensive collection of short stories that stretches back to the early 20th century. Many of these you can find in anthologies such as The O. Henry Prize stories, The Year's best stories, or a number of other short story anthologies in our collection. 

For many years we placed these books on the shelf for members to find by simply browsing. As of now (count as of July 2024), we have 578 volumes of short story anthologies. We realized we have so many short stories tucked within these anthologies that we had to improve our catalog so members could discover individual short stories by their favorite authors that only appear in these anthologies. We are pleased to announce that we have completed this recataloging project. 

To give you a sampling of what we have uncovered, Mechanics Institute staff have read stories by their favorite authors and share their thoughts below. 

(Please ask a staff member for assistance if you would like to search for short stories in our catalog.) 

Shirley Jackson. The Birthday party, in Best American Short Stories 1964 (SS B56 1964)

Charming? Lighthearted? Blithe? Not words I'd typically attach to a Shirley Jackson story, but an apt description of Birthday Party, originally published in Vogue. It's a delightful reminder that even one of the most lauded horror writers of the 20th century still dealt with domestic trivialities like the preteen slumber party. Jackson's own children, Laurence, Joanne, Sarah, and Barry, make appearances as fictionalized versions of themselves. -- Review by AndyTalajkowski

 

C.J. Box. Pirates of Yellowstone, in Best American Mystery stories 2006 (SS B563 2006) 

The title of this short story intrigued me right away, as when I visited Yellowstone I do not remember seeing or hearing of any pirates. Within the first few paragraphs I was already very interested in this story as there were parts I related to when I spent time in Yellowstone and Wyoming. This story is very fast paced and keeps you on your toes, and the concept of these "Pirates" is really interesting and although I don't believe what they pirate has any validity, it got my mind wondering about the glaciers of Yellowstone and the mysteries they store. -- Review by Mitchell Sains. 

 

William Golding. The Anglo-Saxon, in Winter's Tales #16 (SS W78 #16) 

This work is a character sketch, without much action or a plot -- simply a day in the life of a sad, elderly and cantankerous man. George Smart often wears his cap and army greatcoat. He manages a herd of heifers, urging them to climb hills and over the English downs. One day, George sees an American lieutenant and a corporal make their way towards him, telling him that he can’t remain on that land with his heifers and collie. 

Later, George spends his day's wages in a bar parlor. In the local guildhall people call him  a local nuisance, that he often finishes up his day disgustingly drunk and turns street traffic into a mess. His boss says that every time he brings him to market, he makes a bloody fool of himself. On this occasion, he has to pay five pounds or go to prison for fourteen days. The American lieutenant paid, as George had no money on hand. 

George then makes his way into another bar, but the proprietor throws him out. The story ends with George peering out of a warped window, and seeing the street lights, a parking lot and the signs of law and order on the Queen’s Highway. -- Review by Craig Jackson

(By the way, William Golding also wrote Lord of the Flies).  

The Bezzle by Cory Doctorow ( Fic Doctorow)

Cory Doctorow's new novel contains lots of historical trivia that I had not known before. For example, the economist John Kenneth Galbraith coined the term "bezzle" (from the word "embezzle") in the 1950s to describe the time between the beginning of a crime and its detection. During this time, the victims of a con enjoy "psychic wealth," money they do not have in reality -- only they don't know it yet. This work of fiction contains plenty of tragically true factual information, but like most good crime novels, the names have been changed to protect the guilty. The Los Angeles Sheriff's Department gang in The Bezzle does not exist in reality, but these gangs did (still do?) exist and have the gang tattoos to boot. President Gerald Ford did intercede on behalf of a major campaign donor, Richard DeVos (father-in-law to Betsy) in order to save Amway from the FTC. And the names of specific prisons in California are the only fictitious element of how they operate after the 3-strikes law went into effect followed by prison privatization. I found so much of this so unbelievable that I fact-checked it - Yikes!

