Now reading...

[7/4]

Pretty interesting, I'm about halfways through it.

[BruceH]

Just finished A Heart at Fire's Center: The Life and Times of Bernard Herrmann by Steven C. Smith (University of California Press)

Very good book. Smith writes well, is judicious in his critical evaluations, and wisely quotes Herrmann's own eloquent published writing and letters at length.

This sounds good. Herrmann is probably my favorite film composer; certainly in the top 2 or 3.

Don't Hesitate, BruceH. Since you're a classical music fan and a film aficionado, I think you'd get a lot out of this. Herrmann was a lot more of a force in the world of "serious" music than I had realized, though I did know that he was an early and lifelong booster of Charles Ives, from having read Jan Swafford's Ives biography (which I would recommend very highly as well).

I'm reading it now. Freaked me out to learn that Herrmann and Abraham Polonsky were childhood friends. Wow! My favorite film composer and one of my favorite directors. Guess it really is a small world.

[ejp626]

I just completed Anthony Powell -- Hearing Secret Harmonies.

This is the 12th and final book in his cycle A Dance to the Music of Time. No question it was ambitious, deliberately recalling Proust though different in that the narrator mostly lived through time and grew old, rather than reflected back on life (book 6 does have a high proportion of flashback, however). Some parts, maybe even most, are quite good. Other parts are a bit contrived. On the whole, I probably liked books 4-5 the best, covering the narrator's early adulthood basically. I wasn't quite as taken with the books covering the narrator living through WWII (7-9). The final set of books have some really odd and even unbelievable plot twists. But what Powell is good at is showing how people go in and out of one's life and how the threads sometimes can be integrated and how the whole web of relations unravels as one ages and friends and relatives begin to die off. Some of the interactions are only possible because he is focusing on the elites and near elites who do tend to congregate in London. One could imagine writing the same type of thing for New York City, but not too many other US cities (maybe a case could be made for SF with Maupin's Tales of the City). I doubt I will take the time to read it again, but maybe the mood will strike me.

I am astonished at how few Brits have heard of Powell, but I also mostly hang out with engineers and programmers, and not too many literary types. Maybe Powell is a bit out of fashion now as well.

[Matthew]

I just completed Anthony Powell -- Hearing Secret Harmonies.

This is the 12th and final book in his cycle A Dance to the Music of Time. No question it was ambitious, deliberately recalling Proust though different in that the narrator mostly lived through time and grew old, rather than reflected back on life (book 6 does have a high proportion of flashback, however). Some parts, maybe even most, are quite good. Other parts are a bit contrived. On the whole, I probably liked books 4-5 the best, covering the narrator's early adulthood basically. I wasn't quite as taken with the books covering the narrator living through WWII (7-9). The final set of books have some really odd and even unbelievable plot twists. But what Powell is good at is showing how people go in and out of one's life and how the threads sometimes can be integrated and how the whole web of relations unravels as one ages and friends and relatives begin to die off. Some of the interactions are only possible because he is focusing on the elites and near elites who do tend to congregate in London. One could imagine writing the same type of thing for New York City, but not too many other US cities (maybe a case could be made for SF with Maupin's Tales of the City). I doubt I will take the time to read it again, but maybe the mood will strike me.

I am astonished at how few Brits have heard of Powell, but I also mostly hang out with engineers and programmers, and not too many literary types. Maybe Powell is a bit out of fashion now as well.

I must admit that the ending to this series of novels was a let down for me -- it had too much of a sixties flavor (in a bad way) for me. Also, the plot twist of having the first image and last image of a character be running, was too contrived for me. Still, all-in-all, I enjoyed it much more the second time through than the first. Still thinking of reading it for a third time.

[Kalo]

I just completed Anthony Powell -- Hearing Secret Harmonies.

This is the 12th and final book in his cycle A Dance to the Music of Time. No question it was ambitious, deliberately recalling Proust though different in that the narrator mostly lived through time and grew old, rather than reflected back on life (book 6 does have a high proportion of flashback, however). Some parts, maybe even most, are quite good. Other parts are a bit contrived. On the whole, I probably liked books 4-5 the best, covering the narrator's early adulthood basically. I wasn't quite as taken with the books covering the narrator living through WWII (7-9). The final set of books have some really odd and even unbelievable plot twists. But what Powell is good at is showing how people go in and out of one's life and how the threads sometimes can be integrated and how the whole web of relations unravels as one ages and friends and relatives begin to die off. Some of the interactions are only possible because he is focusing on the elites and near elites who do tend to congregate in London. One could imagine writing the same type of thing for New York City, but not too many other US cities (maybe a case could be made for SF with Maupin's Tales of the City). I doubt I will take the time to read it again, but maybe the mood will strike me.

