It's a great pleasure to read these lists, and find people who are finding pleasure in books I will probably never read. But also to see so many parallels. For instance, I just tried to watch the film version of Unbearable Lightness recently, and I couldn't get through it, even though I LOVED that film when it came out. And I also just watched Truly Madly Deeply again, a movie that DOES hold up. Rickman was one of a kind. And Lonesome Dove...one of my top novels ever, and it's true, many people missed the point that McMurtry was not interested in romanticizing the West. He's one of my mentors in that regard. Good stuff, everyone.
What great ideas, thank you!! I liked The Creative Act a lot, and what's even better than reading it is listening to it. Rick Rubin reads it in his calm, meditative voice. I just started reading Ninth Street Women, which is about artists Elaine de Kooning, Lee Krasner, Grace Hartigan, Joan Mitchell, and Helen Frankenthaler, and it's also about the history of modern art in the 20th century. Fascinating.
Ha! I can still picture Alfred E. Neuman's toothy grin on the Cover of Mad Mag. My older brother Gary brought home numerous already dog-eared copies I consumed with relish.
Presently I'm revisiting Pulitzer Prize-winning poet, James Merrill's A scattering of Salts, glimpses into his private life as part of the Charlie Merrill clan. The book was gifted to me by Merrill's nephew. A second book I'm reading is a compendium of Mark Twain's numerous stories, The Family Mark Twain. I relish his sharp wit that holds more meaning for me every time I read it.
Loving the sweep of lit here! I am keeping my weary brain entertained with Sly Stone's upcoming memoir (a witty, self-absorbed madman with charisma & vision)...& my eternal favorites, my vintage collection of MAD Magazine paperbacks from the '60s & '70s. The endless goofiness, the fond mockery of the human condition & the evocative brilliant illustrations send me back to my giddy 9 year-old self.
I'm reading Robert 'Mack' McCormick Robert Johnson book Biography Of A Phantom right now and it it full of detail and very well written. Which is suprising because I think it's his only book. It was a lifelong project. I love all the geographic markers and towns that he discusses in the Southern U.S. In the Delta region. So many roadtrips could come out of this book.
The book I read before that was the monster 'The Passenger' by Cormac McCarthy. Wise, philosophical, great story brilliant writing. An amazing accomplishment for a man in his late 80's. I am really looking forward to reading the sequel after I'm through with the two I have on deck.
The other book I have and am going to read next is J.D. O'Brien's Zig Zag. It is supposed to be like a stoner noirish crime novel. I have really been into noir films lately and detective novels. Raymond Chandler stuff. It was recommended to me by Jim Ruland who also has a Substack you can check out.
It's a great pleasure to read these lists, and find people who are finding pleasure in books I will probably never read. But also to see so many parallels. For instance, I just tried to watch the film version of Unbearable Lightness recently, and I couldn't get through it, even though I LOVED that film when it came out. And I also just watched Truly Madly Deeply again, a movie that DOES hold up. Rickman was one of a kind. And Lonesome Dove...one of my top novels ever, and it's true, many people missed the point that McMurtry was not interested in romanticizing the West. He's one of my mentors in that regard. Good stuff, everyone.
I love these.
didnt Annie Proulx write Brokeback Mountain
What great ideas, thank you!! I liked The Creative Act a lot, and what's even better than reading it is listening to it. Rick Rubin reads it in his calm, meditative voice. I just started reading Ninth Street Women, which is about artists Elaine de Kooning, Lee Krasner, Grace Hartigan, Joan Mitchell, and Helen Frankenthaler, and it's also about the history of modern art in the 20th century. Fascinating.
Ha! I can still picture Alfred E. Neuman's toothy grin on the Cover of Mad Mag. My older brother Gary brought home numerous already dog-eared copies I consumed with relish.
Presently I'm revisiting Pulitzer Prize-winning poet, James Merrill's A scattering of Salts, glimpses into his private life as part of the Charlie Merrill clan. The book was gifted to me by Merrill's nephew. A second book I'm reading is a compendium of Mark Twain's numerous stories, The Family Mark Twain. I relish his sharp wit that holds more meaning for me every time I read it.
Loving the sweep of lit here! I am keeping my weary brain entertained with Sly Stone's upcoming memoir (a witty, self-absorbed madman with charisma & vision)...& my eternal favorites, my vintage collection of MAD Magazine paperbacks from the '60s & '70s. The endless goofiness, the fond mockery of the human condition & the evocative brilliant illustrations send me back to my giddy 9 year-old self.
I'm reading Robert 'Mack' McCormick Robert Johnson book Biography Of A Phantom right now and it it full of detail and very well written. Which is suprising because I think it's his only book. It was a lifelong project. I love all the geographic markers and towns that he discusses in the Southern U.S. In the Delta region. So many roadtrips could come out of this book.
The book I read before that was the monster 'The Passenger' by Cormac McCarthy. Wise, philosophical, great story brilliant writing. An amazing accomplishment for a man in his late 80's. I am really looking forward to reading the sequel after I'm through with the two I have on deck.
The other book I have and am going to read next is J.D. O'Brien's Zig Zag. It is supposed to be like a stoner noirish crime novel. I have really been into noir films lately and detective novels. Raymond Chandler stuff. It was recommended to me by Jim Ruland who also has a Substack you can check out.