Talk to the Animals paranormal.about The author is a self-professed “animal communicator,†one of a growing number of people who say they have the psychic ability to communicate telepathically with various animals. “Anybody can communicate with animals,†the author claims, and says it’s done through imaging.
Eye Exercises anyone can Do piffe.com If you read a lot you're going to need some ways to strengthen your eyes. Here are some handy hints and tests to see what kind of shape your eyes are in.
Reading Comprehension Made Easy rediff.com Within this page,the complex processes involved in reading comprehension are divided into three categories.
The eruption of Krakatoa in 1883 wasn't just a spectacle -- it inspired some beautiful paintings in Europe and may have laid the groundwork for Islamic extremism.
 by Jonathan Isles |
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 by JPeterman |
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 by Jonathan Isles |
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August 27, 2008
Just read that NBC will air a serialized television adaptation of the 1719 Daniel Defoe novel Robinson Crusoe this fall, keeping alive the desert island theme.
We can do our part too.
The classic desert island parlor game is rumored to have originated in the early 1800's in England as a direct result of the novel.
(Actually, it should be called a deserted island, because that’s what it’ll be.)
Okay, to cut to the chase, you can take 5 books total.
I will even allow you to choose a series as one book like the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy.
Do you opt for something practical? “A Survival Guide for Dummies?”“Boatbuilding: A Complete Handbook of Wooden Boat Construction by Howard Irving Chapelle” covers the entire process of wooden boat construction. But, realistically, how handy are you? And then you'd need a saw.
“No Man is an Island” is an ironic choice, but irony may be a luxury you can't afford.
Thoreau’s “Walden?" He lived close to nature. Might teach you a few things. Saw his mother on weekends. That let's him out.
A "100 Years of Solitude?” How much solitude can you take?
In "The Royal Game", by Stefan Zweig, a man is confined to solitary confinement with his only company being a chess book. He emerged a champion.
So in “Logical Chess,” by Irving Chernev, you might have a lifetime’s worth of stimulation playing yourself. Are you a good loser?
Literature requires a novel thick or dense enough so by the time you finish, you will have completely forgotten what you read. You might want to peruse a list of the 100 greatest novels.
For example, there's Joyce’s “Ulysses?” But I fear one lifetime might not be enough.
The complete Annotated Shakespeare is a contender. Because, now's not the time to pretend you understand it all.
I guess the question boils down to who you want for company?
Yossarian in “Catch 22?” Too neurotic. Tom Joad in the “Grapes of Wrath?” Wodehouse? Howard Roark? (This will put Ayn Rand fans to the ultimate test.)
Perhaps, “The Complete Sherlock Holmes.”
If you’d like to get to know our founding fathers better, you finally have the time. “The Federalist Papers”, in case you haven't read it, is a book of 85 essays written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay. It’s an explanation of the Constitution by those that wrote it. Might help you with your perfect society of one.
Then there's “The Republic” by Plato. Or do you take "The Baseball Abstract" by Bill James? That’s the problem of being well-rounded.
Bring "The Age of Reason" (Sartre's version) and it will leave you with the comforting feeling that nobody's happy in the real world.
Obviously, I’m still deciding. I hope I’ve given you some interesting directions. And even though you don’t have much time, sometimes the first stab at something is the best.
Have fun and remember there are no wrong answers. You can change your mind as many times in the course of a day as needed. And, at the very least, we'll all get some great reading material out of this.
Share the Eye:
Okay, so I know this—the only thing I can't live with is arrogance. I need 'realness.' I went to my first poetry reading in Ann Arbor when I was 17 and left three minutes later. Gross. There's just something about people faking eccentricity, isn't there? Let's be real here today. No false intellectualism.
My first pick is easy. Moby Dick. Never would have guessed this would be a pick, but it is. So not a girl's book. I love the fight he has with God. Melville, that is. He never walks away from him. Just fights like hell. I respect a fighter. Like Ahab.
Is it wrong to admire Ahab?! Don't really care if it is. I'm scrappy like that. . .
More later. Can't wait to hear what you all say.
Missive,
Have you ever attended a poetry reading where the eccentricity and intellectualism were not false? I have. The joy is palpable. Too many people today forget that the reason poetry exists at all is to be enjoyed (granted "enjoy" may mean different things to different people).
I must sleep on my book list. Will post further in the morning.
drdgscott said...
"Les Miserables", because it made me cry from beginning to end.
"The U.S. Army Survival Manual", so I can eat and make fire from jungle sticks.
Carl Sandburg's "Abraham Lincoln" if it can be reduced to one volume. "The Encyclopedia of Baseball" if it can't (a method of whiling away all those warm breezy evenings).
James Joyce's "Ulysses," since you could spend a lifetime with it and still never quite get it.
Marieb and Hoehn's "Human Anatomy and Physiology," since the human body is the most consistently fascinating thing in the universe. Besides, something's bound to need fixing sooner or later!
All the other books I would need are already committed to memory -- I rehearse them repeatedly like an old Mohammedan jiggling worry beads in an endless circle.
If I could only have but one book, it would be, without a shred of doubt, "Winter's Tale" by Mark Helprin. This is where I found "Peter Lake" or where "Peter Lake" found me.
The rest of the fab five will be difficult to settle upon. I'll need to be well caffeinated to even attempt it.
Greetings: All I can take is five books?! I guess I'll just take five books of matches.
I've actually thought about this question since college, and the list changes from time to time. At the moment, though, it would include Casino Royale (Ian Fleming), Catch-22 (Joseph Heller), A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (James Joyce), Islands in the Stream (Ernest Hemingway), and The Adventures of Augie March (Saul Bellow). I like an eclectic mixture of existential angst, some adventure, and lots of dry humor.
ser said...
I'm partly going for volume here:
One: The Complete Pelican Shakespeare (the one I had in college, with their annotations and my own)
Two: The Divine Comedy (3 volumes)
Three: The Liturgy of the Hours (all 4 volumes)
Four: A Dance to the Music of Time (all twelve books, or four volumes depending upon the edition)
Five: The Collected Works of St. John of the Cross (one volume, but inscutable enough to bear re-reading)
Oh no!! Capt Neptune, you must take the Aubrey-Maturin series by Patrick O'brian. There are twenty and one half books altogether (the author passed away before the last one was completed.) that form a canon of historical fiction during the Napolionic era. I sure Mr Peterman will allow it. I became so enthralled with these wonderful books I read through the complete series twice, and then, later, a third time. I had never known such eloquence (rivaled only by Olivia), and I have been searching for his equal ever since.
