Underground Railroad Colson Whitehead 2016 I liked this book, but I didn’t love it like most friends have. I’m not trying to be contrarian and say I’m above the hubbub it’s received. A few things go into this. One is that I genuinely like Whitehead’s writing. His philosophical zombie novel Zone One was a blast … Continue reading Recently Read: February
I’m rereading a collection of Bruno Schulz’s writing. It’s dense, lyrical, strange. I had to type up this section below about the reading experience. This reminds me of certain experiences as a young reader, or being an older listener to music of my youth, music that had seemed vital, but only feels frail and false … Continue reading for that single moment we love them ever after
School is incessant. Essays pile up. Standardized tests becloud the horizon. My feet are unfailingly wet. Either my children have hydrokinesis and practice on my socks, or they are careless around water. Despite the times, Friday saw the release of Jasper Lee’s Mirror of Wind LP. Jasper’s most well-known music is on the score for … Continue reading That Time of Year You May In Me Behold
My Ántonia Willa Cather 1918 A vision of the American West that was already gone when this went to print. I love novels from this period. Cather makes the scenery come alive, similar to what Wharton does in Ethan Frome, though often achieving opposite effects. To oversimplify, one could say Ántonia is hot and Ethan … Continue reading Recently Read: January Edition
Too Loud a Solitude Bohumil Hrabal 1976/1989 This was recommended by a friend who went to Czechoslovakia and had this book recommended to him by a bookstore clerk as representative of the nation’s literature. Solitude is just over 100 pages and reads a little like Kafka, and a little like Beckett. The book deals with … Continue reading Recently Read
Shelf of Fame 2016 Books I found particularly moving, thoughtful, or useful this year. Fiction Dracula: Bram Stoker I love Gothic novels. I’ve read this maybe four or five times. The more I read it, the more I enjoy it and all its strengths and weaknesses. Gulliver’s Travels: Jonathan Swift I had read a children’s … Continue reading The Year in Reading 2016
Last night, I was thinking about the blog and how I’ve ignored the blog. I sketched out something like the old monthly updates that Quinn and I used to do. He updated today after a long silence, so I took it as some synchronicity not to ignore. Reading I ordered The Horror Hall of Fame … Continue reading Just like the ones I used to know…
You can read Quinn’s post here. Reading War and Peace My big summer reading project. This is the third start as I’ve had to set it aside for teaching duties. I’m close to finishing (Book 11 of 15, plus two epilogues). Slowly I’ve been catching up on the great Russian literature I’ve missed. Epic, but … Continue reading Wherein I play catch-up to the Quinn again.
I’m reading Faulkner’s novels in chronological order with a friend. We’ve read Vonnegut and Hemingway, so Faulkner seemed the obvious choice after Hem. After spending so much time with Hemingway, then beginning Faulkner, one of the most obvious takeaways we’ve had is wondering why these guys get compared so much. Other than attempting to be … Continue reading the reason for living was to get ready to stay dead a long time: Reading Faulkner
Stephen McClurg 