A Doctorow recurring character, Marty Hench, works as a forensic accountant -- kind of a bean-counter bounty hunter. He selects his clients carefully in order for his 25% take of all the money he discovers to provide him with enough income to escape the 9-5 grind. Escape he does, to Catalina Island, no less. Intended, designed, and maintained as a playground for the rich, the Island plays host to people so wealthy that " …their f*ck you money has f*ck you money." While visiting a friend on the Island who has recently worked his way into the millionaire class, Hench amuses himself by acting as an amateur anthropologist, observing these uber-wealthy individuals in their habitat. But he and his friend spend most of their time with the people who serve the rich (in various ways), which leads him to stumble upon a bizarre operation to import fast-food hamburgers. This begins a series of events that takes Hench down a long, twisting rabbit-hole of lies, greed, pettiness, and cruelty. By the end you wonder, are we all living in a bezzle? 

A Perfect Vacuum/ Stanislaw Lem.  (Fic Lem)

Stanislaw Lem’s satire/parody of literary criticism -- in the form of critiques of books no one ever wrote -- will have you either laughing or groaning with recognition of the academic prose many of us have grown to know and loathe. Writers, literary people, or anyone who took an English course in college will most appreciate this series of reviews of novels that do not exist (hence the title: a book about nothing). Now and then while reading this book I started nodding off (as I do when reading something incredibly boring) but then jumped in my chair a bit as the realization that it was all a put on returned to me. Then I laughed out loud for a while. My favorite is the novel written entirely in negative sentences (e.g.: "The train did not arrive," "The woman did not go home.") 

Many of us who first started our study of chess 30 (or more) years ago fondly remember Fred Reinfeld. Chess books can overwhelm the novice with a torrent of incomprehensible advice or lose them in a maze of complex analysis of numerous lines. Although many of the more advanced chess instruction books may inform a much more advanced player, they often will baffle and confuse the person picking up a chess book for the first time. This was my experience. But then I found a book by Fred Reinfeld and that changed everything.

The Mechanics Institute Library gratefully acknowledges the gift of the estate of Anthony P. Corrales. These donated chess books include four of the most popular titles written by Fred Reinfeld, updated to algebraic notation, with additional diagrams and checked for analytical errors by the chess engine "Fritz." Fred Reinfeld's books, updated for the 21st century, making them relevant once more, are the greatest gift to the beginning level player.  

I felt some gratification reading the introductions to these books. Each of the editors shared my experience of exasperation and frustration with chess books -- until they read one by Reinfeld. 

The following titles will be on the new books table on the 3rd floor (unless checked out) 

Attack & counterattack in chess  794.1 R367

The complete chess course : from beginning to winning chess!  794.1 R367c

Why you lose at chess  794.1 R367w 

1001 brilliant ways to checkmate  794.1 R367on 

1001 winning chess sacrifices and combinations  794.1 R367o  

To place a hold on a book, ask a library staff member for assistance.

Some authors want more than just success. Although many writers express some regrets about some part of their published writing, a few come to dislike, and even hate their most successful and well-known work. Here are some examples I found, organized into 4 categories. 

1. They thought some (or all) of their other writings were much better

Anthony Burgess, A Clockwork Orange. 

In the introduction to the 1986 reprinting of his classic dystopian novel about a sadistic criminal teenager and his gang of thugs, their misdeeds, and the main character's capture and "rehabilitation" Burgess explains his dislike for his best-known work. He points out that his American publisher in 1962 decided to omit the final chapter and Stanley Kubrick, in the movie version, did the same. This profoundly changed the book. "The American or Kubrickian Orange is a fable; the British or world one is a novel." The author laments that his most famous work "seems likely to survive, while other works of mine that I value more bite the dust." 

The Library has a DVD of the movie starring Malcolm McDowell and a CD audiobook read by Tom Hollander plus the later edition that includes the last chapter both in print and eAudiobook (Fic Burgess). 

 

Arthur Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes. 

Doyle wanted to be known for his histories and theologies. But all anyone wanted to talk about was his Sherlock Holmes stories. He even tried to kill off his literary invention -- Holmes and Moriarty fell off a cliff together at the end of The Final Problem. But alas, his fans, so disappointed over Holmes' untimely demise, felt moved to write the author and cancel their subscriptions to The Strand magazine that published the stories. Bowing to public pressure, Doyle wrote some "backdated" stories, ones that took place before the final fight with Moriarity. Then he committed a deus ex machina to bring Holmes into the present for a few more stories. And to this day few people even know about his non-fiction work and few libraries have any of these writings. 