I was stationed at 32nd St. Naval Station when I read in the local paper that the premier of "Master and Commander-Far Side of the World" (a combination of the first and tenth books) would be shown at the Broadway pier (the embarcadero) on Sunday. The HMS Rose, which was used in the film, would be docked on one side of the pier, and the Star of India on the other side, and the cast would be in attendance. It was by invitation only and I didn't have the slightest idea how to get an invitation, but I knew that I had to be there. I only had a few days so I went to place called "Dogs Breath Costumes" which was not to far, and rented a costume that looked kind of like an officer in the British Royal Navy around the era from the books. It had a three quarter navy blue greatcoat with gold hairbrush epaulets, and gold accents around the buttons, a nice fore and aft hat with an ostrich feather, white breaches, white stockings, and silver buckled shoes. I almost went with a wig, but didn't like the look. It wasn't perfect, but I added a few things (including a black sword cane with a silver pommel which I always carried everywhere I went in California, because you never know.) and it looked ok from a distance. My plan was to buffalo my way in as part of the crew or something, I wasn't really sure, and didn't really think it would work, but I had to try.
The premier was at eight o'clock, but I arrived at six driving the Mini and was happy to find free parking across the street, being Sunday and all, but as I scoped it out it looked like I had arrived too early, and things were still being set up. There was a big outdoor movie screen, rows of gilded chairs, a buffet, red carpet, and replica cannons still being put into place, so walked down to Seaport Village to kill time. I guess folks thought that I worked there and mothers kept bringing up the children to have their picture taken with me, which was fun for awhile, but after the fifth or sixth time it got old, and I was a nervous wreck, so I walked over to the park area where I had my portrait drawn, and that took about half an hour, which helped to calm me down. It was not the best portrait I'd ever had done, but it was only ten dollars and had an innocent quality about it that was endearing, after you were done laughing. But I didn't laugh in front of the artist, and took the rolled up portrait with me and hailed a pedi-cab for a ride back to the premier, I walked with great authority past two black clad security people stationed at the entrance to the pier. I thought I had made a successful entry, but they yelled at me to come back, which I did, and they wanted to know who I was, and to have a look at my pass. I told them I didn't have a pass, but was with the assistant set director who asked me to be there, for effect. They said I had to sign the log-in sheet on the other side of the entrance. I went over to where the log-in person was and signed in as Jack Aubrey. I told the guy there, also in black, that I was with the assistant set director as was asked to be there in costume, for effect and all. He folded his arms, began tapping his foot, and looking me up and down.
"What film company are you with?" he asked.
"Well, I'm with, uh...well I'm associated...um with the set director and have...um.." I stammered.
"Mirimax ?!! Huh? Are you with Mirimax?!!" he asked, voice slightly raised, with a discernible lisp.
"Oh yes, of course, I'm with Mirimax, certainly." I replied, whereupon he wrapped a blue band around my wrist, and I headed down the red carpet somewhat shaken.
I did my best to mingle with the crew as they were putting up the finishing touches and I noticed film crews assembling along a small fence parallel to the red carpet. There were People magazine photographers, Entertainment tonight and various others. I was getting some shrimp from the buffet and they kept waiving at me and yelling for me to come over which I did. A pretty young lady with a film crew asked me to pose with the HMS Rose in the background and I was happy to comply, and they took a number of various pictures while complimenting me on the uniform. She said that it sure would be neat to go onboard the Rose and I said that I would be happy to take her there. I didn't mean the whole film crew, but they followed anyway, and we went up the gangplank and onto the ship with everyone getting out of our way as we went. I began pointing out various parts of the ship,
"This is the foremast, that's main mast and that's the mizzen. This is the quarterdeck and where all the punishment and lashing takes place.." blah blah, and on and on. I noticed the film crew was filming and dangling a microphone above my head.
"Well, what part in the film did you play?" she asked.
"Oh, I wasn't in the film, oh no, I'm just a guest here." I replied, and watched as they all looked at each other with quizzical looks on there faces.
"Is that a real uniform?" she asked, with her head tilted to one side.
"Oh no, I rented it." I replied, "but I am in the Navy."
"Oh really? Well that's good." she said with a touch of sarcasm and a disappointed look. And at that they all turned and headed down the gangplank to reclaim their place along the red carpet.
I went back to the buffet but they began waving at me again, so I went over and they wanted me to stand out on the red carpet and greet people while they took pictures. So I went over on the carpet and people started coming in and I would shake their hands while flashes were going off, and after each time I would go over and ask the news-lady who it was.
"Oh, that was the Mayor of San Diego." or,
"That was LL Cool Jay." or,
"That was the director of this movie." and each time I would reply,
"Ooohhh..."
Paul Bettany made his way up the carpet and they wanted to talk to him, but first he posed next to me as the flashes all went off. He was really nice. Then we saw Russell Crowe coming up and he took a long time talking to the different film crews and in the meantime the People magazine crew told me that when Russell Crowe came up, they wanted me to give him my hat to put on and they would take pictures. So when he finally did make it to where we were, I handed him the hat and asked him to put it on. To my surprise and shock he looked into my face and said,
"F--- off mate!!" and before I could form a reply three big guys in black trench-coats were all over me, pushing me aside, wanting to know if I was part of the cast and crew. I started to reply but they said,
"ARE YOU ONE OF THE CAST OR CREW!! YES- OR- NO!!"
I looked up at them and said,
"Well, no." and holding out my wrist, "but I have one of these blue wristbands." with a smile. Whereupon they tossed me on the other side of the little fence thing and said,
"STAY OVER THERE THEN!!"
"WELL OK THEN!!" I said. The folks from People just looked away and started interviewing Mr Crowe. So I went back over to the buffet rather shaken once more but still hungry, and with a plate of food, and cursing under my breath, started looking for a place to sit when I noticed a tall directors chair in the middle of a line of smaller chairs, in the back, with a perfect view of the screen down the middle isle.
"Well, if it belongs to someone, they'll just tell me to move." I thought. And with a very loud bang from one of the cannons on the front of the Rose, that almost knocked me over, they announced the movie would begin.
I watched to movie as the buffet people kept bringing me stuff to eat.
"Dig the outfit man." They would say.
Shortly after the movie started here comes Mr Crowe with his entourage. They were walking right towards me. I hoped they would just go by, but they stopped and turned, staring right at me. I stopped eating and looked at Mr Crowe looking at me.
"DAMN!" I thought. But it was just for a moment, then they just kept going, and I let out my breath, and watched the rest of the movie without incident.
I was feeling quite low in my spirits and left as soon as the movie was showing the credits, heading down the red carpet and out the gate, turning left down the sidewalk towards the Mini. I passed by a crowd of about fifty people that were disembarking from a cruise ship and I heard someone say,
"Hey, look at that guy." and he began to applaud. Then a couple more people started clapping and soon the whole crowd was applauding. I turned
back towards them, and with one leg forward gave them my finest bow. That brought my spirits back up.
So by all means, take the Aubry-Maturin series, and no doubt you will be celebrating Patrick O'brian, even if you are all by yourself.
1. A textbook on neurology: With all the time I expect to have, I can really, really master the incredible amount of knowledge boiled down into one volume).
2. Kurt Vonnegut's 'Cat's Cradle': Everyone needs to bring a religious text on a solitary journey, and as a combination Buddhist/Hedonist/Bokononist, why not bring the the source book. Besides, Cat's Cradle is set on an island, sadly populated by miserable people, unlike my island, populated just by me... And I can choose to be happy and not miserable, unlike some folks.
