September 2009
35 posts
PHILLY LIAR'S CLUB →
Are writers liars?
Rowling is a sorceress, say Bush officials →
BWAHAHAHAH, kind of.
YOUR BRAIN ON KAFKA →
If I said something like, “I suspected as much.” would I sound like a huge jerk-off? Probably.
I’ve read a lot! Tao Lin, Henry James, more Wallace, more Harry Potter. It’s been a good two weeks. http://booksijustread.tumblr.com/
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HENRY JAMES
I just read The Lesson of the Master by Henry James, another novella. I liked it. The book reminded me of individual writing philosophies, like Heningway’s. A novice, yet published, writer meets a “master” writer he admires. That master writer pretty much tells the novice protagonist how to be the consummate artist, how to become a real writer. I’m left wondering at...
WRITERS
E L Doctorow opened his reading tonight with: “It’s nice to be in Brooklyn, a lot of great writers live here. Only three good writers, that I know of, live in the Bronx. Don DeLillo, Richard Price, and well, me. But Herman Melville is buried in the Bronx, so at least we have that.”
I’ve “met” two writers, and I was able to kind of flirt with Dave Eggers but...
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SHOPLIFTING FROM AMERICAN APPAREL
I’ve been procrastinating writing about a book I read for the first time since I started booksijustread, so I am writing about it to shame me from doing it ever again. I finished Shoplifting From American Apparel two whole days ago! I’ve been struggling with what to say about this novella. It’s terse, brief, modern and meandering. Tao Lin is the first author I’ve seen...
RT @RonHogan: It’s been 5 yrs since Oprah picked a book by a woman for book club. @MJRose wonders what’s up with that: http://is.gd/3pTJh
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MORE DFW, READ BY ME
On my day off I decided, I would finish “Girl with Curious Hair” which I had been procrastinating doing for a few days now. Mainly because I didn’t like the final story in the collection. But I did finish it today, and I decided the very long “Westward the Course of Empire Takes Its Way” was a precursor, practice almost, for “Infinite Jest” and I enjoyed...
1 tag
It's funny.
Here’s this week’s story from my entry at 52stories…
Some funny things she thinks of sometimes are: people asking obvious questions is funny, the way I feel least comfortable when I think I look pretty is funny, cats licking themselves is funny sometimes, my mom pressing her tongue between her lips when she is cutting something with scissors is funny.
In the times she is not...
RE READ HPATDH
Once I start a Harry Potter book I am addicted and know nothing else until I close it. Yesterday was no exception, as I flee through #7 at breakneck pace, ignoring the subway, people, tasks… Bryan asked me if I wish there were more books in the series.
Despite my drive TO KNOW the end, I still never want it to come. I’d be content to look forward to new Harry Potter releases every few...
This is the first Wallace piece I’ve read and been un-fond of. Kind of hate it actually.
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BROOKLYN BOOK FAIR
Today was the wonderful annual Brooklyn Book Fair in Downtown Brooklyn. It was a gorgeous day! The event I went for was the “Happy Ending” reading series, mostly because David Cross was reading and I love him. The tents were plentiful, there were tons of people, Melville House Press was there and I bought two novellas. It is always nice to be surrounded by readers and books on a...
ALL I WANNA DO
is re-read Deathly Hallows.
HANDMADE NATION
I think any book that reminds you of your adolescent age dreams of learning how to knit is successful. This book chronicles the successes of a bunch of makers and shakers who’ve become self employed or just plain happy doing what they love- making things.
They make a lot of beautiful things. The glossy, large pages of this book showcase amazing art. I almost want to cut the pages out and...
I’ll be listening to bandoreli’s recommendations, as one of his past recommendations led me to read Baron in the Trees, by Italo Calvino- now one of my favorite books of all time. I am adding his suggestions of An Adultery by Justin Theroux and The Mezzanine by Nicholson Baker to my list of to read.
“Every single one of you has something you’re good at. Every single one of...”
– PRESIDENT OBAMA’S BACK 2 SCHOOL SPEECH
Writing and reading are so important the President mentions them! Contrary to the treatment English as a subject usually gets (unimportant useless trivial) Obama is pointing out something I really believe- English is as important as any other subject.
reading new authors rarely happens for me, i just want to read the same ones over and over.
A PROBLEM I HAVE:
I have a problem. I am close minded about books. All I ever want to do is keep on reading ones I know I will like. I read the same authors over and over, and while my list of beloved authors isn’t short, I should expand it. I WANT to expand it. I keep on requesting books from the library by David Foster Wallace and Vladimir Nabokov. And while some might find that enterprising, for me...
THIS IS AN EXAMPLE →
I just finished a wonderful book- Cosmos by Witold Gombrowicz. http://booksijustread.tumblr.com/
I JUST READ COSMOS
I’ve been slowly reading Cosmos by Witold Gombrowicz and the last time I closed this tome, I unknowingly closed it with half a page to go before finishing. Today I read that half a page and was completely floored that I had finished the book for two reasons:
1. I had no idea I was about to finish the book.
2. Suddenly the book was over.
These points seem similar but they aren’t....