The Mechanics Institute Library has a book that includes an essay on his spiritualism: 

The Sir Arthur Conan Doyle reader: from Sherlock Holmes to Spiritualism (820.81 D754 Level 2A) 

We do have all of the Sherlock Holmes novels and stories in various formats.

 

A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh.

Milne wrote 3 other novels, a collection of mystery stories, a non-fiction book, 4 screenplays and 18 plays. His nonfiction book, Peace with Honour, published in 1934, implored European people and their leaders to prevent the next war. He grew bitter about the best known of his work being a children's book. 

The library has all of his novels and most of his plays. Some noteworthy titles: 

A table near the band (mystery stories) -- 2nd floor Fic Milne

Chloe Marr  -- Basement Fic Milne 

Two people, a novel -- Basement Fic Milne

Mr. Pim -- 2nd floor Fic Milne

Peace with Honour  -- Basement 172.4 M65

 

2. Religious conversion 

Evelyn Waugh, Brideshead Revisited. 

Waugh wrote his most well known novel over six months in 1944 as he recovered from a training injury while serving in the British Army. Biographers indicate that he likely based the story of a complex relationship of a young man named Charles Ryder and a strictly Catholic aristocratic English family living in Brideshead Castle on a real family with which he spent much time in the 1930s. Brideshead Revisited, though not expressly anti-Catholic, does show in very stark relief the conflicts, both inner as well as between individuals, that rigid social-religious rules can either cause or make worse. He returned to very conservative Catholicism late in life then renounced the novel, having found himself so uncomfortable with the "anti-Catholic" aspects that he wrote a revised edition of it, taking out much of what made it so affecting in the first place. 

The 1981 mini-series starring Jeremy Irons based on the original version of the book, proved one of the most popular television shows in the UK of all time. 

The library has the novel in print (Fic Waugh), and a CD-audiobook, as well as a DVD of the television series. We do not have the revised edition. 

 

Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace. 

Similarly to Waugh, Tolstoy came to a religious conversion later in life, turning from a rejection of God and faith (having called himself a Nihilist) to a radical version of Christian faith that rejected organized religion. He saw his earlier works as at odds with his new found values. He hated some of his other novels as well, not just this one. 

The library has three print copies of War and Peace by different translators (Fic Tolstoy) and the eBook version translated by Aylmer and Louise Maude, friends of Tolstoy and the people who first translated his writings into English. 

The library also has 3 DVDs of television or film adaptations: an English language BBC mini-series and 2 copies of the Russian epic by Sergei Bondarchuk, one issued by Mosfilm and the other from the Criterion collection.  

 

3. What someone else did with it 

Some writers expressed anger and resentment over the form their work took when adapted for stage or screen. I admit this looks like a "borderline" category, but include it here because an adaptation is still a manifestation of the work -- and the authors hated these. 

 

P.L. Travers, Mary Poppins.

The movie Saving Mr. Banks has given us a dramatic re-enactment of the very difficult relationship between the author of the Mary Poppins stories and Walt Disney. If anything, this movie downplays the degree to which Travers despised the "Disney-fication" of her work. I'm sure Dick Van Dyke's notoriously, dreadfully, fake Cockney accent did not help any, (although not the only element of the movie that enraged Travers). 

The library has a DVD of the Disney movie plus print books of the Mary Poppins stories (call number: U Travers, in the section on the 2nd floor we have renamed "Universal").

 

 Annie Proulx, Brokeback Mountain.

The movie based on this short story led to some unforeseeable consequences. Proulx does not hate the story so much as the trite, smutty fanfiction she keeps receiving in the mail after the movie appeared in theaters.

You can read the story in Brokeback Mountain : story to screenplay (813 P968 level 2A)  

and a compilation of Proulx's short stories in Close range : Wyoming stories (Fic Proulx)  

 

4. Consequences (or Yikes! What have I done!) 

Peter Benchley, Jaws.

In interviews Benchley expressed surprise and distress over the "shark phobia" that his novel (but mostly the Steven Spielberg movie adaptation) inspired. I recall in the 1970s the subsequent popularity of sport fishing for sharks ("shark hunting") stemming from public perception of them as a menace to be eradicated led to some species entering the threatened category on the endangered species list. Benchley fully understood that sharks are nature's garbage disposals of the sea and without them our ecosystem could go dangerously out of balance. He spent much of the rest of his life working to protect sharks. 