3. Yep, the collected works of Shakespeare.... Hey, if Kurosawa could be inspired to create 'Ran' (the story of a guy who really screws up his retirement) from King Lear, there's a never ending source of stuff in Shakespeare. Besides, the Bard has all that lowbrow humor that appeals to a guy like me. (Among my favorite films: High School High, Caveman, Animal House, and Airplane... go figure).
4. Benoit Mandlebrot's 'The Fractal Geometry of Nature'... I'm a visual tactile who was always defeated by math in high school, back before graphing software. (I vividly remember my disappointment -- after a week's work -- to discover that quadratic equations yielded four answers, two of which were incorrect...). Mandelbrot opened my eyes again to the possibility of using numbers to look at reality in new ways -- but I need to drink more and more from his fountain.
5. Ah, the last book is always the toughest... It closes the door to all the other possibilities. So let's leave this door open to possibilities... I'll grab something from my library at the last possible instant, based on no particular criterion. If I regret my choice once stuck on the island, it will simply remind me of a fact: I'm a typically screwed up human being who makes HORRIBLE decisions from time to time.... Not a bad thing to remember while stuck on a desert island.
OK,
1) The Bible , in three or four translations, incluiding the New Testamant in Gullah (yes, it is available)
2) Kyril Bonfiglioli's Mortdecai books ( DON'T POINT THAT THING AT ME, AFTER YOU WITH THE PISTOL, SOMETHING NASTY IN THE WOODSHED)
3)Dan Beard's HANDBOOK FOR BOYS ( I think that's the title)
4)Faulkner, probably THE TOWN, THE HAMLET and THE MANSION
5) The Norton Anthology
If I need any Shakespeare, it will give me an excuse to visit some of you other folks.
Does anyone know Waugh's story ( incorporated into A HANDFUL OF DUST) The Man Who loved Dickens ?
Ti, what a story! The O'Brien canon is definitely on my list too, although I hated seeing that yobbo whacker Crowe as Aubrey. He's very up himself, with the manners of a swagman, from all accounts. I'd always felt that the correct casting would be Stephen Fry as Captain Aubrey, and Hugh Laurie playing Doctor Maturin. The Beeb or Granada television should do the entire canon, it would be transcendent!
And thank you for the huge compliment! Mr. O'Brien contributed greatly to my always simmering logophilia. I read the series with my OED beside, and still yet there are words I cannot find (marthambles?), but I LOVE the way they spoke then, and what a giggle when you made the leg. Truly, good Sir, this piece of writing passeth all understanding, forsooth!Saluto una vita ho vissuto con brio! *curtsies*
SO, Patrick O'Brien's Aubrey Maturin Series,
Complete Works of Shakespeare oh yes indeed
Iliad and Odyssey (surely one selection, the Fagles translation, since T.H. Lawrence only finished the Odyssey, a pity...) Endlessly fascinating.
My precious OED, NOT the condensed version-I want it ALL.
Sir Richard Francis Burton's seventeen-volume translation of The Thousand Nights and a Night, wherein Shahrazad entertains her Sultan and saves her head. It is without doubt one of the greatest things ever to spring from the human mind. One might ope this tome upon divers leaves and lose oneself upon the instant in a world of wonder.
I will survive!
I have heard you, O Auspicious and Puissant Peterman, and obeyed thy directive as best I might. An thou cast me upon the desert isle, in durance vile in light of so thin a list I may make of diversion, so must thou also do with this company all, as they are surely Jinns and Fairies, and what tongue may tell of their deeds, wondrous and marvellous, which mere mortals fail to effect after long years of toil and trouble? Nor prison cells nor gates of adamant may keep them in, but abottle upon the main, or lone upon the speck asea shall they remain at thy disposal, and whenas thou goest to sport or on other expedition shall they, shall WE remain at thy dispensation thereto. So might thy win thy wish. So shall we acquit ourselves of this commission, in full knowledge that thou forthwith shall demand a somewhat, still greater and more wondrous, wherewith thou shalt make us ware, and which we shall find perilous though full welcome of execution.
more on the honor rollOff the top of my head...
1. The Norton Shakespeare Anthology
2. The Complete Sherlocke Holmes
3. American Psycho
4. Lolita
5. ???
Allow me to ponder more about my 5th choice...
Hmmm...perhaps give me a fountain pen, unlimited ink and notebooks, and I shall write my own essential novel for my 5th...
I would definitely start with the collected works of Shakespeare. Of course I understand them! Everyone understands them! The only reason comments like "don't pretend you understand it all" get made is because bad high school teachers have told us we're supposed to have a hard time with this stuff and some of us were impressionable enough to believe it.
For laughter, I must take Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy trilogy (four books in the trilogy; you either get the joke or you don't).
Fo a good, long read that takes forever but feels really short, I pick the unputdownable The Source by James Michener.
To satisfy my appetite for good poetry (and just in case Shakespeare hasn't already done that), I would take The Complete Verse of Rudyard Kipling, my favorite poet.
That leaves me with one and I'm stuck. If I'm smart, I should probably echo drdgscott's choice of The U.S. Army Survival Manual so that I can live long enough to read all this stuff.
I have to post and run today. See you guys tonight.
Current books on my "To Read" list...
1. Paris - Author: Julian Green
2. The Cafes of Paris - Author: Christine Graf
3. A Moveable Feast - Author: Ernest Hemingway
4. The Life of Elizabeth l - Author: Alison Weir
5. How to Be Single - Author: Liz Tucci
If there were some way to survive long enough, I would bring the entire Encyclopaedia Britannica. Lots of stuff to learn there. The other four books would be the biggest I could find, that I could live under two and burn the other two to try and signal a ship. Kinda irrealistic.
I prefer to think that my deserted island experiece will mirror the one from the CDW commercials with the Robinson Crusoe character and his monkey buddy have full Internet access and can order anything.
Actually, I would prefer a desserted island.
PS: The Crusoe show must suck. It will be so reimagined as to not even be recognizable but in name only. (steps off soapbox)
I just read my first post and am laughing. 'No false intellectualism, please' and then I lead in with bloody Moby Dick!!!
I do love it, but for the record, understand only bits of it. But that's okay. I'm under the impression he was discouraging 'understanding.'
Now, to apologize for my gross contradiction, I'll show my worst card next. My 'guilty pleasure must- have' that will so be coming with me.
BRIDGET JONES'S DIARY. . .Helen Fielding.
I'm dead serious. I laugh my arse off every time I read it. She totally brought my favorite Austen book (Pride and Predjudice) into the Twentieth Century with crassness, booze and foul language which she invented all on her own. Love Fielding. She'll be coming with me.
Bridget Jones quote of the day:
"Resolution #1: uggg - will obviously lose 20 lbs. #2: always put last
night's panties in the laundry basket. Equally important: will find
nice sensible boyfriend and stop forming romantic attachments to any of
the following: alcoholics, workoholics, sexaholics, commitment-phobics,
peeping toms, megalomaniacs, emotional fuckwits, or perverts. Will
especially stop fantasizing about a particular person who embodies all
these things."