I am astonished at how few Brits have heard of Powell, but I also mostly hang out with engineers and programmers, and not too many literary types. Maybe Powell is a bit out of fashion now as well.

I must admit that the ending to this series of novels was a let down for me -- it had too much of a sixties flavor (in a bad way) for me. Also, the plot twist of having the first image and last image of a character be running, was too contrived for me. Still, all-in-all, I enjoyed it much more the second time through than the first. Still thinking of reading it for a third time.

A third time? So how bad could it be?

I'm going to jump into this soon.

As soon as I finish Proust. (Not even joking here, either, as I'm two-thirds through Marcel's opus and hope to finish it by year's end).

I'm shocked, SHOCKED, that Brit engineers/programmers don't know who Powell is. Bet they know who Neil Gaiman and Alan Moore are.

I work in the wine department at a wine and spirits store in Boston and I sometimes mention to new employees that I sold wine to Saul Bellow several times. Very few of them show even a glimmer of recognition at the sound of his name. I guess the Nobel Prize ain't what it's cracked up to be. Still, even more of a thrill to me was selling wine to film-maker Ross McElwee.

[ejp626]

Still thinking of reading it for a third time.

A third time? So how bad could it be?

I'm going to jump into this soon.

As soon as I finish Proust. (Not even joking here, either, as I'm two-thirds through Marcel's opus and hope to finish it by year's end).

I'm shocked, SHOCKED, that Brit engineers/programmers don't know who Powell is. Bet they know who Neil Gaiman and Alan Moore are.

I think you will enjoy most of it, and it probably does make more sense to read Proust, then Powell, as you would catch where Powell is riffing (not ripping) off Proust. But I thought that reading Powell while living in England made a bit more sense. As it turns out, I will probably only be in the UK for another 5 months.

Anyway, these engineers/programmers aren't coming from tech schools. They graduated from Imperial College in London or Cambridge University, where I would expect a broader exposure to culture. I think 10 or certainly 15 years ago a Cambridge grad would at least have heard of Powell, if not necessarily read the whole series.

[BruceH]

I found out about Powell by looking over his books at Boston bookstores.

[BruceH]

I just completed Anthony Powell -- Hearing Secret Harmonies.

This is the 12th and final book in his cycle A Dance to the Music of Time. No question it was ambitious, deliberately recalling Proust though different in that the narrator mostly lived through time and grew old, rather than reflected back on life (book 6 does have a high proportion of flashback, however). Some parts, maybe even most, are quite good. Other parts are a bit contrived. On the whole, I probably liked books 4-5 the best, covering the narrator's early adulthood basically. I wasn't quite as taken with the books covering the narrator living through WWII (7-9). The final set of books have some really odd and even unbelievable plot twists. But what Powell is good at is showing how people go in and out of one's life and how the threads sometimes can be integrated and how the whole web of relations unravels as one ages and friends and relatives begin to die off. Some of the interactions are only possible because he is focusing on the elites and near elites who do tend to congregate in London. One could imagine writing the same type of thing for New York City, but not too many other US cities (maybe a case could be made for SF with Maupin's Tales of the City). I doubt I will take the time to read it again, but maybe the mood will strike me.

I am astonished at how few Brits have heard of Powell, but I also mostly hang out with engineers and programmers, and not too many literary types. Maybe Powell is a bit out of fashion now as well.

I must admit that the ending to this series of novels was a let down for me -- it had too much of a sixties flavor (in a bad way) for me. Also, the plot twist of having the first image and last image of a character be running, was too contrived for me. Still, all-in-all, I enjoyed it much more the second time through than the first. Still thinking of reading it for a third time.

A third time? So how bad could it be?

I'm going to jump into this soon.

As soon as I finish Proust. (Not even joking here, either, as I'm two-thirds through Marcel's opus and hope to finish it by year's end).

I'm shocked, SHOCKED, that Brit engineers/programmers don't know who Powell is. Bet they know who Neil Gaiman and Alan Moore are.

I work in the wine department at a wine and spirits store in Boston and I sometimes mention to new employees that I sold wine to Saul Bellow several times. Very few of them show even a glimmer of recognition at the sound of his name. I guess the Nobel Prize ain't what it's cracked up to be.