The library has a DVD of the movie, a print copy of the book (Fic Benchley) and a copy of his nonfiction book, Shark Trouble (597.3 B45  level 2B) that provides factual information and practical safety advice about all manner of sea creatures, not just sharks.

 

Karl Ove Knausgaard, The My Struggle books. 

This Swedish author alienated his friends and family with a magnum opus we could most kindly describe as literature's biggest over-share. He presently lives in a remote part of Sweden with his wife and the children who are currently still talking to him.

The Library has all 6 of the My Struggle novels. 

 

William Powell, The Anarchist Cookbook.

Powell has disavowed this book that he wrote between the ages of 18 and 19 in the late 1960s. He soon found out that it has critically dangerous inaccuracies and also inspires violence, quoted by and/or read by murderers. He wants it out of print. Unfortunately, the publisher holds the copyright and subsequent publishers who bought out the previous ones have kept the book in print. 

Unfortunately, the library does not have a copy of this book. 

Douglas Adams, known mostly for his Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy books, also took a keen interest in wildlife conservation. Around 1989, he and a zoologist named Mark Cawardine collaborated on a radio documentary series for the BBC called "Last Chance to See," about endangered species. Adams was the perfect person to accompany Cawardine to various, often remote, parts of the world to see the animals that may not survive much longer, as well as interview the scientists and naturalists trying to save them. Adams speaks (and writes) with a clear and very humorous style that avoids the usual preachiness that often occurs when talking about endangered species. Adams had always proven a very astute observer (of humans and animals),. Even some of his off-hand remarks inject a much-needed element of comic relief into the radio series and the subsequent companion book.

Adams describes their interactions with government officials in a dictatorship thus: 

“The system by which Zaire works … is very simple. Every official you encounter will make life as unpleasant as he possibly can until you pay him to stop it. In U.S. dollars. He then passes you along to the next official, who will be unpleasant to you all over again.”

And about one of their hosts when they visit Mauritius, he writes: 

“Richard Lewis is a man who has worked out a foolproof way of getting snappy answers to his questions.… [He drives along narrow and windy roads] with a pizzazz that borders dangerously on élan, and when he asks you a question, he turns and looks at you and doesn't look back at the road again until you've answered. Mortal terror is not the best state of mind in which to try and frame intelligent answers, but you have to try.”  

In the chapter about the Yangtze River Dolphin, they snuck onboard a ferry docked on the river to use a fishing pole to lower a microphone into the water to record how noisy the river was. When confronted by a member of the crew (who clearly did not understand English any more than either of them could speak Mandarin), they decided, "The mere idea of even attempting to account for ourselves defeated us. We settled instead for explaining, by means of elaborate mime and sign language, that we were barking mad." 

That gives you a clear idea of what you will find in both the radio series and the companion book. For fans of Adams' "Hitchhiker's Guide" novels (and even those who haven't read them), this is a wonderful chance to enjoy his non-fiction writing. 

Last Chance to See by Douglas Adams and Mark Carwardine (companion book to the radio series) 591.52 A211

Last Chance to See: the Original BBC Radio Series: in Search of the World's Most Endangered Species (The Radio series as a single eAudiobook available through Libby)  

 

The Iliad / Homer; translated by Emily Wilson. 

I have a confession to make, I was not a classics major and I never read The Iliad or The Odyssey. A couple of months ago I tried to read a seminal 18th century translation into English we have in our collection but hit the wall on the first page. I did not understand anything. Everyone was given a grandiloquent name. For example, if you read "The near-sighted man from the Hills of the Wallkill Valley" - would you have guessed it was a reference to me if I hadn't just told you? The first translation I attempted to read identified every character by way of a lengthy and obscure pedigree or origin story. When I had the good fortune to find someone called by their real name I could not connect the dots back to the "son of whoever" reference to the same person earlier in the text. 

But Emily Wilson, a classical professor at the University of Pennsylvania, has published a 21st-century English translation of the Iliad that I can understand. Also of interest, I suggest that you read her introduction and translator's notes. These give you a grounding in the historical and cultural context of the epic as well as provide some helpful background information about the characters.

Not to disrespect the older, highly regarded translations from earlier times, but I found that these require the reader to take a course just to understand them. If you want a translation that retains the poetry and gravitas of the epic and is written so that you can follow the story without the difficulties I described above, read Wilson's translation of the Iliad.