DPR, I have not been to that 'kind' of reading. Will open my mind to the possibility. Thank you for the note.
I have a Merriam-Webster's dictionary from the early part of the century. It is the size of a small step stool and leather bound. (duel duty) That and a set of Mark Twain....
ONLY 5 ~ My dear Mr. Peterman for 2 hours now I have been Desperately Trying to pick 5 books to take with me although my #1 pick of all times would have to be the Greatest Gothic Novel ever written ~
Daphne Du Maurier's Rebecca (I tend to reread this novel every year)
L.M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables Series
Sylvia Morris's Rage for Fame:The Ascent of Claire Booth Luce
As for the other two I may have to take a Tolstoy and a Twain but which ones have yet to be decided. Although by this aftrnoon those authors may change also. It's just too complicated to par it down to only 5 books to live on. The reality of the whole premise is the fact that there is SO MUCH well written material out there, that the fact of not being able to read any of it nay time I would like too is just a shock to my system.... I may have to add Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 to the list just to prove more of my point....
Penelope Mallory,
I am a writer and editor for one Mr. Pitt. Remember him, from Seinfeld? Well the other day I almost smothered him with his own bed pillow because he sent me out to find that exact dictionary for a client. Of, course, he didn't want it 'used,' though. He wanted it brand new, ingraved and to his office within the hour. Seriously almost smothered him. If only I'd known you had one!
Ummmm. . .
Did I just say 'I'm a writer and an editor' in the same post where 'engraved' is spelled 'ingraved?' Nice.
Old English coming through. Don't fire me, Pitt.
Okay,
So far I've got Moby Dick and Bridget Jones's Diary. Is it possible that my schizophrenia is as apparent on this site as it is in real life?
I've been pondering number three. The thing is, Wharton's _Age of Innocence_ is an all-time favorite, but I only read her after my heart's been broken—for a good cry. You know.
So if I'm alone on the island, do I need it? I think I would be safe. Of course, I often fall in love with the characters in my books, and their authors. . .and I AM bringing Melville, and Ishmael, and Ahab and Starbuck, and Daniel Cleaver, and Mark Darcy. . .
Yes, Wharton should come. Just in case.
So I'm at three. Feeling panicky. Books are about to start flying off shelves in Pitt's library in mad frenzy. Duck and cover, all. . .
La Donna ~ I had the chance to meet the English Historian Alison Weir last summer at one of the semi-local independant bookstores.
What a wonderful woman ~ She really is one of the Great English Historians in today's world. I have read Elizabeth I and it was written so well, I do also have a copy of her Eleanor of aquitaine , but have not yet read it as I am trying to get through Amy Kelly's version first (Kelly's is VERY DRY historical writting)
When I went to see Wier I had the chance to be able to have her sign her book about Queen Isabella ~ It's still on my bookshelf to be read though.
jmr said...
Here's my 5:
Harry Potter series--I can read it over and over
Catcher in the Rye
Absolom Absolom is a favorite...may make the cut
the noton anthology of poetry
A tree grows in Brooklyn--I read this book for the first time when I was 10 or 11 and whenever I need to feel a certain way (conforted, way from it all, ehatever) I reread it.
We are all WAY too similar to each other on this site! My father's favorite books (in addition to the G.A. Henty historical novels that I rescued when he passed away) included the Anne of Green Gables series. I've always been afraid to visit Prince Edward Island for fear it wouldn't live up to Montgomery's 'word picture'....
Oh, and if you think Sir Richard Francis Burton's The Thousand Nights and a Night was great, Olivia, read his Travels to Mecca and Medina aka Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to Al-Madinah and Meccah. For an excellent biography of this multilinggual adventurer, rascal (and ancestor of the actor Richard Burton) read Burton: A Biography of Sir Richard Francis Burton by Byron Farwell. Burton was a very, very cool guy, and a heck of a travel writer! I never could have kept up with him, but if I could have, my life would have been as screwed up and as fun as his was... if I had survived, that is!
Ye gods and little fishes!!
Success in my previous life was predicated upon my ability to make well informed decisions that took into consideration both risks and opportunities, as well as short-term and long-term consequences; in a fraction of the time allowed us today, and I was pretty, pretty, good at it.
But, having now been asked a on-the-surface harmless ,hypothetical question that asks me to pick the five books that I couldn't live without . . . . . . I have become "tharn", frozen-in-the-headlights, filled with panic and dread with all other thoughts of merely being able to survive on such an island reduced to "white noise" in the background of my short-circuited brain.
I do so love to read. Period.
My objective would be to bring with me that which will quicken my imagination, provide food for thought, transport me to new places, meet interesting new characters while holding on to old friends, knock the breath out of me, make me laugh until I squirt coconut milk out of my nose (I'm assuming there will be coconut trees, otherwise I am not going on this "Three Hour Cruise") and frighten me to the point of climbing to the top of said coconut trees (thus overcoming my fear of heights).
So without further ado, minimal fanfare, shooting from the hip, no looking back, no regrets, nor any explanation; here they are:
1. As previously mentioned "Winter's Tale" by Mark Helprin
2. "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" by Douglas Adams
3. "American Gods" by Neil Gaiman
4. "Works of Edgar Rice Burroughs"
5. A player to be named later - something from the "New Voices" section at Barnes & Noble
Oh, and just in case and in the spirit of optimism, I would be sure to have brought with me a dependable laptop PC and an Amazon "Kindle" with plenty of batteries and /or manual crank charger, my Barnes & Noble Membership card and my library card.
Extra pairs of reading glasses! I'll never forget the "Twighlight Zone" episode where the main character, having been put into a circumstance where he could have immediate access to all of the books he could ever want to read, broke his only pair of glasses.
Does that sound paranoid??
but wait a minute, I....... . . . . oh crap, I said no looking back. Never mind
jmr ~ A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is this months selection in one of my Bookclubs..... I haven't read it since I was a school aged kid & haven't seen the film version in a few years either. I am looking forward to re-discovering it after all these years...
Geez I wish I hadn't said "no looking back". See ya at closing time.
I'll have to contemplate this for awhile, but for now I'll leave you with an answer given by Hawkeye Pierce of M*A*S*H fame:
The dictionary. It has all the other books inside it already.
PeterLake!
Love the Kindle idea. Very clever, man.
I have been debating for Months about a Kindle ~ I'm not so sure about it ~ I have a real affinity for an actual book, the must smelling pages, the numbers on the page, the feel of the paper...
I alos have to add all the novels by W. Somerset Maugham.... As there are at times recurring characters would they then count as a collection?.....
Number Four:
I have decided to take a risk with this one and bring one I have never read. After all, what's an island adventure without a few risks?
These are the top two on my 'must read' list:
White Noise by Don DeLillo
The Sound and the Fury by Faulkner
Any votes????
The only thing that makes me sad is that it's never as much fun to read a book for the first time without picking it apart with someone else.