You sold wine to Saul Bellow??

[medjuck]

Dashiell Hammett, LOST STORIES. Also rereading parts of Michael Mott's THE SEVEN MOUNTAINS OF THOMAS MERTON.

Is this a new book? I thought I had all of Hammett. (Includng a book of comic strips he wrote.)

Yes--I have that SECRET AGENT X-9 book as well. LOST STORIES came out just last year; I stumbled across it at our local Borders last week. It's not "complete," as far as I can tell; it doesn't contain the very last Continental Op story, "Death and Company" (which I've been searching for for some time), or several early 1930s stories I still can't find ("On the Way," "Albert Pastor at Home," and "His Brother's Keeper"). It does have "Night Shade" and "This Little Pig," plus a # of 1920s stories I've never read, so I bought it. The book is rather padded with biographical commentary.

\Arghh I just went looking and discovered I no longer seem to have what used to be the most commonly available of his books of short stories: The Continental Op and The Big Knockover. I think while Lillian Hellman was alive she kept anything else from being published. However I did find "His Brothers Keeper" in an old paperback called "A Man Called Spade". If you just want to read it I can scan or copy it (I'll have to do either very carefully) and send it to you. If you want to own it you ight be able to find the same paperback. It's Dell 411.

[medjuck]

Welty was right: Ross Macdonald (Kenneth Millar) was the man. I read all of his novels over the course of a year about a decade ago and have returned to several of them a few times since.

Other big Macdonald fans were hard-boiled singer/songwriter Warren Zevon and one of my favorite living writers, Thomas Berger (Little Big Man, Killing Time, Neighbors, The Feud etc.).

The Galton Case is one of Macdonald's best, a watershed for him, but all of the Archer novels are worthwhile. Anything from the '60s is highly recommended, especially The Wycherly Woman, The Zebra-Striped Hearse, The Chill, The Far Side of the Dollar, and The Goodbye Look.

Tom Nolan's biography of Millar/Macdonald is good but depressing. Myserious Press publiohsed a wonderful book of essays about him called "Ross Macdonald's Inward Journey." I read it just before I moved to Santa Barbara. Taught me a lot about the place.

[medjuck]

Just finished A Heart at Fire's Center: The Life and Times of Bernard Herrmann by Steven C. Smith (University of California Press)

Very good book. Smith writes well, is judicious in his critical evaluations, and wisely quotes Herrmann's own eloquent published writing and letters at length.

This sounds good. Herrmann is probably my favorite film composer; certainly in the top 2 or 3.

I once saw Hermann speak at the British Film Institute. Someone from the audience asked why he continued to work on The Magnificent Ambersons after the studio took the film away from Orson Welles. Given the subsequent careers of both men I thought his answer was amazingly poignant and ironic. He answered "We thought it was just a movie. We thought we were going to makes lots of them."

[Kalo]

I just completed Anthony Powell -- Hearing Secret Harmonies.

This is the 12th and final book in his cycle A Dance to the Music of Time. No question it was ambitious, deliberately recalling Proust though different in that the narrator mostly lived through time and grew old, rather than reflected back on life (book 6 does have a high proportion of flashback, however). Some parts, maybe even most, are quite good. Other parts are a bit contrived. On the whole, I probably liked books 4-5 the best, covering the narrator's early adulthood basically. I wasn't quite as taken with the books covering the narrator living through WWII (7-9). The final set of books have some really odd and even unbelievable plot twists. But what Powell is good at is showing how people go in and out of one's life and how the threads sometimes can be integrated and how the whole web of relations unravels as one ages and friends and relatives begin to die off. Some of the interactions are only possible because he is focusing on the elites and near elites who do tend to congregate in London. One could imagine writing the same type of thing for New York City, but not too many other US cities (maybe a case could be made for SF with Maupin's Tales of the City). I doubt I will take the time to read it again, but maybe the mood will strike me.

I am astonished at how few Brits have heard of Powell, but I also mostly hang out with engineers and programmers, and not too many literary types. Maybe Powell is a bit out of fashion now as well.

I must admit that the ending to this series of novels was a let down for me -- it had too much of a sixties flavor (in a bad way) for me. Also, the plot twist of having the first image and last image of a character be running, was too contrived for me. Still, all-in-all, I enjoyed it much more the second time through than the first. Still thinking of reading it for a third time.

