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Monday, June 30th, 2003
Inspired by Invisible Adjunct and Kieran Healy, I am seeking input from my readers as regards my summer reading list. I am, however, doing it a bit in reverse: I went to the bookstore this weekend, bought a bunch of books which caught my eye -- these will make up my summer reading (at least until they are exhausted); and now I want to find out if any of you have impressions about them. I do not, alas, have a comments feature; but if you send me e-mail in this regard I promise to put it up as part of this post. So fire away! Here is this list, with comments: - Travels in Hyperreality, by Umberto Eco
- The Ginger Man, by J.P. Donleavy
- Under the Net, by Iris Murdoch
- Nuns and Soldiers, by Iris Murdoch
- The Beginning of Spring, by Penelope Fitzgerald
- Journal of the Fictive Life, by Howard Nemerov
- Quetzlcoatl and the Irony of Empire, by David Carrasco
- Black Spring, by Henry Miller
posted evening of June 30th, 2003: Respond
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Dixon reflected ... on how inefficient a bar to wasting one's time was the knowledge that one was wasting it (and especially in what Welch termed 'matters of the heart')...Kingsley Amis, Lucky Jim I was reminded this weekend of this fine book and reread about the first half of it. It is a hilarious, dark satire of academia.
posted evening of June 30th, 2003: Respond
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Friday, June 27th, 2003
Ooh boy, I just clicked on an old post from Dr. Healy and found that Larry Gonick has published part III of his history of the Universe! Gotta run out and get that. I won't use Amazon, I won't use Amazon,... I expect Coliseum has got it.
posted afternoon of June 27th, 2003: Respond
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Wednesday, June 25th, 2003
"I have read Lolita, as you requested. It is a good book, and therefore you should try to sell it to the inhabitants of Hardborough. They won't understand it, but that is all to the good. Understanding makes the mind lazy."Penelope Fitzgerald, The Book Shop Can you dig it — Understanding makes the mind lazy!!! This will be my slogan from now on, or until I find a better. I finished the book this afternoon; grew a bit exasperated with myself as I got into the familiar mode of being so interested in the plot, that I read too fast and fail to process completely what I am reading. I would be less dependent on rereading if I would not do that so frequently. Anyways -- I love it! Loaning it out to all my friends starting now.... Two bits of good news: Coliseum Books has reopened, and very near my place of employment! I have been there twice already. And, this weekend we are going to visit Eva in Craryville which means, a chance to visit Rodgers Book Barn!
posted evening of June 25th, 2003: Respond
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It often seemed to her that if she knew exactly what her financial position was down to the last three farthings, ... she would not have the courage to carry on for another day.Penelope Fitzgerald, The Book Shop The book is engrossing and funny. Very warm, sympathetic characterization of Mrs. Green and of Christine. The other characters seem thus far (halfway) mainly foils to Mrs. Green.
posted morning of June 25th, 2003: Respond
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Tuesday, June 24th, 2003
Kieran Healy has a post up now looking for reading recommendations; and the Invisible Adjunct recommended to him the work of Penelope Fitzgerald, in language ("a rare combination of irony plus compassion") that made it sound too good to pass up. So this afternoon, I stopped in at Coliseum books and after looking over her œuvre, settled on The Book Shop as a good intro. I read the first 2 ½ chapters on the train coming home and I'm hooked.
posted evening of June 24th, 2003: Respond
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On-the-train reading today is 60 Stories by Donald Barthelme. I found this book last fall in the train station, where somebody had left a box full of old paperbacks. The stories are great -- well about a quarter of them seem to be what John Updike would have written if he had been into experimental prose, not quite my cup of tea -- and about a quarter are just too wordy for me to find a foothole -- but the remaining half are excellent, and moving, and funny. And the occasional odd phrase that makes me grin for a few minutes.
posted morning of June 24th, 2003: Respond
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Thursday, June 12th, 2003
More Chandler on the train this morning -- his prose is so comfortable, reading it feels like swimming in a warm pool. The funny Hollywood idiom sounds totally natural in Marlowe's narration. (And I have no idea whether anyone ever actually talked that way!)
posted morning of June 12th, 2003: Respond
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Wednesday, June 11th, 2003
I'm reading Raymond Chandler's The Little Sister now and loving it -- I had forgotten how much fun his prose is.
posted afternoon of June 11th, 2003: Respond
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Thursday, May 15th, 2003
Further along in Killing Time -- it seems like the best way to read it is quickly. The story is really engaging, I just get bogged down if I try to process the absurdly pretentious prose. Seems like nearly every page contains a howler passage of over-constructed, useless language -- I'm just ignoring these as much as I can and reading for the action.
posted morning of May 15th, 2003: Respond
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