Will I have my Peterman's Eye crew? Mr. Peterman, may I have them, too? Please?
How marvelous...
For the past several years I've had a love affair with Anne Rice novels. The way in which she writes... haunting, romantic - erotic. Though her recent novels have left me wanting; (for the obvious religious tones) her overarching works mesmerize.
To the list:
1. The Vampire Lestat (The Vampire Chronicles) Anne Rice - The first novel by the "Bratt Prince", Lestat:
http://www.annerice.com/Bookshelf-VampireLestat.html
2. The Queen of the Damned (The Vampire Chronicles) Anne Rice - The continued story of "The Vampire Lestat":http://www.annerice.com/Bookshelf-QueenDamned.html
3. Memnoch the Devil (5th Book - The Vampire Chronicles) Anne Rice - "Lestat faces a choice between the Devil or God. Whom does he believe in? Who does he serve?": http://www.annerice.com/Bookshelf-Memnoch.html
4. God is Not Great - Charles Hitchens - How religion poisons everything: http://www.amazon.com/God-Not-Great-Religion-Everything/dp/0446579807
5. The Old Man in the Sea (Hemingway) - Just a classic for me. - "He was an old man who fished alone in a skiff in the Gulf Stream...": http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Old_Man_and_the_Sea
Lestat grins...
Oh, I have such a good Anne Rice story. Will not derail, though. Some other time. . .
Ok first off...Tiberius, you HAVE to go to www.gaelicstorm.com and listen to their song "The Night I Punched Russell Crowe". It is a true story that happened to the lead singer Patrick and the only thing funnier is the song is to watch Patrick tell the full story in person.
Secondly...The One At The Desk, LOVE the Encyclopedia britannica idea because as we all know truth is stranger than fiction and that is a lot of truth.
Thirdly (is this starting to sound like the Spanish Inquisition sketch?)...Agent666, I am totally with you on the "desserted" island bit...as long as it was desserted with something other than jello.
Lastly...Peterlake, "American Gods" by Neil Gaiman is a really great read, have you ever written the novel that he wrote jointly with Terry Pratchett called "Good Omens"? Its a very fun read.
Ok so I've commented on everything but the books I'd take with me. As a dyed in the wool book worm this typed of thing causes me mental anguish...why can't I take them all? Hmmmm?
#1 - The entire discworld series by Terry Pratchett...that's almost 40 books in all, so it will last me a while.
#2 - The Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon...its NOT just a romance series...seriously...
#3 - My scriptures...boring I know, but it makes me feel better
#4 - Gardener's Art Through the Ages the complete series...beauty and history in one enormous book.
#5 - don't really know what #5 would be yet but if there is some sort of desert island survival guide/edible plant guide/medicinal plant guide/get me the hell off this island guide I would probably choose that.
wheatgrass;
Anne Rice's "Vampire Chronicles"were on my list but got bumped at the last moment by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Good choice. I think you can count all three of the Lestat novels as one under the rules for today.
missive;
Don DeLillo is always a good choice. I just picked up "Underworld" which I may have to tuck into the pockets of my new Peterman Jacket and sneak onto the island.
Back to my books......
Trask,
You're into Gullah?
To rings90,
To meet Alison Weir, and to be able to have her sign your book about Queen Isabella!
I am heading to desert island now, as I must start reading "The Life of Elizabeth"! The book sounds wonderful, thanks for sharing!
"I do so love to read. Period. " ~ PeterLake
What a thorny problem for a true reader! O the horror! Five? Really? No foolin'? Only FIVE?!?!?! Are you out of your cotton-pickin' mind?!?!?!
After tearing hair, rending clothes, and gnashing teeth, I agree largely with DocNolan & Olivia: Shakespeare, and YES, the OED!!! But, I must agree with PeterLake: bigger is better, but a Kindle loaded with ALL my favorites and set up to be used in conjunction with an exercise bicycle (sorry, even on a desert isle I would prefer to power my reader myself if possible) would ACTUALLY be the absolute minimum.
So: Shakespeare, for he contains multitudes.
Second, I'd have to throw a dart to pick between Anna Karenina or Madame Bovary. I read each about every 24-36 months, & each time I wail and cry, and feel better afterwards.
Third, Douglas Adams for humor, but I prefer the Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency books.
Fourth, ALL the Firefox books, full of 'how-to' goodness (if one must be practical - if not, then well, the Burton translation of The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, or dear old J.R.R. Tolkien, l'oeuvre complet, c'est vous plait!)
and last ....
must there be a last? Bullfinch's Mythology? Mary Stewart's Merlin books? Diana Gabaldon's Outlander romances? All of Isaac Asimov's writings, period? Especially the fact based science books? Solzhenitsyn? All the Nobel Prize for Literature winners? All Nabokov?
Must there be a last?
And where is that trunk with my evening gowns? O, this is a three hour tour? Never mind, load 'em up!
Okay,
PeterLake, now that you mentioned Don DeLillo and Anne Rice in the same post, I have to tell this story, quickly.
First, Agent 666—A chocolate waterfall? Um, can you put your island near mine?
So back to DeLillo. I adore him. He does this thing to me where he picks me up and up and up—and then rams me back down in three words or less. Reading him is like a masochistic dance. Hellofa one-two punch with words. Sometimes, I have to put the book down, put my fingers on my sternum to promote natural breathing again, and then pace. I think he will be my number four. Thanks PeterLake.
So I submitted my first novel query to an agent two months ago. She bit. She asked to see more. She made notes. "Your bad guy is not bad enough. Too flat," she said. I told a friend. She recommened Rice's Lestat to brush up on my evil chops.
I have to admit, I didn't expect much. She's in the 'horror' section, afterall. (This from the girl who is taking Bridget Jones to the island).
Well, Rice bloody rocks. She writes, in my humble opinion, like DeLillo. She is the only other author I have read who does that to me. Women, often, do not write so boldly. They should; but they don't. What did Hawthorne say? That he hates those 'damned scribbling women?' Always makes me giggle.
Go, Rice.
Wheatgrass, I'm sad to hear she writes less boldly now.
One of the quotes that won me over in _Interview_:
"People in society asked my sister offensive questions about the whole incident, and she became an hysteric. She wasn't really an hysteric. She simply thought she ought to react that way, so she did."
Very bold, woman.
MACKDADDY1 said...
With minimal but sincere thought, my vote is for anything written by Garrison Keillor. Simplistic, entertaining, amusing, creative, truthful, thought provoking...and so much more all wrapped up in one (pardon me) unattractive yet extensively talented package.
Am so not getting any work done today!
MackDaddy,
My Sundays would not be the same without his voice. And now I am sad that I will not hear it on the island. . .
Ok I've already changed my picks about a dozen times...can't we have a library ship wrecked on the island and then we wouldn't have to choose? I have a tough enough time picking 5 to take on vacation with me (ahhh vacation I remember those, but its been a while). So I'm curious now, since it seems like its hard for most of us to choose 5 to take, what are the last 5 books we've all actually read (for pleasure, manual and school reading don't count)? Mine...