You will find a grandiosity and grandiloquence in the films of Werner Herzog that you will also find in his memoir, Every man for himself and God against all. I do not think that anyone else in the 21st century could write such a book without people thinking it the height of pretentiousness and egomania. 

For example, there's a chess grandmaster from the early 20th century named Bogoliubov. Chess players are fond of this quote of his: "When I win playing the white pieces it is because I am playing with the white pieces. But when I win playing the black pieces it is because I am Bogoliubov!" Herzog can write his memoir laden with Beowulf-level grandiosity and grandiloquence because he is Hertzog. 

See what I did there in that last paragraph? That's what Herzog does throughout the book. He writes about some guy he knew as a child or who did something or other. The story does not sound anything at all related to Herzog's life or work. You wonder, what's the point? Why am I reading about someone who carved faces with strange expressions on trees in the mountain forest for hikers to stumble upon and how does this have anything to do with Herzog? Keep reading. Herzog takes us on many of these long, at first inexplicable, digressions and side trips.  But then he does tie everything together eventually. Well, almost everything.  

Herzog's writing style reminds me of Daniel Pinkwater's father. Pinkwater wrote many children's books and made regular contributions to NPR's All Things Considered radio programs. In one of these radio segments, he speaks of his father who grew up in the part of Eastern Europe that has people speaking all manner of dialects of various languages. Pinkwater's father never learned to speak any one language properly. Accompanying his Dad on a trip to Poland once, he watched his father baffle and entertain those he spoke to by speaking Russian, Polish, or German, but not really. As Pinkwater put it, "Whatever language he was ostensibly speaking, you understood what my father said, but you didn't know how." 

Reading Herzog's autobiography is a lot like that.

Jim Carrey The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. (2004)

Words cannot describe how much I loathe Jim Carrey's comedies. Are they even comedies or do we simply use that word to be polite? I really can't tell. 

However, back when I was an avid reader of Roger Ebert's movie reviews, I would watch nearly any movie that earned his 4-star rating. Which explains why I watched The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind despite it having Jim Carrey in a starring role. (You can read Ebert's review here). Like many actors, Carrey truly knows how to turn out an excellent performance though he also must appear in the kinds of movies that (in my opinion) pay the bills. Ace Ventura may pay the bills but it's not going to win any Oscars. Thus, much to my astonishment, I discovered Jim Carrey can indeed act. 

An ingenious Oscar-winning screenplay by Charlie Kaufman, Carrey and Kate Winslett are former lovers Joel and Clementine who erase memories of each other after a bad break-up. The employees of the mysterious company that are tasked with doing Joel's memory wipe realize during the procedure that he has changed his mind. We are then transported into his memories and watch the panicked technicians try to erase the memories he now fights to keep. The movie unfolds outside of any chronological order as it takes place inside Joel's mind and not any representation of objective reality. 

I am always interested in movies that have originality, whether it's the story, the characters, the structure, the cinematography, or anything else. For those who seek creative, outside-the-box movies, check this out if you haven't already seen it. Despite it starring Jim Carrey, I did not regret it. 

 

Why does Buddha "jump the wall?" Why would we want to eat the beggar's chicken? Who was General Tso? Was he a cook, and if not, then why is there a chicken dish named after him? In one of our new acquisitions you can find the answers to these questions and many more. 

China has a very rich and incredibly long history that includes its food. When I first started to study Chinese I discovered they have a story behind nearly everything they eat. Learning a new language opens up a whole new vista of knowledge about a culture, but you do not necessarily have to study the language to discover what China has to offer and what goes on their plate. 

Marvelous books like Grace Lin's Chinese Menu will give you plenty of new and entertaining anecdotes, legends, and the sometimes true history that make up the origin story for countless Chinese dishes we all know and love. Plus, each chapter comes illustrated with beautiful full-color drawings. 

Formerly found in the “Children’s” section of the library, we’ve renamed this collection of materials “Universal”.  This book, maybe better than any other, shows why the Mechanics Institute Library renamed this collection. Chinese Menu is definitely not just for children, but is accessible to readers of all ages. In fact, this is an ideal book for parents to read and share with their children at bedtime.