Prelude to "F"

Onto "F" which I meant to pick up a while ago at the library and just now did. Ben Franklin's autiobiography and other writings is my next selection. I am excited to begin this because Ben Franklin was an interesting character.

Not only was he a founding father and invented lots of cool things, like the farmers alamanac, bifocals, etc Im sure I will be able to add to this later. He also endorsed some pretty unpopular views for the time and was pretty open about it. He was pretty open as an abolitionist (I think) and as a bit of a flirt/philanderer. He totally had a son out of wedlock and still took care of the kid and was kinda like yeah...what now? Pretty out of the box at the time.

Additionally, and this might be the part I am most excited about, the edition I found at the library, totally accidentally, has illustrations by Thomas Hart Benton! I really enjoy Thomas Hart Benton, I discovered this love from the painting I put on this post which is in the KU Spencer Art Museum gallery, one of the first things I saw on campus. And hes a Midwesterner! Represent!

Anyway, hopefully I can keep the reading public (if it exists) better updated on this book as I move along.

Happy reading all!

little r

Note: The title of this painting is "The Ballad of the Jealous Lover of Lone Green Valley"

"E" is for Electra

Hello all!

First of all, a big WOOT WOOT to allison and katie for being faithful bloggers. Yay! I always appreciate your interesting comments and passion for reading. AWESOMENESS.

So for my "E" book I chose Electra and other plays by Euripides. This collection included 4-5 plays other than Electra. However, I regret to report that I can't comment much on the other plays in this book. I started reading Andromache and it was so tragic I couldn't keep it going. I barely made it through Electra frankly, and didn't try much else in the collection (which was actually pretty short) including Hecuba, Trojan Women and some others.

Electra itself was pretty tragic. ALERT TO PLOT SPOILERS*************** Obviously, as this was a collection of tragedies but I forgot how TRAGIC and DEPRESSING those Greek tragedies are. In Electra, she is basically banished into the country (which is supposed to be shameful) by her stepfather after her mother kills (I think...oops) her father. Her brother is also exiled. And guess what....it ends tragically. Thats about all I have to say about that.

Note: I think Carmen Electra might have been more interesting. And Im not into girls.

passing (larsen)

Hm..

I'm not sure how I feel about this selection. The writing, in parts, was beautiful and extremely well done and detailed.

It was so short, and I knew it should be filled with a lot of tension, but I just didn't feel it. It felt almost flat to me, like the characters were going through the motion.

Maybe, because it was trying to speak to a different audience than myself, it would resonate more with someone else.. but I just didn't feel what I know it was try to make me feel.

I don't regret reading it, but at the same time I'm not sure that it added anything to the list.

I'm reading Big Sur right now (yeah, I couldn't wait) which will only take a few days. Then, I'm on to my selection for M.. Moby Dick (Melville).

Which means I am halfway through the challenge. :)

I give up on Dickens

As the title of this post has already told you, I give up on Dickens.  I picked "The Old Curiosity Shop" by Charles Dickens as my "D" book.  I had never heard of the book before but I thought it was going to be about a young girl who lived with her grandfather in a curiosity shop.  I tried to finish the book.  I really tried but I couldn't do it.  I read my first three books in 2 weeks, no problem.  I had this book checked out for two weeks and had to check it out again to get extra time.  I have had it for over a week since I re-checked the book and only read a couple of chapters even though I was on spring break.  I found the writing to be kind of dry and I just didn't have any motivation.  Today I did something I never do, I skipped ahead in the book to see if it was going to get more interesting.  I pulled out my book mark and placed the book by the door to return to the library.

Here are my official observations from what I actually read before giving up.

• The beginning of the book is kind of creepy.  The young girl, Nell, is "not yet 14" and all these men are talking about marrying her because they hope her grandfather is secretly rich.
• There is a character named Dick Swiveller.  So at least his name was amusing.
• One of the characters, Mr.Quilp is just a mean and nasty guy.  (<--- understatement.)
• Dickens does trash talk!  This part cracked me up so I'm going to post a little excerpt.