#1 - "The Few and the Proud: Marine Corps Drill Instructors in their Own Words" by Larry Smith.
#2 - "Brida" by Paulo Coelho
#3 - "Fearless Fourteen" by Janet Evanovich
#4 - "The Hakawati" by Rabih Alameddine
#5 - "How to be Happy, Dammit: A Cynic's Guide to Spiritual Happiness" by Karen Salmansohn and Don Zinzell
La Donna ~ Alison will be touring the States in Febuary to promote the U.S. Publication of her Bio on Lady Katherine Swynford ~ Which as a historical Women of wordly influence is underappreciated & understudied. If interested in Katherine the BEST book about her so far was written by Anya Seton & is called Katherine. I do plan on checking her schedule to see if she will again be inthe WI area. She really is an author who enjoys her work & speaking about her all of her works. She'll be in the Washington D.C. Area speaking at the Smithsonian in February. hopefully it will be reorded for Cspan 2's book TV.....
Now the REAL questions are starting as in what Anya Seton DO I take? Green Darkness? Katherine? Dragonwyck?My Theodisia?
And speaking of authors we all seem to admire which Ayn Rands? Her fiction or her non fiction? John Galt or Peter Keating?....
For Ayn Rand I vote for "Atlas Shrugged"!
A Shameless Plea for My Sister. . .
My 15-year-old sister writes. She's amazing. She started a blog and I found it. (I'm taking the link of that to the island, too). I told her I was posting on her at me site and that I would route people to hers and she was so thrilled. She has an amazing voice. Really.
If you anyone can spare a minute, please, please, please go to her site (linked through mine) and leave a comment. Keep it clean, boys. She's 15!!!!
http://sandinmyswimsuit.blogspot.com/2008/08/greedy-grins-and-selfish-smiles.html
Thanks all. Leaving the office now since I'm not doing ANY WORK.
Will be back on tonight with my final book. Hmmmmm. . .
Miss Ive:
Eben ef A kin taak en all de language dem wa people da taak an wa de angel dem da taak, ef A ain lob oda people, all wa A say ain mount ta nottin. E jes like de nise wen somebody da beat6 a bucket or wen a cymbal da soun too loud. (2) Eben ef A got powa fa tell people wod was God tell me fa say, an ef A kin Ondastan all God plan wa e ain tell oda people an A know all ting, an ef A bleeve sommuch dat e da gii me powa fa moob mountain, eben ef A able fa do all dem ting yah, ef A ain lob oda people, A ain wot nottin.
By the time this came along, I had already heard and read plenty by Ambrose Gonzales, Joel Chandler Harris, DuBose Heyward, John Bennett, et al, but you cyant oggue wif da Word.
Dan Beard's book is an early 20th century Boy Scout handbook and will serve anyone whose technology is suddently reduced to that era. Mortdecai is the anti- James Bond, the Anti- Bertie Wooster, the anti everything. Stephen Fry said "You couldn't slip under the duvet with anything more delightful or disreputable."
JillyBean said...
The Book of Constellations by Robin Kerrod (So I can study what I'm gazing at every night.)
Meditation: The First and Last Freedom by Osho (So I can be my very best companion.)
SAS Survival Handbook by John Wiseman (So I survive.)
Asanas: 608 Yoga Poses by Dharma Mittra (So I keep my mind and my body limber.)
The Bible (Cuz it has a lot of pages to burn for fire. ...although I'd probably read it first. I've heard it's the greatest story ever told...)
I must admit, a much easier task, Nachista!!! Ditto, MackDaddy1 on Garrison, and Missive on Ann Rice (before she started writing about Jesus - about whom, I'm with Brian Keane and Hayes Carll, whose song [performed by Hayes Carll] She Left Me for Jesus says bloody all that needs to be said!!!)
Last five books read: Alexis de Tocqueville, The Old Regime and the Revolution, Claude Manceron, Twilight of the old order, 1774-1778, The wind from America, 1778-1781, Their gracious pleasure, 1782-1785, Toward the brink, 1785-1787. I loved the Manceron history - four volumes of chatty, voluble, personal history - brought the years prior to the Revolution to absolutely delicious life. You cannot imagine my heartbreak when I learned that poor Mon. Manceron died before he could finish this massive, yet massively entertaining and enlightening history. Alas, my library only has the first four, I believe a fifth made it to publication in France, but no translation. Sigh. I began well before Bastille Day, and have yet to make it out yet.
But in between I have been reading the occasion Asimov's or Analog - cover to cover!!
nachista,
"Good Omens", Great Book
Gia said...
To cover ever conceivable contingency that life has to offer I would bring the Complete Works of Charles Schulz.
Dutchman said...
Gia. Is that the annotated version?
Gia said...
No DM, I'm going to solo on this one. I also think you'll need a gentle soul as company. Has anyone mentioned James Thurber?
So, once again, and without further ado, minimal fanfare, no looking back and no regrets (and this time I really mean it a bit more than last time), nor any explanation; here they are:
........ "new math"?
PeterLake - with the complete Douglas Adams, and the complete Terry Pratchett, and some Charles Schultz and a bit of Thurber, maybe Candide for that old time funny, we could just ah, amuse ourselves to death???
Doc, DOC, you darling man, you should know I've READ those already! And what about First Footsteps in East Africa? OMG
And, and, what about Isabella Bird, Freya Stark, Beryl Markham, Flaubert, Vonnegut, Erick Newby, Paul Theroux, St. Exupery, The Shelleys, Byron, Keats, Yeats, Churchill, Doyle and Stevenson and POE, for god's sake? Beowulf and Alexander Kinglake, Dylan Thomas and Oscar Wilde?
I think my head is going to explode! It's too too TOO much, and then there's that steamer trunk of gowns, so that Gibby and I can swan about...
To: Peterlake,
I, too, picked "The Martian Chronicles"....one of Bradbury's best. I once met Mr. Bradbury. A memorable person to meet and speak to.
To rings90,
Thanks for letting me know about Alison, I will check her schedule. Thank you so much! That would be a treat. If you don't mind, if you hear about her being in Texas, please let me know, I would appreciate it very much! Thank you!
I lived in WI for twelve years. Home was Sun Prairie and Janesville. Loved it there.
Gibson99Girl,
As the immortal Jackie Gleason often said, "and away we go!". I'll smuggle in Tim Dorsey's "Serge Storm" novels for some darkside laughs.
ExPat,
It was your mention of "The Martian Chronicles" that knocked Ray Bradbury off of a shelf in my cluttered memory warehouse and into my "antproof case" to bring on this trip.
... and, so yet again, and without any ado whatsoever, but relying heavily on the use of smoke, mirrors and misdirection; here are my semi-final selections:
1. "Winter's Tale" by Mark Helprin
2. "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" the 4 Book Trilogy & "Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency" a.k.a. "The Complete & Incomplete Works of Douglas Adams"
3. "The Stand" by Stephen King, no... make that the collected works of Stephen King.
