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While I haven’t spent much time at C-SPAN’s video library, they (thankfully) have more than political events available for viewing. Here is the link to a talk by historian William Goetzmann: Mr. Goetzmann talked about the book My Confession: Reflections of a Rogue, written by Samuel Chamberlain. He focused on the life of Chamberlain, an […]
The only thing I’ve written lately has been notes on the books I’m reading, but I haven’t felt like organizing and posting discussions. The normal blather should return soon. There’s no other purpose for this post except to enjoy the look of the books that make up Baroja’s The Struggle for Life trilogy. Posts related […]
I have enjoyed owning works from The Library of America for at least 25 years now, and I’m happy to see they are posting a Story of the Week at their website. Mark Twain’s two-part newspaper article, later released as an essay, on Queen Victoria’s Jubilee appears as this week’s story. Here is the introduction […]
There have been a couple of comments on The Good Soldier Švejk, particularly in regard to Part One: Behind the Lines. I think a large part of Hašek’s accomplishment revolves around the ambiguity on how much of a simpleton is Švejk. Is he playing the part or is he really a fool? Or is he […]
Mel u at The Reading Life and I will be reading Parade’s End by Ford Madox Ford starting in April. I’ve had the Carcanet Press version sitting next to the bed for over a year and I can’t take the procrastination any more. Feel free to comment as we tackle the four books. If you […]
Weeds by Pío Baroja Translated by Isaac Goldberg Alfred A. Knopf, 1923, 344 pagesWith Weeds I will link to the online resources for The Quest since I can’t find additional information that seems relevant or helpful. Fortunately the text can be found online here. Weeds came out in 1904 shortly after The Quest was released. […]
2666 By Roberto Bolaño Translated by Natasha Wimmer Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 898 pages, $30 (hardcover) …there was something revelatory about the taste of this bookish young pharmacist, who in another life might have been Takl or who in this life might still be writing poems as desperate as those of his distant Austrian counterpart, […]
View of Tor House and Hawk Tower from Scenic Drive, Carmel, CaliforniaI really enjoyed my tour of Robinson Jeffers’ Tor House on Friday. The setting was perfect–a storm was working its way toward shore–to admire Jeffers’ handiwork and his poems. So while I’m back at work and have to clean up after someone broke into […]
My wife will attend a seminar in Monterey Friday, so I’m taking the day off to tag along for the fun of it. While I don’t have firm plans there are many things I love doing in the Big Sur / Carmel / Monterey area, of which I’m sure I’ll include these two: Robinson Jeffers’ […]
I am halfway through Roberto Bolaño’s 2666 and I’m still uncertain how I feel about it other than I’ll give it a chance to let all the pieces fit together. In the meantime, here are a couple of posts by Patti Smith on her reading of 2666, among other things. Part One Part Two