Then, and not until then, Daniel Quilp found himself, all flushed and disshevelled, in the middle of the street, with Mr.Richard Swiveller performing a kind of dance round him and requiring to know "whether he wanted any more?"

"There's plenty more of it at the same shop," said Mr.Swiveller, by turns advancing and retreating in a threatening attitude, "a large and extensive assortment always on hand- country orders executed with promptitude and despatch- will you have a little more, sir?- don't say no, if you'd rather not."

Should I try another Dickens book?  If I do, it'll be awhile.

on the road

Wow.

My reaction to this book: wow.

Holy crap, Kerouac is a genius.. and I wish he had entered my life sooner. I really, really do.

Now, here's why I chose Kerouac: some of you may know my fascination with a Mr. Ben Gibbard, the leader singer of a wonderful band named Death Cab for Cutie. Now, he wrote this song for the album Narrow Stairs called Bixby Canon Bridge, which was about his journey to the cabin in Big Sur that Kerouac spent days in (Side note: with my continuing growing knowledge, I have realized that there are actually quite a few references to Kerouac in Death Cab's work, I just had no idea). It was all about hoping to be hit with inspiration, but only finding disappointment. I'm sure we've all been there: traveling somewhere we've desperately wanted to go because we think it'll be this life changing experience.. but it's just another place. Anyway, this is when I first heard about Ben's idol as a writer: Jack Kerouac. I had heard abut him before.. but never in much detail and I had no idea who he was, or what he meant to his generation. Then, about a year later, Ben Gibbard did an album with Jay Farrar entitled One Fast Move or I'm Gone: Music from Kerouac's Big Sur. Both of the singer/songwriters were influenced by Kerouac in a VERY deep way, and the quality of the album reflects that. All the lyrics are taken straight from Kerouac's novel, Big Sur (Ben's personal favorite), and before I had even read Kerouac I was in love with his words (although with Ben singing I would fall in love with anything). This then brings me to last August, when I made my list. I knew the impact Kerouac had had on my favorite writer.. why wouldn't I want to read his work? So I jumped at reading On the Road and it was one of the ones I was most looking forward to.

Now, I trust Ben's judgment. I really do. He is one of the most brilliant writers I've ever encountered. As a writer, I'm awed by his talents. And yeah, I was expecting a lot out of Kerouac. But what I actually experienced was far more than I had ever expected. And yes, this book is an experience.

On the Road, in it's entirety, is a journey. It follows Sal (Clarification: the main character's name is Sal Paradise, but this is a book taking directly from his own experiences.. think of it like a biography with a different name for the main character) as he travels from New York to California and back again (multiple times) with his friend Dean. I would liken Kerouac's writing style to more of a stream of consciousness approach: it is fragmented, disjointed, crazy, and absolutely beautiful. He has a way of capturing people in their entirety: Kerouac has this way of seeing through everything to the depth's of the soul, and making even the most ugly and despicable person beautiful. You get the sense that he understands that humans are intrinsically flawed and still sees them as these fragile and beautiful people, and the more flawed the more beautiful.

There is also, for me, a hugely nostalgic feel about this book even though I was about.. 40 years away from being born. It makes me sad for our generation and future generations. Gone are the days of traveling across the country on a whim, with just a vague inclination of where you're going (and possibly a road map), and the promise of the open road. Stopping where you will, interacting with the people across the country.. I can't even describe it. These days, it's too easy to plan from point A to point B taking this road to that road and not stopping. Everyone has cars, no one has time, everyone has a plan.

Kerouac has no fear. Half the time he picks up his life, travels across the country, and doesn't even really know why. He has no money, but he's inclined to think "I'll figure it out when I get there." I wish I was brave enough to do that.

To put it simply, Kerouac's writing is some of the most beautifully honest, heart-breaking, and simple prose I've ever read.. and the fact that he wrote it in three weeks on 24 sheets of paper taped together on his type writer.. the work of a genius. I find the writing impressive in an entirely different way than anything I've read so far on this list.
I finished this novel last night. What did I buy after work today? You guessed it.. The Big Sur. I will read it after my next Classics selection.. Passing by Nella Larsen.