3. "American Gods" by Neil Gaiman
4. "Collected works of Kurt Vonnegut"
4. "Collected Works of Edgar Rice Burroughs"
4. "The Martian Chronicles" by Ray Bradbury
4. "The Foundation Trilogy" by Issac Asimov
5. "The Erlendur Mysteries" by Arnaldur Indridason
5 "A Soldiers Story of the Great War" by Mark Helprin
5. "Memoirs in an Ant Proof Case" by Mark Helprin
5. "Band of Brothers" by Stephen Ambrose
5. "The Mayfair Witches & TheVampire Chronicles" by Anne Rice
Think outside the bookshelf!
What about short stories? Do we have to count them?
Tiberius,
Brilliant story. One for the Honor Roll if ever I saw one (how does one make recommendations for the Honor Roll?)
Olivia,
On that note, it is no secret that Russell Crowe is a pig and a disgusting excuse for a human being according to everyone I've ever met who's met him. But I liked his performance as Jack Aubrey. Granted, I don't know the books except by reputation so I have no frame of reference except the movie's own merits.
It is, in my opinion, a mistake, to confuse someone's personality (or pathetic lack thereof) with the quality of his work as an artist. I'm not going to stop listening to Beethoven's music because he was a vile tempered lout and I am no less in awe of Henri Toulouuse-Lautrec's painting because he was an alcoholic, womanizing, ne-er-do-well. Yet, when it comes to actors, we are always tempted to cross that line.
Fauntleroy,
I was so close to including Lolita on my list. I read it for the first time very recently and it is definitely my favorite book I've read this year so far.
Missive,
That includes The Sound and the Fury which I also read this year. Interesting approach but not worth all the hoopla. When making my list, I deliberately banned Faulkner, Orwell, O'Neill, Strindberg, and anyone else who, while brilliant, is just too damn depressing. I'm on a deserted island for god's sake! It's depressing enough already without adding Orwell or O'Neill to my ordeal!
While I have you here, let me point out that you have been very unfair to yourself. You have every right to choose Moby Dick because your intellectualism is not fake. It's not your fault that the book you love just happens to be a major classic of monumental influence. And it's not remotely contradictory for you to choose Bridget Jones next. You, of all people, know fully well that good writing is good writing irregardless of genre.
I am now replacing at least two of my number 5's for "Juggling for the Complete Idiot".
or is it "juggling for the Total Klutz"? I think it may be a "Klutz" book.
I'll stop relying on, to paraphrase our fearless leader, the use of "synthetic strategery" to bypass the rules and select only five..
1. "Winter's Tale" by Mark Helprin
2. "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" the 4 Book Trilogy by Douglas Adams"
3. "The Stand" by Stephen King,
4. "Band of Brothers" by Stephen Ambrose
5. "TheVampire Chronicles" by Anne Rice
This means of course that the only island I'll be getting close to is Manhatten.
fini
It is wonderful to see this much unabashed enthusiasm over books. People here are getting wild over authors the way most people only do over rock stars.
I have always said, if one is to be famous, it would be best to be famous as a writer (rather than an actor or musician). Unlike their cinematic and musical counterparts, a writer's name is famous while his face remains at least slightly more obscure. While he may be recognized from book jackets and the odd TV interview, a writer has a much easier time walking down the street in peace and being left alone in restaurants than a movie star or a rocker. And, whenever a writer is recognized, it is by people who READ!
My reading list is becoming TOTALLY UNMANAGEABLE!! Fortunately I've read or possess many of the cited works, but not all by far, and I've already been on ebay frantically looking. As someone else has already mentioned, it's amazing how similar our tastes are. This day has exhausted me, and I'm certain the darker facets of our Mr. Peterman's character are causing him to rub his hands and laugh (mwah ah ah) with wicked glee at our inability to stop at five tomes for marooning. AS IF he couldn't see this coming...
Last Chance to See, by Douglas Adams, is a remarkable book *sigh*
My latest five I have read, for what it may be worth:
The Black Swan, by Nassim Taleb
The Omnivore's Dilemma, by Michael Pollan
The Places in Between, by Rory Stewart (I love travel adventure)
Paris in Mind, edited by Jennifer Lee (I love Paris!)
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, by Hunter S. Thompson (for about the tenth time, open anyplace for a good laugh)
DPR, Crowe's a jerk, and since he's not got the character or the skills IMHO, like Daniel Day-Lewis, among others, to disappear into a role, I still see the jerk perfoming like a dancing monkey. He sucks out loud and that's that. Acting is different, at least to me, than composing or painting (Picasso could be a real ass, too, but I still enjoy some of his art). The dancing monkey stays in your face, a constant reminder of the man behind the curtain. How's that for mixing my metaphors? I'm a tired girl, sorry...
mark swaim said...
Taking a page from Doc Nolan, I would bring
(1) a throughgoing hepatology textbook
(BTW, Kurosawa's best Shakespeare-inspired film is Throne of Blood, with the sui generis Toshiro Mifune as the film's transposed equivalent of MacBeth.)
(2) "London Fields," by Martin Amis
(3) "Loving Monsters," by James Hamilton-Paterson
(4) "Remembrance of Things Past" by Proust
(5) three-way tie between "Lolita," "Finnegans's Wake," and Saul Bellow's "Humboldt's Gift."
Can we swim to one another's islands and swap books? "Moby Dick" is fine, but "Bartleby the Scrivener" had a far more lasting impression on me.
Okay,
Back. Fifth book time.
This was hard. All the books that have been deemed precious enough to sit on the 'shelf' in my living room have been pulled to the floor for perusal. I have read all margin notes. I tried to tally.
And then the light shone down on one. Wanna know why? It was because of how it speaks to what we do here every day.
It is John Berger's _Here is Where We Meet_
It is lovely, truly. It defies death and loss and love with ones you cannot see or touch.
Sometimes when I drive, I think of you all. I think, No, I should not eat there for lunch, DPR would find that too pedestrian. Look further.
Or I think, when I am being mean at work and trampling over someone, but PeterLake is so kind, what would he do?
Olivia, MackDaddy, you are often with me.
If you come to this site, regularly, put Berger on your list. Uncanny. Plus, he's a total hotty for an old man. Sorry, the Bridget Jones slipped back in.
DPR, one more thing, thank you. You are right. What is high brow to those such as us?
You have emboldened me to ask for my fifth book exactly as I would like it.
I do not want the hard cover. I do not want the paperback. This book is too ephemeral. I want it in chapters, in random order, in corked-bottles.
Can someone make this happen? If so, bags are packed. . .
Night, friends.
Olivia,
I just 1-Clicked "Last Chance to See" from Amazon. I've managed to overlook that one. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.
missive,
Oh garsh, you are too kind.
What a grand day it's been. Thank you all!
Post script. . .
Trask,
I submitted a screenplay to Sundance's Writer's Workshop this year that is set in the Sea Islands. Very Gullah.
We should chat.