A third time? So how bad could it be?

I'm going to jump into this soon.

As soon as I finish Proust. (Not even joking here, either, as I'm two-thirds through Marcel's opus and hope to finish it by year's end).

I'm shocked, SHOCKED, that Brit engineers/programmers don't know who Powell is. Bet they know who Neil Gaiman and Alan Moore are.

I work in the wine department at a wine and spirits store in Boston and I sometimes mention to new employees that I sold wine to Saul Bellow several times. Very few of them show even a glimmer of recognition at the sound of his name. I guess the Nobel Prize ain't what it's cracked up to be.

You sold wine to Saul Bellow??

Didn't I tell you about that?

I also sold wine to Ross McElwee, Ran Blake, J. Geils frontman Peter Wolf, and Tatiana Ali (who I didn't recognize, but the cashiers at the store were very excited and informed me that she was on the TV show Fresh Prince of Bel Air).

Edited October 6, 2006 by Kalo

[jlhoots]

Edward Jones: All Aunt Hagar's Children

[Kalo]

Just started Mayflower by Nathaniel Philbrook.

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

I finished "Pandora's star" by Peter F Hamilton the other day. Not quite as good as the "Night's dawn" trilogy, but a good solid SF yarn and I ordered the concluding part.

While waiting for it to come in, I plucked out of my shelves George Bernard Shaw's "The adventures of the black girl in her search for God". A short little thing he wrote in South Africa in '32. The publisher must have seriously underestimated the sales potential; it was published in December 1932 and my copy, which is the fifth printing, is also December 1932! It's beautifully illustrated with engravings by someone called John Farleigh. I bought it in the late '60s and can't have read it more than once before. Really nice to read really felicitous prose!

The other short one I plucked out is one of my favourites: "Sundiata: an epic of old Mali", written down by D T Niane from the words of the Mandinke djali Mamadou Kouyate. It's the story/history of the creation of the Empire of Mali in the second quarter of the 13th century. Hard to say which bits are history, which bits are fantasy, and which are political propaganda. But the whole story is magnificent and puts Tolkien and others to shame!

However much is fantasy, it's a great adventure and also a great window onto Mandinke culture.

MG

[Harold_Z]

I recently reread James Ellroy's The Black Dahlia after seeing the movie. Totally enjoyable if you dig noir.

I decided to go back further and read one I hadn't read before, so I went back to the beginning and purchased Blood On The Moon, his first novel. I'm about half way through and I'm enjoying it. Ellroy isn't fully formed yet, but it's still pretty interesting and definitely and indicator of where he went.

[jlhoots]

Cormac McCarthy: The Road

[Jazzmoose]

Picked up a book I read years ago to give it a revisit: Blind Voices by Tom Reamy. I just started it, so I've yet to discover if the book is as good as my memory says...

[jazzbo]

Started Joshua Berrett's "Louis Armstrong & Paul Whiteman: Two Kings of Jazz." Not bad.

[brownie]

On my way to finish the 903-page first novel by American writer Jonathan Littell 'Les Bienveillantes' (The Kindly Ones) that won the prestigious Goncourt literary prize last week.

Started reading this several weeks ago and still slowly making my way through this brutal saga of an unrepenting SS Nazi officer who journeys through the darkest episodes of World War Two.

The novel was written in French by Littell. It created a sensation when it was published two months ago and had already sold 260,000 copies by the time it won the Prix Goncourt!

[ghost of miles]

[7/4]

[jazzbo]

Took a break from my Armstrong/Whiteman book by Berrett to read "The Crack in Space," one of the funniest of Phil K. Dick's books.

Now back on the Berrett.

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Finished Peter F Hamilton's "Judas unchained" last night. Towards the end, I couldn't put it down, so it kept me up 'til 1.40 am.

Must be a good read, eh?

It's certainly a LONG read. The two books are 2,379 pages together. Asimov would have made each volume into four, so I guess it's cheaper this way.

Now starting one of my wife's books, which I think I bought for her in a second hand shop in Namibia a few years ago. "On safari", the autobiography of Armand Denis. In the late fifties, when we got our first TV, Armand and Michaela were THE TV wildlife programme pioneers. What they started, and popularised, has very much changed our perceptions of the world.

My wife's comment was that it was amazing how little they knew about what they were doing. Well, we'll see.

MG

Edited November 27, 2006 by The Magnificent Goldberg

[jlhoots]

Crazy Horse: A Lakota Life