I'll leave you with this:
"Dean took out other pictures. I realized these were all snapshots which our children would look at someday with wonder, thinking their parents had lived smooth, well-ordered, stabilized-within-the-photo lives and got up in the morning to walk proudly on the sidewalks of life, never dreaming the raggedy madness and riot of our actual lives, or actual night, the hell of it, the senseless nightmare road. All of it inside endless and beginningless emptiness. Pitiful forms of ignorance. "Good-by, good-by." Dean walked off in the long red dusk. Locomotives smoked and reeled above him. His shadow followed him, it aped his walk and thoughts and very being. He turned and waved coyly, bashfully. He gave me the boomer's highball, he jumped up and and down, he yelled something I didn't catch. He ran around in a circle. All the time he came closer to the concrete corner of the railroad overpass. He made one last signal. I waved back. Suddenly he bent to his life and walked quickly out of sight. I gaped into the bleakness of my own days. I had an awful long way to go too." - Jack Kerouac, On the Road

dubliners

As little r pointed out.. no posts for awhile. On my part, that's because I finished Dubliners on Thurs. and never got a chance to sit down and write about it until now (this being my first day off in a week).

Having had such problems getting through Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Other Tales I was dismayed to find my next selection, Dubliners, a series of short stories as well. I got through this one in about a week, which was good.

(note, I'm basically going to be comparing Irving and Joyce in this post.. if you need to see my reasons about why I can't comment on short stories, see my post about the Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Other Tales)

I believe that Joyce did a better job of creating a coherent whole out of disjointed stories. Whereas Irving was trying to create sketches in time, Joyce was trying to create a portrait of a people. Irving's stories seemed to largely be disjointed, focusing on separate instances / people and capturing them in that moment. He was not trying to paint a portrait of a collective people like Joyce, rather a portrait of experiences. Irving focuses largely on specific incidents: sometimes melancholy, sometimes supernatural.

Just like Irving, Joyce does a wonderful job of describing people and their habits, but unlike Irving he is able to connect all of his characters under the umbrella that they're all "Dubliners." This is how he connects each of his stories to the next, allowing his characters to relate to each other through their shared heritage, culture, and interests. I think this is largely what makes me feel like Joyce was able to connect his stories in a better way to each other.

Does this make it better than Irving? Not necessarily. There are some things I really loved about Irving's supernatural stories, or the ones that really got close to the human condition (the Widow and Her Son). By the same token, there are some things about Joyce's stories that I would elevate above Irving.

That having been said, I am starting Kerouac's On the Road today, and really really looking forward to it. I had to have a short break to read the finale to a series I've been reading for 5ish years now, though. Finished it last night, so I'm all ready for my next classic! :)

What "little r" Has Been Up To

No new posts since Feb 28th?! What is happening to us people! Penguin year team - lets pull out the stops this week!

In honor of my lack of blogging, I would like to explain what I have been doing instead. Nothing is a good replacement for some enjoyable reading but this blog is also about what KEEPS me from doing the reading I love and since it has been quite a while since I finished a letter, I thought I would share.

I think the first stumbling block was my letter "E" itself. Electra and other plays by Euripedes. Oy. All tragedies. what was I thinking? I hate tragedy! Positive energy! I started it with the play "Andromache" which was all about death and murder and rape and other awful things, in ancient Greece. Needless to say, I couldn't get into it. I have skipped ahead to the last play (I think there are about five) which is the namesake of the book, Electra. It is also beginning with tragedy but I am hoping it picks up a little more.

In other news, I have been working like crazy in the department. So many tests, article critiques, and thesis related projects to work on I have been in the office more than my usual 45-50 hours. Last week, I got home one night at 630, which was EARLY and I thought to myself, I have made some poor life decisions. I know it will turn out in the long run but some days, oy.

In good news, my thesis is coming along swimmingly; I am completely decided on the design all those other good things, now its implementing and writing, writing, writing about it to get it going.

Please share what is keeping YOU from doing the reading you love.