Olivia,
Did you see any of Crowe's performances before you found out what a jerk he was? Did you go back later and react differently to those same performances? My mother stopped reading actor biographies precisely because she did not want her reaction to the real person affecting her impression of their work onscreen.
Kirk Douglas once said "A novelist can say 'do you like my novel?' and a composer can say 'do you like my music?' but an actor essentially says 'do you like me?' so, when the answer is no, it's worse for us." This, from my favorite American actor who is also, by the way, a Grade A jerk.
DPR,
I love Crowe. For shame.
But he is a great actor, too.
Love the Douglas quote. Had not heard it. So true, too.
Also love that your mother is so invested in the arts. Explains a lot about you.
Missy, you should know, you, and all of you, are on my mind all day as well. You all take me higher than I would manage alone. I can think of no better henge of singing stones upon which to hone our wits, if that makes ANY sense at all.
May the Heavenly Grid enhance your parameters, Seekers all...
Dear Olivia. . .
Honing.
DPR, you're not responsible for ALL actors, just yourself. I don't WANT to know ANYTHING about actors or celebrities or musicians personally, but some insist on intruding their personalities into their work, or allow the media to do so. In such cases, they take the risk of being judged on the whole package. Such a one is RC. I still can enjoy movies he's involved in, if I can detach the monkey from the mirrormask, I just don't particularly care for him. He's more of a star than an actor, like Tom Cruise, to me-guys who just play themselves with a bit of nuance or a change of accent. I liked him in LA Confidential, and still enjoy that movie, because he's a good fit for the role-a violent asshole.
Greetings: Brother, ya'll can talk! Tiberius, the Aubrey-Maturin series by Patrick O'brian is a must. That was a great story, I wish I could have been there. I really need that costume for my collection, please let me know where I can find it. Peterlake: Since I'm going to be on an Island, I will need the complete "Rules for Beach Curling" so I can be an expert and lead team USA. A book on Constelllations would be handy unless they also go digital, then I would also need the appropriate converter box. Fourth, I will need the greatest work of fiction for all time-The Bible-. (Now, maybe, just maybe, if some of those folks are correct, it just might help as a pass ticket to the next level) Fifth, the book of matches.
Music: Bob Marley, yes indeed.
Dear Missy...
Laughing.
Olivia,
Interesting you should mention Tom Cruise. I remember being appalled last year when there was a poll on the IMDb about "Whose celebrity antics were the most annoying." Crowe's hitting the hotel clerk with the phone lost to Cruise's notorious couch-jumping. I remember thinking how disgusting it was that an act of bodily violence had been declared (by popular vote!) less annoying than an exuberant declaration of love.
I first saw Crowe, before anyone on this side of the ocean had ever heard of him, in an Australian movie called The Sum of Us in which he played a young gay man whose father is trying a bit too hard to be accepting. It's a charming father-son story in which Crowe and Jack Thompson both perform beautifully. Definitely more than just a "star" part.
I also love L.A. Confidential, the most classic example of the difference between cops who remember why they became cops in the first place and those who have lost sight of that memory. I've never read any of James Ellroy's novels but, if the film adaptations are anything to go by, I really should.
Olivia - Marthambles: No such diagnosis was used in regular 18th-century medical practice. O'Brian discovered the colorful term in a quack's pamphlet of the late 17th or early 18th century advertising a curative product for variety of diseases. Thus, marthambles was nonexistent disease invented to help advertise the virtues of a probably useless medicine. Maturin uses the term in the sense of a contagious affliction that causes gripping abdominal pain. (This according to "A Sea of Words", A Lexicon and Companion to the Complete Seafaring Tales of Patrick O'Brian. By Dean King.)
I agree with you that the roles of Aubrey and Maturin were totally miscast. They were just not the men that I had envisioned and come to love throughout the novels.
Nachista - I thoroughly enjoyed the link you posted. The song was great, and I vicariously enjoyed punching Crowe in the nose, even if he was a lego. Interestingly, there was a wonderful Celtic band playing that night at the premier, and they were all wearing kilts. That was before I knew the comfort and freedom that a kilt allows.
Mackdaddy1 - Definitely will put Garrison Keillor on my list for the island. I caught his radio show live in San Diego and it was an evening I will never, ever forget. Entertainment at to the highest power. I love all of his books.
Gibson99girl - Absoulutely! The Foxfire books are coming with me. Excellent choice by you. Everything you need to get you by, and entertaining too.
DPR - Thank-you for such a nice compliment! I wonder if I now hold the record for the longest post anyway. It appears I was jabbering away without end. But really, for the record, I was not there to steal Mr Crowes thunder, or be obnoxious. Things just kind of snowballed. I was there to celebrate the wonderful literature of Patrick O'Brian. His pen took me around the globe, on so many adventures, while addressing so many deep subjects. And also for the record, I bear him no animosity, but something more akin to sympathetic concern. I'm sure that he has a bad case of Marthambles.
Thank-you all for such great recommendations. I'll be taking quite a long list to Barn and Noble this weekend. I am sure that the sales there, and at Amazon, go up because of todays subject. At least one of my books I know for sure that I will be taking is my signed copy of "Peterman Rides Again". I wouldn't trade it for all the rest of my library.
My happiest moments are when there is a fire in the fireplace, a book in my hand, my dog by my side, and Mozart in the background.
Ti-I'm having a fit of the fantods-I HAVE A Sea of Words, and marthambles IS NOT IN IT!! That is tres bizarre, is there a new edition? Any road, thank you for that clarification, I feel much better for it. AND, you know I had to amend my copy. Your happiest times? I'm there-a crackling fire, a glass of Syrah, a good book, a thunderstorm outside, maybe Mozart, or Bach's Cello Suites by Casals, down low for effect-pure romance, pure bliss! Of course I'd be wearing my best Peterman frock...
DPR, that 'beautiful performance' was BEFORE he became a star, when he actually had to WORK at it. I highly recommend that you read James Ellroy's works, starting with LA Confidential and Black Dahlia. Impressive, edgy, scary stuff, like a real-world hepcat Anne Rice.
Olivia/DPR
James Ellroy is one intense writer. He is able to seemlessly blend fact and fiction in his works. The book he wrote about his mother's murder had so much punch to it that it almost made your ears ring. There was an intersesting Showtime special that served as a, no pun intended, post-mortum meeting of Ellroy and the real life detectives that were assigned to the case which took place after his book was published.
He writes as he is, with absolutely no pretense; just raw presentations of facts and emotions. He is the one writer who could literally and figuratively raise the hackles on a dogs neck just by looking at it.
The movie version of LA Confidential is one I cannot pass up when its showing.
Olivia - I have the third edition, and fantods (great word!) is not in it to my chagrin. Would you be very kind and enlighten me? And at the same time would you help me with "Saluto una vita ho vissuo con brio"? Is that bad?
I prefer a relaxing tisane while reading. Like Red Rooibos. If not Mozart, then Chopin's nocturnes. Nocturne 21 is my absolute favorite. I can hear it over and over and never grow tired of it. Thunderstorms make it absolutely perfect. Bach? Aaahhh..yes...Bach.