Tag Archives: reading
Book Reviews: Serendipitous Pulp Fiction – Richard Stark vs. Elmore Leonard
I fell into both of these authors of decent pulp fiction completely by accident, thus the serendipity idea in the title. I learned about one of my favorite shows Justified from my NSFCCDP friend m.poulet and I told you about how … Continue reading
Book Reviews: Mario Vargas Llosa’s Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter – funny and quirky enough to make me want to read more Llosa
Also during my Beijing trip, I was able to read and finish 2010 Nobel Prize for Literature winner Mario Vargas Llosa’s Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter. I am familiar with other writers from South America, but this is my first … Continue reading
Book Review: Moby-Dick, or the Whale by Herman Melville – Ahab and the Will to Power
I finished Moby-Dick for the third time last night at midnight-thirty. It was a breathless ending as one would expect, but there was also a feeling of anti-climax. I think that despite the excitement of the chase and the apocalyptic … Continue reading
Book Reviews: Moby-Dick, Part 1 – Suspense Before the Hunt
I am reading and loving Moby-Dick at the moment following my research trips to the whaling museums of Nantucket and New Bedford. This particular edition I am reading from University of California Press is HIGHLY recommended as the typeface is extremely … Continue reading
Book and Movie Review: Charlie (and Willy Wonka) and the Chocolate Factory
Over the summer holiday in Italy a few weeks ago, I was in a bookstore looking for a few books for the family and I stumbled upon Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl. I had never actually read … Continue reading
Book Review: The Pale King by David Foster Wallace – A Posthumous Incomplete Masterpiece
I have been a little fascinated with David Foster Wallace since learning of his suicide on the blogosphere several years back. I have already written a little bit about my reading of some of his work and just happened upon … Continue reading
More opening lines (or more of my favorite literary classics)
Continuing on last night’s theme, I thought I’d share a few more opening lines with you. Actually, two are reminders from a friend that said I skipped two good ones – and he was right because they are probably two … Continue reading
Reading: It’s all in the opening (or some of my all-time literature favorites)
In marketing and advertising, there is an adage about the first 30 seconds being critical to grabbing people’s attention. I have found that in literature, this same rule applies to some of my favorite books. Truly great authors have the … Continue reading
The death of reading?
Last night, I spent some time with one of the friends I have held nearly since my arrival in Paris. Our friendship is founded on the face that we are both redheads with about the same age, but more importantly, … Continue reading
A watched pot: an ode to waiting
You know that expression, “a watched pot never boils?” I think it is fair to translate it into 21st century terms and say, “a watched inbox gets no new mail.” Remember all those times you waited next to your phone … Continue reading
