It's summertime and the living's easy. The blogging? Not so much.
To be honest, I'm reading as much as ever. I'm just not writing about it.
Mostly, I've been reading some of the classics that I've avoided for decades. Jane Austen. Vladimir Nabokov. D.H. Lawrence.
Partly to assuage my guilt. I'd read Reading Lolita in Tehran (see my review here: http://www.military.com/NewContent/0,13190,091505_Axis_Evil_II,00.html), but not Nabokov's masterpiece itself. How could I not feel like a philistine? And, yes, it was Nabokov who said, "Nothing is more exhilarating than philistine vulgarity." But, his meaning is less transparent than it appears.
So, I read Lolita. And wasn't particularly impressed. It's equal parts travelogue, confessional, and clever word-play.
For those who still haven't read this classic, here's the Cliff's Notes version:
"For there is no other bliss on earth comparable to that of fondling a nymphet."
**********************************************************
Like Nabokov, Miss Austen also has been the source of professional guilt. Although I'd never read any of her classic novels, I didn't shy from reviewing (often archly) the movies based on her writing and life. See here my reviews of "The Jane Austen Book Club" and "Becoming Jane": http://www.military.com/entertainment/movies/movie-reviews/dvd-picks--pans-valentines-viewing
So, as penance, I began with Pride and Prejudice—Who was this Mr. Darcy anyway?—and graduated to Emma. I must admit that I was enchanted. It's too early to say whether I also learned anything about women—another of my goals in reading Miss Austen. I do know that I won't soon forget Mr. Darcy, Elizabeth and Jane Bennet, Emma Woodhouse, Mr. Churchill, and Mr. Knightley.
The Wit & Wisdom of Jane Austen
From PRIDE AND PREJUDICE:
"Happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of chance."
"'Nothing is more deceitful than the appearance of humility.'"
"'Those who do not complain are never pitied.'"
"'Is not general incivility the very essence of love?'"
"'I am going tomorrow where I shall find a man who has not one agreeable quality, who has neither manner nor sense to recommend him. Stupid men are the only ones worth knowing, after all.'"
From EMMA:
"'One half of the world cannot understand the pleasures of the other.'"
"It may be possible to do without dancing entirely."
"With insufferable vanity had she believed herself in the secret of everybody's feelings; with unpardonable arrogance proposed to arrange everybody's destiny."
**************************************************************
It hasn't been all classics all the time here in Hog Heaven this summer. I've also managed to work through a short stack of more recent vintage. Among them, I've been particularly impressed by Rachel Kushner's atmospheric tale set among the American community in Cuba in the waning years of the Bastista era, Telex from Cuba, and Daniel Silva's The Defector, the latest entry in his series of spy thrillers featuring Israeli assassin (and art restorer) Gabriel Allon.
****************************************************************
When I saw her in Colorado in June, Kate Carroll recommended (again) that I sample Stephenie Meyer's "Twilight Saga" novels this summer. I saw the big-screen adaptation of the first book in the series and wasn't particularly impressed. Kate is smart, sassy, and sexy—a potent trifecta—but I'm still resisting. And, summer is waning.
To be honest, I'm reading as much as ever. I'm just not writing about it.
Mostly, I've been reading some of the classics that I've avoided for decades. Jane Austen. Vladimir Nabokov. D.H. Lawrence.
Partly to assuage my guilt. I'd read Reading Lolita in Tehran (see my review here: http://www.military.com/NewContent/0,13190,091505_Axis_Evil_II,00.html), but not Nabokov's masterpiece itself. How could I not feel like a philistine? And, yes, it was Nabokov who said, "Nothing is more exhilarating than philistine vulgarity." But, his meaning is less transparent than it appears.
So, I read Lolita. And wasn't particularly impressed. It's equal parts travelogue, confessional, and clever word-play.
For those who still haven't read this classic, here's the Cliff's Notes version:
"For there is no other bliss on earth comparable to that of fondling a nymphet."
**********************************************************
Like Nabokov, Miss Austen also has been the source of professional guilt. Although I'd never read any of her classic novels, I didn't shy from reviewing (often archly) the movies based on her writing and life. See here my reviews of "The Jane Austen Book Club" and "Becoming Jane": http://www.military.com/entertainment/movies/movie-reviews/dvd-picks--pans-valentines-viewing
So, as penance, I began with Pride and Prejudice—Who was this Mr. Darcy anyway?—and graduated to Emma. I must admit that I was enchanted. It's too early to say whether I also learned anything about women—another of my goals in reading Miss Austen. I do know that I won't soon forget Mr. Darcy, Elizabeth and Jane Bennet, Emma Woodhouse, Mr. Churchill, and Mr. Knightley.
The Wit & Wisdom of Jane Austen
From PRIDE AND PREJUDICE:
"Happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of chance."
"'Nothing is more deceitful than the appearance of humility.'"
"'Those who do not complain are never pitied.'"
"'Is not general incivility the very essence of love?'"
"'I am going tomorrow where I shall find a man who has not one agreeable quality, who has neither manner nor sense to recommend him. Stupid men are the only ones worth knowing, after all.'"
From EMMA:
"'One half of the world cannot understand the pleasures of the other.'"
"It may be possible to do without dancing entirely."
"With insufferable vanity had she believed herself in the secret of everybody's feelings; with unpardonable arrogance proposed to arrange everybody's destiny."
**************************************************************
It hasn't been all classics all the time here in Hog Heaven this summer. I've also managed to work through a short stack of more recent vintage. Among them, I've been particularly impressed by Rachel Kushner's atmospheric tale set among the American community in Cuba in the waning years of the Bastista era, Telex from Cuba, and Daniel Silva's The Defector, the latest entry in his series of spy thrillers featuring Israeli assassin (and art restorer) Gabriel Allon.
****************************************************************
When I saw her in Colorado in June, Kate Carroll recommended (again) that I sample Stephenie Meyer's "Twilight Saga" novels this summer. I saw the big-screen adaptation of the first book in the series and wasn't particularly impressed. Kate is smart, sassy, and sexy—a potent trifecta—but I'm still resisting. And, summer is waning.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment